Swedish duo end DDB marriage for solo assignment

BANGKOK: Swedish advertising veterans Ron Spaulding and Thorleif Hawi are back in the brand building business after a brief hiatus, with a new agency Spaulding & Co, but without the burden of shareholders or investing partners. The two Swedes found local fame when their award-winning firm Spaulding & Hawi was acquired by DDB in 1997, just four years after it was founded. Back in 1998, at the helm of Spaulding & Hawi DDB, they signed on Ethiopian Airlines, Thailand's first global account. The DDB marriage came to a "happy divorce" when both executives retired last year. "We decided to retire. Then we decided to start all over again," said Spaulding. The agency was launched with just 15 staff and, according to the pair, is already in the black. Besides Ethiopian Airlines - which they took with DDB's blessing - the agency has signed several new deals, including Scandinavian Airlines' regional account. The pair claimed that the agility of the small agency enabled the team, with Spaulding as art director and Hawi as copywriter, to offer quicker turnarounds at competitive rates, while still concentrating on creative quality. "We wanted a different situation, we wanted to be able to work with clients who like the way we are, who choose what we are and what we stand for," said Spaulding.

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