The recent launch of a campaign by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario attacking provincial Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty has set off alarm bells within the Ontario advertising industry, sparking questions about a potential conflict of interest for the agency behind the work, The Gingko Group of Toronto.

Some ad industry executives say that Gingko is in a conflict of interest given the fact that it has been awarded a large chunk of Ontario government business since the pcs have been in power.

Others say a client has the right to hire whatever agency it believes is best suited to handle its business and that any conflict of interest is a matter for the client to resolve.

Gingko currently holds the $15-million Ontario Lottery account as well as the Foodland Ontario business. It is also part of a nine-member government agency pool.

A number of ad agency executives have said, albeit off the record, that the reason the Gingko Group has picked up so much government work is in part because of the long-term affiliation Gingko co-chairman Perry Miele has had with the Conservative Party, first at the federal level, and now provincially.

A spokesperson for Ontario Management Board, which has responsibility for the Advertising Review Board, disagrees, saying the competitive process is fair and above board and the fact that Gingko is working for the PC Party has nothing to do with decisions made on any government competitions.

For Gingko’s part, Miele says that the success of the agency in winning both provincial government accounts and the pc Party business is the result of a concerted effort to beef up its creative team. In addition, he says, the agency has hired senior people on the account, direct marketing and health care sides of the agency.

Paul Rhodes, spokesperson for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, dismisses questions of conflict of interest as sour grapes from ‘a bunch of second-rate advertising agencies’.

At the core of the conflict-of-interest question is the fact that the Ontario government and PC Party advertising now running is dealing with the same issue, health care, although another Ontario Government agency pool member, Bowen & Binstock, created the health care advertising.

Additionally, the ad targeting McGuinty is very much election-style advertising, outside of an election campaign.

Geoffrey Roche, president and creative director of Toronto agency Roche Macaulay & Partners, doesn’t believe Gingko is in a conflict-of-interest position, but he also says he doesn’t believe the arb panel acts totally without bias.

‘There’s no question there’s favouritism. When the NDP was in power there was favouritism and when the Liberal Party was in power there was favouritism.

‘It’s unfortunate, and it doesn’t necessarily [mean the arb will pick] the best agency. On the other hand, making a big deal about the fact [Gingko] is helping the pcs with the Dalton McGuinty campaign, I would only expect them to.’