WestWayne + 22(squared) = CONFUSING

I'm sure you have heard by now that WestWayne Atlanta is 22 Squared. This makes Prince's move to going by a symbol look really smart. My father worked at Tucker Wayne for more than 30 years and to understand what is going on here you have to go back to the beginning. For most of my life Tucker Wayne stood for the best in the Southeast. You could tell by the clients they were not looking to save a buck but looking for the greatness in their advertising. They lived in great places took fantastic vacations and experienced all life has to offer. How do I know this? Because my dad and sometimes I was right there with them.

In it's hayday, the place was a strategic powerhouse. The only agency with in house research. The account staff was build of the best people from the best schools and the creative department was made up of true artist who were given strong direction and responsible to make the strategy translate in an entertaining and significant way. They were the guys who led the Leo Burnett method in the South. One of my favorite quotes from an ex president is,"Most agencies in Atlanta are just shell corporations for car ownership". That's arrogant but also confident.


In the 1980's they watched BellSouth become a media giant and rode the horse all the way to the bank. The 1990's were where the trouble started. The significance of the regional agency began to dwindle. With the winds of change, there became more pressure to jump into the national realm and just like everybody else did it; through creative. Atlanta is a city of big ideas and big moves. When they want to do something make it huge, the Olympics, the Open Campaign, the effing Georgia Dome when our weather is awesome. So in "The Atlanta Way" they found a huge creative name in Luke Sullivan. The one, the man, the guy who wrote JUST DO IT. They were sure this was the one who could launch them into orbit. Well...Crafted strategy met unbridled creative and the bit in the bridle hurt. The early excitement led to finger pointing and then there was the sale in the middle. After an effort on the creative bandwagon, they tried to go back to the strategic format when the strategy folks were long gone.

Today. BellSouth has become AT&T. WestWayne has a new CEO in place. They still have great people. What to do? Break the mold start over. Become the Phoenix from the flames. Create a new persona and leave the baggage behind. BUT THIS! HELP! They have left their leadership and bravado behind. The baby has officially be thrown out with the bathwater. OH MY GOD! It looks like a start up in King Plow building who forgot to reserve parking spaces for the clients.

Please let this "idea/relationship/friend making factory work. Atlanta needs them to regain their leadership status. Over the years they have attracted excellent talent to the city that has gone on to contribute to a thriving creative community. As a midsized agency who looks for talent everyday we need a independent national agency to feed our creative community.

Work hard guys. You gotta sell this thing.