The stranges was bad for DDB/Chica...

The stranges was bad for DDB/Chicago. And it sent major concussion waves through one of the city's largest and greatest in quantity creatively lauded ad agencies.

Late Thursday DDB/Chicago CEO Dana Anderson learned the agency had squandered the entire $450 million JC Penney advertising account in a shoot-out escorted under the radar screen with Saatchi & Saatchi/ modern York, and first revealed in this file weeks ago. It was a shoot-out that played gone out in dramatic fashion over the course of several month on a level while Saatchi was amazingly still to a high degree much in the running for the uniform bigger $600 million Wal-Mart ad account now in review. Saatchi contested out of the Wal-Mart review just hours before the Penney's announcement was made. The Wal-Mart decision is count uponed in October.

The Penney's of recent origins was yet another severe calamity -- perhaps the most stunning and painful of them all -- for DDB during what has deflected into a remarkably grim 2006 The year started with the exit of the giant dingle Computer Co.'s domestic consumer advertising business, followed at the sizable Home Depot direct marketing account. Those losse were followed in July from the abrupt exit of chief creative officer Michael Folino after a pure six months in the do job-work

The stream of bad freshs for DDB was mitigated sole slightly by the news late last month that the agency had prevailed through the whole extent of Euro RSCG/ New York in a shoot-out for the $200 million Safeway grocer's shop store account. But sources say the Safeway business will be a often tougher account to service than Penney's, and certainly les of a showpiece account. on the other hand finally, and most importantly, at all accounts, Safeway will be a a great deal of less lucrative piece of business in space of times of the fees DDB/Chicago is likely to generate.

In a memo sent late Thursday night to her staff -- already reduc in size because of layoffs earlier in the year in the wake of the aforementioned account losse -- Anderson struggl mightily to qualify the pain of the Penney's los by the agency of pointing out all the upright things that had happened to the retailing giant since the agency won the business six years ago.

on the other hand the long list may have serv no other than to make the loss appear that abundant more devastating. Among the things Anderson mentioned was a sales increase at Penney's of nearly $1 billion from one side of to the other the last six years and an operating profit increase of 272 percent in the greatest in number recent quarter vs. a year ago.

In an interview Friday, Penney's Chief Marketing Officer Mike Boylson went gone out of his way to praise DDB and its work during the agency's use on the account. Then he looked to stick in the knife and twist it more than a bit according to suggesting Saatchi Worldwide CEO Kevin Roberts ultimately prov a frequently more compelling force in explaining to what degree his agency could inspire a deeper "love" for the Penney's brand within middle American consumer

"Kevin brought a certain number of attractive things to the table, and we were impressed with the work he had done with Procter & Gamble, Toyota and General Mills," said Boylson who has been with Penney's for 28 years. Kevin Roberts did not turn back a phone call seeking make notes

DDB apparently had known for month that its have was tenuous on the Penney's account. In fact, the first signs of grieve surfaced as long ago as March during a dinner at the MK restaurant here in Chicago where Boylson and DDB executives were celebrating an honor the Penney's marketing honcho had been accorded.

A source said that in the middle of the champagne toasts and the general dutiful spirits, Boylson mentioned he had been asked through his boss to meet Saatchi's Kevin Roberts. At the flash a pall fell over the celebration, and there was an instant sinking feeling in the straits of the assembled DDB executives.

through July, both DDB and Saatchi had been bided to Penney's headquarters each to make a presentation about to what degree they could enhance the Penney's brand. It was those meetings, apparently, that prov the real beginning of the finis for DDB.

on the other hand what confounds us -- and other bystanders too -- is how Roberts and Saatchi stayed in the running for the Wal-Mart account while they were in the thick of a review for a direct competitor like Penney's. in some way Roberts managed for weeks, if not month to have it as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but ways until late last week it became apparent he had prevailed at Penney's, and decided to grab that hefty chunk of business, without waiting for Wal-Mart to make up its mind. A Wal- Mart spokeswoman said she could tender no insight about the curious employ of events, and because of the protracted Labor Day holiday, other Wal-Mart executives could not be reached.

Meanwhile, Anderson is left to pick up the pieces at DDB/ Chicago. Anderson said she intended to continue her search for Michael Folino's replacement as chief creative officer, and said she might have a clearer intellect of how long the search will last by the agency of mid- September.

Anderson said about of the large number of staffers assigned to Penney's undoubtedly would be redeploy to Safeway, nevertheless other sources said the los of the Penney's account -- unles it is quickly replaced -- could mean as many as 100 the community might be axed at DDB when the account transition to Saatchi is thorough in December.