Adweek: Former Goodby, Silverstein & Partners creatives Frederic Raillard and Farid Mokart have opened their own agency called Marcel in Paris, effective immediately.
The Publicis-owned venture, which opened yesterday with 10-12 clients shifted from the holding company’s other agencies, is intended to compete with smaller, integrated and creatively focused shops such as Mother in London and New York, 180 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and even Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami. French natives Raillard, 34, and Mokart, 38, who go by Fred & Farid and share art directing and copywriting duties, will be co-presidents and report to Publicis CEO Maurice Levy.
The agency is “based on the fact that advertising now has to change, we have to write strong stories featuring the brand, then choose the best media,” said Raillard, speaking for both himself and Mokart. “So we believe we’re not competing against other campaigns, but all other stories in media. Our role in the agency is to write the strongest story. It’s simple to say but hard to do.”
Thanks to The Hidden Persuader for the pointer.
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New players, same old song. How many times have we heard this refrain before? Every new startup these days says that they’ve discovered the secret to successful advertising. I’m sure these guys are talented – although I for one was underwhelmed by the work they did for Goodby – but why should anyone think they’ve cracked the code? God save us from pretentious, posturing poseurs.
I gotta go with Boyo on this one. These guys might be good, but it’s their PR people who deserve the real credit.
Pr goes both ways. It can kiss you or bite you back. It’s incredibly hard to open shop, make great creative and still be profitable. Although they are lucky (or suave negotiators) to be inheriting some clients. So they might not go belly up right away. Let’s see how they do. Good on them if they can pull it off.
Marcel’s website is now available on http://www.marcelparis.com