AMERICAN EXPRESS ADDS AGENCY
By Adnews Staff
U.S.-based American Express has hired Young & Rubicam of New York to do broadcast and print advertising for its Financial Advisors and Financial Services Direct units. Wunderman Cato Johnson, a division of Y&R which already handles several American Express direct marketing assignments, will do the same for the two financial divisions. The Financial Advisors unit offers consumers financial planning and sells products such as mutual funds and annuities. The Financial Services Direct division is new. American Express officials were unavailable yesterday to comment on how Canadian ad assignments would be affected. Y&R's managing director in Toronto, Serge Rancourt, said he had not yet been advised. The Financial Advisory account was previously with New York-based Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, which has handled American Express travel-related advertising for many years. O&M's Toronto office takes care of the Canadian end of Amex advertising. O&M created a TV commercial last year for the advisory unit which ran for 10 weeks in the U.S.