Mullen Advertising

BMW Selects Two Agencies: BMW of North America said it will split its estimated $80-million advertising account between two agencies. Mullen Advertising, a small agency north of Boston that already creates ads for Rolls-Royce, will also create BMW's advertising, while DeWitt Media of New York will handle buying. Both jobs had previously been handled by Ammirati & Puris, which abruptly quit last October after learning the importer was inviting other agencies to compete for its ad business.

BMW Selects Two Agencies: BMW of North America said it will split its estimated $80-million advertising account between two agencies. Mullen Advertising, a small agency north of Boston that already creates ads for Rolls-Royce, will also create BMW's advertising, while DeWitt Media of New York will handle buying. Both jobs had previously been handled by Ammirati & Puris, which abruptly quit last October after learning the importer was inviting other agencies to compete for its ad business.

James W. Dolan has been named vice president of finance for MAI Systems Corp. in Irvine. Dolan had been with KPMG LLP from 1985 to 1999, most recently as senior manager, Los Angeles and Orange County. Dolan has also served as KPMG's senior audit manager to MAI. Mark H. Patton is the new president and chief operating officer of Troy Systems International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Troy Group Inc. He succeeds Robert S.

Advertisers are spending an average of $1.6 million for 30 seconds of commercial time in the 1999 Super Bowl, the most-watched event in any year. Anheuser-Busch is the king of Super Bowl spending for the second year running, with nine commercials in the Big Game. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl spot has grown 142% from $659,000 in 1990, making the professional football championship the costliest advertising showcase.

Success in advertising usually means getting people to part with their hard-earned cash. Ray DeThorne's success is measured by how many people he can get to let go of their sons and daughters. As brand manager for the Army's advertising account at Leo Burnett Inc., a Chicago ad agency, DeThorne's job is to sell the Army. And these days, it's a difficult product to sell. In marketing terms, the Army is a troubled brand.

Our 21st century man, Tyler, decides to watch a little television. Turning on his wide-screen set, he encounters a menu of options recorded by his personal video recorder: episodes of "Friends"; a few Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, in keeping with his taste for thickly accented action fare; and some new shows he might like based on past choices.