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George Patterson Y&R (GPYR) is an Australasian advertising agency with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Auckland. The agency was formed in 2005 when the international advertising holding conglomerate WPP Group acquired the Australian marketing communications company, The Communications Group (TCG).
Merged businesses
TCG's primary advertising asset was the George Patterson agency which had dominated the Australian advertising market throughout the 2nd half of the 20th century. Known as "Patts" in the industry, the business had been George Patterson Advertising from its formation in 1934 when George Patterson demerged the Sydney & Melbourne business he had started in 1918 from Catts-Patterson; George Patterson Bates from the 1990s, when the agency's long-standing Asian affiliation with Bates Worldwide was formalised with an acquisition by Bates, then one of the two worldwide network holdings of Saatchi & Saatchi PLC; and George Patterson Partners at the time of the WPP acquisition, having been primed for sale under that name by the TCG management-buyout group since 2003.
WPP merged the Australian offices of its worldwide Young & Rubicam brand with George Patterson. WPP had acquired the worldwide Young & Rubicam brand in 2000.
Leadership
George Patterson Y&R offices operated with a system of local office CEOs for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Auckland until June 2009 when Russel Howcroft was appointed national CEO. Howcroft is known to Australian television audiences for his regular appearances on The Gruen Transfer. In mid-2010 Howcroft was promoted to CEO Y&R Brands Aust & NZ giving him a responsibility including some other Australasian WPP owned businesses.
Controversy
The agency attracted controversy after it was won a contract to "clean up" the social media policy of the Australian Defence Force. As well as criticising the decision not to relegate the task to the Government, a law firm or risk management consultant, The Advertiser reported that "Senior staff at the advertising agency promote degrading images of women and post bizarre messages on their social networking accounts." The social networking accounts, which can be accessed from the firm's home page, refer to Prime Minister Julia Gillard as a lesbian, feature guides on topics such as "acceptable stalking" and making your own sex toys. CEO Russell Howcroft admits to being a member of Facebook groups such as the "Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciation Society". Other staff members can be seen drunk, in simulated sex acts and tweeting statements such as ""Where can I buy a Kate Middleton blow-up doll?". A spokesperson for George Patterson Y&R stated: "We do not believe that this material is in any way relevant to an assessment of the nature or quality of the professional services that GPY&R provides." The story was picked up by most major Australian newspapers.
References
- http://www.bandt.com.au/articles/65/0C036165.asp
- McPhedran, Ian (May 21, 2011). "Defence review team's sex controversy". The Advertiser. Retrieved May 20, 2011.