Cadillac picks Publicis as new agency of record, continues cutting ties with Campbell Ewald

Fri, Dec 5 2014

Cadillac is setting itself up for major changes in the coming years with its decision to hire Johan de Nysschen as the brand's new boss and moving some of the staff to new digs in the trendy SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. With those two big shifts in place, there's one more on the way with the company's announcement that Publicis Worldwide is now its global creative agency of record, effective immediately. The firm replaces former, long-time General Motors associate Campbell-Ewald; now a portion of Lowe and Partners.

"This appointment is designed to accelerate the global expansion and elevation of Cadillac into a truly global luxury brand," said Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus in the company's announcement. "We have spent much of this year refocusing on the core values of our brand." Although, some work may remain at Lowe and Partners for now. According to Cadillac spokesperson David Caldwell via email to Autoblog: "The bulk of work makes this shift. It is possible that maybe a small individual smaller project or two might still be handled by Lowe. Not certain yet."

The fruit of this new partnership shouldn't take long to mature, either. "We will have substantially new marketing and brand identity work in early 2015." said Caldwell.

According to Ad Age, Cadillac's advertising had been handled by Lowe and Partners, Campbell-Ewald in Detroit (now entirely part of Lowe) and Hill Holiday. Caddy had a relationship with the agency since 2013 but has changed firms several times in 2006.

GM had a long collaboration with Campbell-Ewald, though. Chevrolet was its partner for nearly a century until the automaker also jumped to Publicis in 2010. The firm was responsible for campaigns like, "The Heartbeat of America", "Like A Rock" and "An American Revolution."

Scroll down to read Cadillac's full announcement of the change.

Cadillac Appoints Publicis Worldwide
2014-12-04

DETROIT – Cadillac announced today the appointment of Publicis Worldwide as its global creative agency of record. Publicis Worldwide is the largest creative agency of the Publicis Groupe network and its appointment to Cadillac is effective immediately.

A fully dedicated team, comprising key managers from Publicis Worldwide, will lead the account and have access to specialist and premium resources within the larger Publicis Groupe.

"This appointment is designed to accelerate the global expansion and elevation of Cadillac into a truly global luxury brand," said Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus. "We have spent much of this year refocusing on the core values of our brand. Adding Publicis Worldwide to our team -with its undisputed expertise in luxury brand building - will further our progress globally."

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Worldwide added: "For us, this appointment is an honor and a privilege. We will work passionately with the client leadership team to strengthen the power of the Cadillac brand."

Cadillac's creative and strategic agency of record since 2013 had been Lowe and Partners, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

"We sincerely appreciate the dedication and service the Lowe team has brought to our brand," Ellinghaus said. "The agency has aided Cadillac in a time of transition and contributed significantly to the development of its brand positioning."

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac's media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

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By Chris Bruce