Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Greater China TB Song has blasted his company as “lazy”, “arrogant” and “out of touch” in a damning document circulated throughout the agency and obtained by Media.
In the letter, Song lays out the causes of the team’s “collective failure” which includes Ogilvy China’s inability to meet its fiscal targets.
“We must be also aware that we have already become too lazy and proud and have been resting on our laurels and enjoying our good reputation,” the letter reads.
“We considered ourselves infallible and even arrogantly believed that we could engage consumers without actually understanding them. This has destroyed the Ogilvy brand and David Ogilvy’s vision: ‘We sell or else!’”
According to Song, the letter was circulated to MOTIVATE THE AGENCY’S STAFF TO DO BETTER IN 2009!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
I bet everyone in the O&M Beijing office is over-the-moon they’re getting blamed for the agencies shit performance when the majority of them earn approx 1% of what the Chairman probably spends on lunch each day!
And I find it especially amusing he calls his staff ‘lazy’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘out of touch’ when as a network, they embody and celebrate all those characteristics on an almost daily basis.
Saying that, I respect Ogilvy – especially in Asia where they’re an amazing machine – but it cannot be denied that they’ve been going abit mental recently …
First they have a regional HR Director [now ex!] who gets bored when colleagues come and see him because they’re upset, then they have an office that does all they can to destroy the good name of their founder and now they have a Chairman who likes to blamestorm his own shortcomings.
Maybe they think this is the way to get to Sorrell’s dinner table, but everybody knows the secret is to just be 2 feet 3” tall.
Before I go, I found this video [thanks Ang!] of a mate of mine, Calvin …
I always thought he was the regional creative director of Publicis, but having seen this, it would seem he really has been working undercover as Ogilvy China’s ‘enforcer’.