Paul Venables of San Francisco independent Venables, Bell and Partners is feeling the rush right now. His agency just won the Audi account.
The win defines his agency as big time.
According to Adweek, Venables said, “Nothing legitimizes an agency like a car, and there’s no better car to get than a prestigious German car.”
Meanwhile the 13-year incumbent, Havas-owned McKinney in Durham, N.C., bows out politely. Brad Brinegar, chairman and CEO of McKinney, said, “When McKinney won the account in 1993, Audi was on its way to being pulled from the American market. Since then, we have helped [Audi] rebound to become one of the premier brands in its category, growing 12 of the past 13 years. We wish the very best to the many friends that we made at Audi.”
Good for them. I’ve been a fan of this agency, ever since the Napster webisodes debuted. I’m interested to see how their work will pan out after all the cool stuff McKinney did.