Cadillac Narrows List Of Ad Agency Candidates To 6

DAN STRUMPF

NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors Co. said Thursday it narrowed down its list of candidates to handle advertising for Cadillac to six agencies, a month after announcing it was dumping the luxury brand's longtime ad partner.

The Detroit automaker said it will hold visits with the candidates in Detroit before Thanksgiving, with finalists making presentations to company executives in January. Cadillac spokesman Nick Twork declined to comment on whether the company has a deadline for making a final pick.

The agencies on the short list are: BBH in New York, DDB in Chicago, Gotham in New York, Richmond, Va.-based The Martin Agency, McKinney in Durham, N.C., and Publicis in New York.

Twork declined to say why GM has short-listed those firms.

GM announced in early October was ending its partnership with the boutique agency Modernista!, ending its nine-year partnership with the Boston firm.

Modernista! was the brains behind some well-known Cadillac ads, including several attention-grabbing spots for the Cadillac CTS starring actress Kate Walsh. The company, a boutique firm with about 130 employees, also had done ads for GM's Hummer brand. Hummer is being sold and its partnership with the firm ends in the winter.