P. M. BRIEFING : Young & Rubicam Ad Agency Indicted in Jamaica Bribe Case
One of the country’s largest advertising agencies was indicted today on charges it paid nearly $1 million in bribes to obtain the Jamaican Tourist Board’s ad account in 1981, a federal prosecutor said.
A grand jury this morning returned the 43-page indictment against Young & Rubicam, three of its current or former executives and two former Jamaican officials, said U.S. Atty. Stanley A. Twardy.
The grand jury has been investigating the relationship between the agency and the Caribbean nation’s tourism authority since 1986, Twardy said.
The New York-based agency, which developed the “Come back to Jamaica” ad campaign, denied any impropriety.
“We are shocked and dismayed by this move. We believe these allegations are based on speculation and innuendo and are without substance or merit,” Young & Rubicam said in a 2 1/2-page statement today.
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