O&M loses top creative duo

Ogilvy & Mather is losing its top two creative directors in a round of advertising “musical chairs” which will see new senior creative appointments at WCRS, EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper and BMP DDB.

Ogilvy & Mather is losing its top two creative directors in a round of advertising “musical chairs” which will see new senior creative appointments at WCRS, EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper and BMP DDB.

Billy Mawhinney, creative director, and Leon Jaume, deputy creative director, at O&M are leaving to take up creative director roles at EURO RSCG and WCRS respectively.

The duo handle the creative work on the estimated 300m Ford of Europe account. Last year, O&M prevented Jaume from leaving, to join Bates Dorland, by offering a lucrative new deal.

Mawhinney will head the Citroë car account at EURO RSCG, and report to Mark Wnek. The appointment is understood to be a prelude to other personnel changes in the creative department at the agency, which also handles the Abbey National, Peugeot and Hooper’s Hooch accounts.

Jaume replaces Larry Barker, currently creative director at WCRS, who is taking up the same role at BMP. Its existing creative director Tony Cox moves up to become executive creative director.

Elsewhere, Richard Philips is joining J Walter Thompson as joint executive creative director.

The departure of Mawhinney and Jaume follows the loss of the 12m Guinness account (MW January 15) and increases pressure on O&M’s grip on the Ford business.