NBC Abruptly Switches Its Ad Agencies in L.A. : AC&R;/CCL to Be Replaced by D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles on Big Account

NBC, the nation’s top-rated television network, pulled the plug on one Los Angeles advertising agency Tuesday and hired another to handle part of its $29-million network advertising business.

The network abruptly fired AC&R;/CCL Advertising and hired the Los Angeles office of the New York ad firm D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles. The agency switch, which will take effect Sept. 1, took the Los Angeles ad community by surprise. NBC officials insisted that the agency review take place in secret, apparently to avoid an anticipated flurry of phone calls from other Los Angeles ad firms hungry for business.

“In any sort of change, particularly when you’re at the top, there is speculation that there was some sort of disillusionment,” said John Miller, vice president of advertising and promotion at NBC. “That was not the case here. It’s just that the marketplace has become much more complex and we needed more of a full-service ad agency.”

AC&R; was primarily responsible for placing and creating NBC print advertisements in magazines such as TV Guide. The agency did not create NBC’s television commercials that feature the familiar slogan, “Come home to NBC.” Those were developed by the network, which has a staff of more than 100 who create its commercials.

‘Kind of in Shock’

But now, the network says, it is looking for far more creative and marketing expertise from its ad firm. And Miller said he was particularly attracted by the specialized entertainment division that DMB&B; operates in its Los Angeles office. “It’s the best of both worlds,” said Miller. “It’s like being able to attend a large university and a small college at the same time.”

For DMB&B;, the big win is just one in a series over the past year. “We’re still kind of in shock,” said Andy Bielanski, senior vice president at the agency. DMB&B; executives are scheduled to meet with NBC officials next week to begin planning ad strategy, he said.

In February, DMB&B; picked up the $40-million Paramount Pictures advertising business which was also formerly handled by AC&R.; And earlier this year, DMB&B; won the $20-million Denny’s ad account.

NBC officials did not reveal how much of its $29-million annual advertising budget would be spent with DMB&B.; AC&R;, which created and placed ads for the network for six years, only handled about $7 million of NBC’s advertising last year, said Patrick King, chief executive officer of AC&R;’s West Coast operations.

King said the agency was eager to take on more, but was relegated to more of an “adjunct” role by the network. King insists, however, that AC&R; still played a key role in NBC’s rise from the ashes of the network heap. “I can assure you that they weren’t No. 1 when we started with them six years ago,” he said. “They are now.”

The loss of NBC is one in a series of drastic changes that King has witnessed since he arrived at AC&R; in January. In a seven-month period, the agency has now lost two big-name clients--Paramount and NBC. “When you go cold, there’s a malaise that can spread over an entire agency,” said Peter Stranger, president of the Los Angeles office of the ad firm Della Femina, McNamee WCRS. “I suppose some changes at the agency didn’t sit well with NBC.”

One of those changes took place in June when the agency, which is a division of the British marketing giant Saatchi & Saatchi, merged with a sister Saatchi agency headquartered in Irvine--Cochrane Chase, Livingston & Co.

Although NBC’s decision will result in new hiring at DMB&B;, it is still uncertain how it will affect employees at AC&R.; Asked if any layoffs were planned, King said: “I hope not.”