Cadillac moves ads to Publicis, drops Detroit shop

Cadillac has further loosened its ties to Detroit, moving its advertising account to Publicis Worldwide from Detroit-based Lowe Campbell Ewald, which had had the account only since mid-2013.

The switch is effective immediately.

"This appointment is designed to accelerate the global expansion and elevation of Cadillac into a truly global luxury brand," said Uwe Ellinghaus, Cadillac chief marketing officer. "We have spent much of this year refocusing on the core values of our brand. Adding Publicis Worldwide to our team —with its undisputed expertise in luxury brand building — will further our progress globally."

While Publicis is headquartered in Paris, it has several offices in the U.S., including New York CIty.

"Geography is not a concern," said Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell. "This is about the best team suited to our brand building mission."

But it further loosens Cadillac's ties to Detroit. Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen is moving its marketing staff of about 100-person to a new headquarters in Manhattan in the spring. Product development will still be based at General Motors' Warren technical center outside Detroit.

De Nysschen, who is credited with reviving Audi's sales and also led Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand, has laid out a long-term strategy since taking charge in September to double Cadillac's models and double its global sales to 500,000 by 2020.

"De Nysschen is absolutely determined to break all old ties with Cadillac's previous marketing regimes and he wanted a New York ad agency to go with the brand's new marketing headquarters in Manhattan," said Peter De Lorenzo, a former advertising professional and publisher of the AutoExtremist blog.

"Short term it doesn't really look good at all, but de Nysschen's initial plan for the brand extends five years out, so he's counting on any hand wringing associated with these early moves to be distant memories by the time 2019 comes along."

Winning the Cadillac account in 2013 was a coup for Lowe Campbell Ewald, which was formed in 2013 through the combination of three agencies — Campbell Ewald, Lowe and Hill Holiday -- and moved to new headquarter in a renovated Detroit warehouse. Campbell Ewald had handled Chevrolet's advertising for 91 years before the brand moved its account in 2010 to Publicis.

Lowe Campbell Ewald spokeswoman Kelly Barnes said the company had not begun discussions about an impact on employment from losing the Cadillac account.

"Fortunately we have a diverse roster of more than 35 clients and a number of exciting new business opportunities in the works that will keep us plenty busy," Barnes said.

The agency's web site lists such clients as Dow, AT&T, the Detroit Lions, Consumers Energy, Edward Jones, OnStar and the U.S. Navy.