In these harsh economic times, stories abound about agencies going
to extraordinary lengths to grab business from their rivals. But the
word on the street is that D'Arcy's effort to lure the Hong Kong iMail
away from McCann-Erickson takes the cake. If ever there was to be an
awards category for "well-crafted but unrequested pitches", D'Arcy would
win hands down.
The Sing Tao-owned, English-language newspaper has been using McCann for
the past year and, apparently, there are no plans for an agency review
of any kind.
But out of the blue recently, D'Arcy copywriter Sam Cope planted himself
at the entrance of the publication's building in a bid to get some
attention from senior iMail managers.
Sandwiched between two boards, he carried a message from his
masters.
"We're keen to get our hands on your paper," a poster announced.
And just so that there is no misunderstanding about D'Arcy's intention,
the agency has also taken a full-page, full colour ad in the iMail to
mark the newspaper's first anniversary.
To underline D'Arcy's seriousness, the agency has even gone the extra
mile outside the bounds of advertising and come up with a medical
solution - a bottle of "D'Arcy pills for better circulation".
