BEVERLY HILLS According to YAHOO! NEWS after a nearly 15-year union, it seems that Coke is taking steps to phase out its relationship with CAA. Brandweek reports on the beverage empire's diminishing love for the agency:
In recent years, however, the Coke/CAA relationship, like so many star-studded unions, began to fade, with the high costs of CAA’s retainer—at one time worth nearly $400,000 a month—rankling beverage execs at headquarters in Atlanta. Coke, which has been re-evaluating several vendor relationships in a bid to cut costs, is bringing more of its entertainment capabilities in-house as it continues to rebuild its once-vaunted marketing operations.
“Their relationship is not producing for them," said a source familiar with the move. “It seems that ‘Madison and Vine’ is not working as well as claimed. They more or less consulted to Coke, gave irrelevant advice, and were rarely listened to.”
Said another exec, “Their role has been reduced. People are getting wise to the fact that they’re getting paid a lot of money to set strategies and come up with a lot of ideas that aren’t executed.”
It's sad whenever a high-profile Hollywood partnership starts to cool; eventually, not even boozy remembrances of how CAA once cleverly decided to set up the suspiciously effeminate, curvy-bottled beverage with an up-and-coming starlet to mask its secret life cruising Santa Monica Boulevard for trannies. But now, with passions flagging, CAA can't even be bothered to follow through on its promises to burn down a Pepsi factory or circulate rumors that Snapple's Peach Iced Tea causes impotence.
