Ad Firm's Wishful Thinking Forces Changes on Billboards
By VANESSA O'CONNELL Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- One of Madison Avenue's most creative agencies may have been just a little too creative.
Omnicom Group Inc.'s DDB Worldwide said it would change 82 billboards in the state of New York after a woman featured in advertisements for the New York Lottery accused the ad agency of making up her thoughts about what she'd do if she won $1 million.
The New York Lottery's current campaign includes radio and television spots with the rock song "If I Had a Million Dollars." About six weeks ago, the agency also began running outdoor ads that are enlarged close-ups of ordinary people who agreed to have their photos taken for the campaign.
One of the women in the ads is Dana Fisher, identified only as "Dana." Ads featuring Ms. Fisher include a button that says, "If I had a million dollars I'd buy a car and a cute driver to go with it." Ms. Fisher, a visiting scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and an environmentalist, says she never uttered those words, and accuses DDB of fabricating what appears to be her dream.
Ms. Fisher says she was asked to answer the question: "What would you do if you if you had a million dollars?" She says her response was: "Establish a foundation that would deal with global environmental issues." The agency didn't promise to use her in the ads, but said she would be considered as a candidate for the lottery campaign, and asked her to sign a release.
Little did Ms. Fisher expect some creative ad executive to take control of her thoughts.
Marianne Flatley, a spokeswoman for the agency, which has won many awards for its creative flair, says Ms. Fisher isn't the only person featured in the outdoor ads whose reflections, as advertised, don't reflect his or her aspirations. "The dreams some people provided us didn't reflect what focus groups said were the dreams of the average New Yorker," Ms. Flatley said. "The purpose of changing the reflections of people in the outdoor campaign was to reflect the average dream of the average New Yorker."
Ms. Fisher, who was sent a check for $200 by the agency after she was chosen for the campaign, says she was assured the agency would fix the ad to reflect her actual goals. One of the "Dana" ads at a bus stop in New York still carried the agency's version of Ms. Fisher's car fantasy late Monday. Ms. Fisher's dismay was reported in Monday's issue of the New Yorker magazine.
One passerby, Marissa Watson, questioned whether the average New Yorker would even admit in focus groups to such a superficial aspiration. "After Sept. 11, I'd like to think that people wouldn't spend their lottery winnings in such a trivial way, and would want to give something back to the community." Another ad in the same campaign features a blonde woman identified as "Tanya," who says she'd "rent a private jet and go around the world."
Karen Feldgus, a New Yorker who plays the lottery from time to time, said, "If somebody misquoted me entirely and on purpose, I'd be furious."
DDB's Ms. Flatley said the release signed by Ms. Fisher and others featured in the campaign gave the agency permission to change quotes and some other information about them. "We've learned a valuable lesson from this experience, and we'll make sure it won't happen again," she added.