LET’S HEAR IT FOR OUR LOCAL GUYS?

The fact that Brenda Bell all but ignored Hispanic advertising agencies in Los Angeles may be explained by the fact that she is based on Bainbridge Island, Wash. (“Ads. Ads. Ads. Buy. Buy. Buy. Bueno . Bueno . Bueno .” Sept. 17).

Although I am an Anglo, I am also an Angeleno. I was disappointed that the article failed to mention the steps taken by Hispanic agencies in the L.A. area to acquire an increasing share of the Spanish-speaking advertising business.

Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, Noble and Associates may indeed be the first Hispanic Agency to top $100 million in annual billings, but I notice that that was done only by virtue of its merger with Noble & Asociados, a Southern California-based agency. It is also worth underlining that SBAN and Associates is not a wholly Hispanic-owned concern; Bell cited that the multinational D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles agency has had a 49% interest in it for the past four years. Are such mergers and partial absorption the road to success for independent local agencies?

We should make note that the West L.A.-based La Agencia Orci, is a Clio Award-winning agency that has had, for example, Acura Motors as a client.

Eileen Bertie

Van Nuys