Clinton Ad Agency Plans L.A. Branch

The New York ad agency that helped put President Clinton in the White House is about to open a Southern California office.

Deutsch/Dworkin, which caught the Clinton campaign’s eye for its streetwise ad style, says it will open a branch office--probably in Santa Monica--as early as next month. The agency created Clinton’s campaign ad slogan “For People, for a Change.”

It also created the devil-may-care slogan “Your mother wears Nikes” for upstart sneaker maker British Knights.

The agency’s decision to open a West Coast branch comes after winning the Ikea home furnishing chain’s estimated $10-million West Coast ad business. The account was formerly handled by Brentwood-based Stein Robaire Helm, one of the West Coast’s fastest-growing agencies. Deutsch already handles Ikea business for the rest of the nation.

The move also comes as the Los Angeles ad community remains mired in a four-year downturn marked by numerous layoffs and several agency closings.

“We’re not going to be like every other agency that comes out to Los Angeles and falls on its face,” said Donny Deutsch, executive vice president and creative director of the firm. “We’re not coming in with a New York attitude.”

The last year has been an extremely busy one for Deutsch, which has seen its annual billings nearly double to $180 million.

But the agency has also taken its share of criticism. Its ads for Colt 45 Malt Liquor have angered some critics because they target African-Americans. And Greer, Margolis, Mitchell, Grunwald & Associates, the Washington-based political consulting firm that worked with Deutsch on the Clinton campaign ads, has said it did not receive its share of the credit for the success.