In an odd move, even within the wacky world of advertising, Toronto-based ad shop Holmes & Lee issued a press release last week stating that it had resigned the National Post account because it couldn’t work with former theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky, who had been hired last month as a marketing consultant for the paper.
According to the four-paragraph release, the agency encountered ‘extreme differences in advertising’ with Drabinsky, who, the release states, wrote, produced and directed a direct response television spot currently on air that ‘has no connection to Holmes & Lee, whatsoever.’
Reached by telephone, Peter Holmes, the agency’s co-founder and creative director, says, ‘We tried to work with (Drabinsky) but it was impossible. The man’s ego knows no boundaries.’
The thing is, according to Ron Clark, the Post’s vice-president of marketing – whose name, incidentally, was included as a contact on the press release – the account wasn’t Holmes & Lee’s to resign, as the agency was brought in solely on a project basis.
‘Resigned from what?’ he asks incredulously. ‘They weren’t hired as our agency of record and the project they were hired for is nearly complete.’
Clark says he was aware of the conflict between Drabinsky and the agency but was surprised by the latter’s actions. He adds that he stands behind the appointment of Drabinsky, who he says is helping to position the Post as more than a financial newspaper and increase its appeal in entertainment and cultural circles.
‘You cannot dispute what the man did for Cineplex and for Toronto theatre,’ says Clark.
Drabinsky has close ties with National Post owner Conrad Black. Black sat on the board of directors of Livent, the live theatre company founded by Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, before it collapsed amidst allegations of financial mismanagement and fraud. Drabinsky and Gottlieb are currently fighting extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
Drabinsky could not be reached for comment.
The Post, meanwhile, has consolidated much of its marketing in-house, but will continue to look for agencies to aid it on a project basis. Those agencies will be told that they will have to establish a working relationship with Drabinsky, Clark says.
That probably doesn’t come as welcome news to Holmes & Lee, as, according to the release, ‘We love the potential of the (National Post) brand, and we hope to be able to help if and when Mr. Drabinsky is gone.’
