Romance on the Rocks

When General Motors' Buick Division plucked its $20 million account from the hands of Manhattan's Kudner Agency after 22 years of going steady (TIME, Jan. 6), Madison Avenue buzzed that

Kudner might soon have to return every token of its romance with G.M. Kudner hoped not. Though the agency lost nearly a third of its billings with Buick's departure, it still had hopes of holding on to its remaining General Motors' accounts (which made up nearly 40% of billings), immediately announced a change in top command. Last week Kudner knew the worst--all reconciliation had failed. Out went two more G.M. accounts, Frigidaire and the G.M.C. Truck and Coach Division, billing about $9,000,000 a year.

G.M.'s gradual departure from Kudner was due in part to dissatisfaction with the agency's recent handling of G.M. accounts. Yet some Detroiters attributed the falling-out to the very closeness of their long relationship. As they told it, the longtime friendship between former Kudner President J. H. S. Ellis and G.M.

President Harlow Curtice irritated G.M. division heads, who had to grin and bear it as Ellis went over their heads to Curtice with his problems. When Kudner fell into disfavor with Buick, other division heads called an open season on the agency, aware that Curtice, who is scheduled to retire next year, would be hard pressed to defend it. As of last week, Kudner had only four small G.M. accounts worth some $6.000,000 left--Fisher Body, Allison Engine, Cleveland Diesel, Detroit Diesel. Madison Avenue was taking bets on which would be the next to go, and who would pick up Frigidaire and G.M.C. Truck. One leading possibility: McCann-Erickson, which gave up Chrysler to take over Buick. is anxious for a crack at the rest of G.M.'s big business--though it would have to give up its Westinghouse account to take on rival Frigidaire.

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