This Hollywood power broker revolutionized the ad industry with one audacious move.
In 1991, Michael Ovitz was already a legend in Tinseltown.
His talent agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), represented the biggest stars in the business.
But Ovitz had his sights set on an even bigger prize: Madison Avenue.
He saw an opportunity to disrupt the advertising world using CAA's unique strengths.
His target? The most iconic brand in the world is Coca-Cola.
At the time, Coca-Cola's account was held by McCann Erickson, an advertising giant.
But Ovitz believed CAA could offer something no traditional ad agency could match.
Creatives that didn’t mirror culture, but created it.
So he leveraged CAA's vast network of A-List Hollywood talent to create 50 ideas for Cokes 1993 global campaign and presented them in a duel pitch against Cokes AOR, McCann-Erickson.
CAA's lean structure and lack of advertising experience allowed for more nimble and creative decision-making.
They weren't bogged down by the bureaucracy typical of large ad agencies.
Ovitz personally pitched to Coca-Cola's marketing team, showcasing CAA's fresh perspective.
It was pure Hollywood. No research, no numbers, no strategy. Just 60 minutes of Coca-Cola, presented as a hero in multiple story formats and multiple formats targeted for multiple market segments that blured the line between entertainment and advertising.
Seeing the Coke side so elated, McCann skipped a note to McCann’s vice chairman with two words: “We’re dead.”Indeed they were. McCann sold two ideas. CAA (a talent agency) sold 24. One of which, you may remember, involved Polar Bears
This caused a seismic shift in the advertising landscape.
Ovitz had proven that creativity with the best creative people could trump decades of industry experience.
Traditional agencies were left reeling, forced to rethink their entire business model.
But whatever they learned from that experience was soon forgotten.
Today, the ad industry is ripe once again for disruption.
But this time, instead of letting outsiders disrupt the industry, Laetro was built to bring CAA's outside perspective into the ad industry.
The industry doesn’t need a new type of ad agency.
It needs a new type of agency.
#Advertising #Innovation #Hollywood #BusinessStrategy