Basso Wins Thrifty Corp. Ad Account

COSTA MESA — Basso & Associates Inc., a medium-size advertising and public relations agency, has been chosen from a field of more than 20 international agencies to handle the Thrifty drugstore account.

Joe Basso, company president, would not disclose the value of the account. He said he was aware of reports that the account is worth $25 million. Los Angeles-based Thrifty Corp. has 624 drugstores across the country.

Basso said he plans a “street smart” campaign for Thrifty. “I’ve heard a lot of creative hotshot agencies singing the blues lately,” he said. “We’re more basic than that. We’re in a tight economy, and (a campaign has) got to move the client’s product.”

He said the strategy will involve local store marketing and “honesty, not gimmicks.”

The agency will handle strategy, marketing and account management and will share media buying with Western International Media of Newport Beach.

Costa Mesa-based Basso & Associates, which opened in 1972, has annual billings of about $25 million and employs 35 people.

The agency’s other clients have included Alpha Beta grocery stores, Krause’s Sofa Factory, the National Assn. of Music Merchants and Ortho Sleep Centers.