Chiat/Day Hungers to Do Ads for Burger King

Chiat/Day wants the whopper.

The biggest advertising agency in Los Angeles is making a strong bid to land one of the world’s largest fast-food advertisers--Burger King.

This week, Chiat/Day had preliminary discussions with several regional Burger King executives about the fast-food chain’s $200-million advertising account. “We told them we are very interested in the business,” said Bob Wolf, president of the ad firm’s Los Angeles office.

But Wolf stressed that Chiat/Day executives have yet to speak about the account with Burger King’s corporate officials--although the ad agency would welcome such discussions. “We’d like to talk to them--period,” Wolf said. He said the agency would be interested in all--or part--of the business.

Two weeks ago, Burger King gave a vote of no confidence to its current ad agency, N W Ayer, when it announced plans to talk with other agencies about handling portions of its ad business.

But the agency review must await the outcome of a more important question: who owns Burger King and its parent company, Pillsbury? Grand Metropolitan PLC, a British company, has attempted an unfriendly takeover of Pillsbury, and Pillsbury has threatened to spin off Burger King in an effort to scuttle the takeover bid.

And for the long line of advertising agencies that would like a shot at the Burger King account, “this is the most befuddling, confusing new business opportunity around,” Wolf said. However, it is also one of the most lucrative.

That’s why Chiat/Day finds itself now competing with some of New York and Chicago’s biggest ad agencies, including Foote, Cone & Belding, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles and even the agency that handled the account less than two years ago, J. Walter Thompson.

For its part, Burger King is keeping mum on which agency might have the inside track. And on Friday, the company declined to comment on Chiat/Day--or its chances of landing any of the Burger King business. “We’ve heard from Chiat/Day along with lots of other agencies,” said Joyce Myers, a spokeswoman for the Miami-based company.

For Chiat/Day, the bid for the Burger King business comes less than two years after it doubled its size by winning the $200-million Nissan ad business. Nissan’s advertising is created and placed mostly out of Chiat/Day’s Los Angeles office.

If Chiat/Day was to also win the Burger King account, only the hamburger chain’s Western regional business--worth about $30 million to $40 million--would be handled out of Los Angeles, Wolf said. Most of its corporate advertising would be handled out of the New York office--which is uninvolved with Nissan, but does create ads for Reebok and Arrow Co.

The agency does have some fast-food advertising experience. Chiat/Day formerly created ads for both Wienerschnitzel and Pizza Hut. And it currently creates ads for the Dallas-based Pizza Inn chain.

Chiat/Day has been eyeing the Burger King account since it was put up for grabs 15 months ago, Wolf said. But Burger King then told Chiat/Day it didn’t have enough regional strength to handle the business. Since then, however, the ad firm has opened offices in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

For years, a string of Burger King’s ad firms have failed to successfully establish a clear image for the chain. “Hopefully,” said Wolf, “the right advertising can solve their problems.”