Commenting on eBay’s recent firing of agency Goodby Silverstein, eBay spokesman Chris Donlay said, “Our policy is not to comment on vendor relations,” to which we ask “why the fuck not?” Sidestepping the nasty habit of clients disrespecting agencies by calling them “vendors” versus business consultants for now, what is so crucial about an agency/client relationship that’s so important it must be hidden from the rest of the industry. It’s not like we’re talking about national security secrets here. Haven’t we all had enough of this bland, say nothing PR bullshit? Yes, we thought you’d say yes.
Is it asking too much for companies to at least come up with statements of interest like, oh, “We fired the agency because the account director is a self-important, pompous wind bag” or “We dumped that client because they are clearly clueless when it comes to effective advertising” or “The fuckers think the Internet ‘isn’t there yet’ as a medium.” Come on, a little honesty, inventiveness and effort would make all our lives more exciting. Please, PR, give it a try.
