Gary Prouk and Peter Holmes have called it quits.
Citing divergent opinions on how Holmes Prouk should grow, the principals decided to call off the partnership before it was officially consummated.
Last November, the two creative directors announced with much fanfare their 50-50 partnership and the planned renaming of Holmes Donin Alloul to Holmes Prouk. (The agency retains its former name.)
The split was amicable and Prouk is continuing work on a project for hda client Ault Foods.
Gilbert Alloul, hda agency director, says, ‘We’re a very entrepreneurial, spirited company and that’s the way we tend to act. Gary is very focused on big ideas, big thinking.’
He adds, ‘The idea was to go into it as friends and associates. The idea was never to come out of it other than that.’
Prouk says the partnership seemed like a good idea at the time, and he won’t let this setback stop him from taking chances in the future.
While many speculated at the time that the two strong-willed creative directors would butt heads, the relationship – according to those involved – was relatively tranquil.
The turmoil has come following Prouk’s departure.
An undisclosed conflict between the agency and Susan Andrews, director of client services and lead person on the Ault business, has caused Andrews to leave the agency.
She had worked on the business for more than five years, at Lowe SMS, as a consultant and at hda.
The timing of the rift comes just as Ault completed the sale of its Ontario fluid milk and refrigerated operations to Agropur, Cooperative Agro-alimentaire, for approximately $145 million cash.
Agropur is the parent of Quebec-based fluid milk operation Natrel.
As part of the deal, over 800 people will move from Ault to Agropur.
Agropur has bought the fixed assets of Ault’s fluid milk business, and the rights to use Sealtest and other licensed and owned brands of Ault Foods for fluid milk.
It has also licensed Lactantia for a three-year period and has the right to market Ault’s PurFiltre technology in Canada under license.
Ault holds onto its Quebec fluid milk operation.
No decision has been made how Agropur will handle advertising for its new Ontario fluid milk business.
Pamela Kempthorne, Ault vice-president of corporate affairs, says very little advertising has been done for fluid milk because of its low margins.
The Natrel account is handled by Palm Publicite Marketing in Montreal.
Ault’s remaining core business – cheese, butter and margarine – stays with hda.
The Ault account, which was estimated at $7 million when the agency won it last October, has already been diminished, with the sale of Ault’s frozen products division to Nestle Canada last month.
