Ad Age spoke to Dick O’Brien, exec VP of the American Association of Advertising Agencies about an Obama presidency’s impact on the ad biz.
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who could be chief of staff in an Obama administration, talked to the 4A’s board of directors several weeks ago.
“He predicted that the first order of business in the new Congress will be shoring up the economy and bringing the deficit under control. Then, out of the blue, he volunteered that this would cause our industry some pain. When pressed to elaborate, he said that, in their quest for new revenue, one likely possibility would be to go to pharma and tell them they could keep the write-off for R&D or DTC, but not both.”
I’m sure statements like that must infuriate Dick O’Brien. But it’s time to get real. Excessive tax breaks for big oil or big pharma is over and done with. With the retail prices these industries charge, they simply do not need “help” from Washington.
