Admatic.ie The Story of Advertising and my part in its downfall.

Episode 14 1990's The Madmen sell, Agencies are split – The Media Bucket Shop and Creative Agencies, ending the full service, one stop shop.

Admatic.ie Season 1 Episode 14

The “expensive” Mad Men skilled Advertising types were consequently, cast out in the cost cutting or, they simply left because they had been bought out in the 1980s. They didn’t want to stay anyway and as I explained, most of those owners were the true advertising creative people. So, through buyouts, it was the creatives that were missing first.

These the people who probably drank too much, who turned into work at various times (but worked long hours), who wanted to have fun on expense accounts, who got into tricky relationships. Who slept with the wrong people and probably too many of them. 

 But who had produced the great Advertising work. 

 Not of any real consequence to these new financial holding companies and their new grey financial accountancy leaders but rather concerned about how much they cost.

The Advertising Agency culture was changed.

1978 McCanns formed ‘Universal McCann’ media. In 1989 Publicis launched Optimedia. 1992 and Grey Advertising set up ‘Media Connections’. 

In 1999, WPP created ‘Mindshare’ as a standalone media dependent representing the media buying of its two Agencies, JWT and Ogilvy & Mather. 

In 2003, Mindshare also represented The Young & Rubicam Agency and rebadged as ‘Group M’. 

Omnicom opened OMD in 1996 (Optimum Media Direction) and acquired PHD Media. Publicis opened Zenith, Havas started Havas Media and Dentsu brought Aegis/Carat to the world. 

1993 D’Arcy Masius (DMB&B) created Televest to handle media for P&G, Kraft and Mars. 1994, and in 1996 merged with BBDO to form OMD (Optimum Media Direction) and Interpublic Advertising bought Western International Media for $50m. 

In 1994 Saatchi’s set up Zenith media US having operated in Europe since 1988. 

1997 JWT formed Mindshare and in 1998 Grey Advertising brought Mediacom to the USA. 1999 Burnett’s formed Starcom and so on.


Stuart Fogarty is a graduate of St. Columba’s College and UCD Dublin Ireland. He is a second-generation Adman, son of an Agency CEO. 

 A Former President and a Fellow of The Advertising Institute (IAPI); Board Member and a Fellow of The Marketing Institute; former advisory board member of The European Association of Advertising Agencies (EAAA): Chairman of The Advertising Press Club; Board member of The Publicity Club; former Ad Agency CEO and once Owner of Ireland’s largest Ad Agency McConnell’s and AFAO’Meara Advertising; Co-Founder of Core Media, currently Ireland’s largest Media Agency: Founder of Digital Agency ICAN; Founder of Club Internet (floated Nasdaq March 2000 as Via Net Works); regular media contributor on advertising matters; Sailing World record holder; Leinster rugby branch member

 

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Stuart@admatic.ie

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