KEY POINTS:
The relationship between Hell Pizza's new owners and Hell's long-time ad agency, Cinderella Marketing, has hit rock bottom.
Cinderella co-owner Matt Blomfield owns 10 Hell franchises, but has asked Hell to buy him out after falling out over advertising for the brand.
Cinderella walked out on the ad contract with Hell owner and Burger King operator Tasman Pacific Foods two weeks ago.
But Tasman said it signalled six months ago that it would be reviewing the account.
Cinderella's exit followed tensions over its controversial ad campaigns for Hell and Tasman's moves to tone it down.
This week Cinderella's Blomfield said he had notified Tasman he wasn't confident in the new, more conservative marketing approach and offered to sell the 10 Hell franchises he owns personally.
Tasman says it is considering its next move.
Cinderella's guerrilla-style marketing promotions - including a condom letterbox drop depicting Hitler and a brazen magazine called Hell-o - are credited with making the brand stand out from bigger fast food competitors.
There is an old saying that all publicity is good publicity, but this relationship appears to have been doomed.
In fact, relations between Cinderella and Tasman have gone to hell, so to speak.
Emails from Hell co-owner Mark Backhaus and his wife Linda to Blomfield show that the brewing problems had turned into a horror show.
Backhaus said in a July email that he was ashamed of the Hell brand and his family had boycotted its pizzas.
And in an email sent on July 18, Linda Backhaus wrote to Blomfield: "I am shocked and appalled at the disgusting magazine you have produced, as are many other decent, hard-working family members. We, too, have bought this pizza before, but will support the boycott by Family First.
"The store's decor, their menu names and aspects of the pizza restaurant are deplorable. There is no need for a restaurant to publish a magazine, let alone one of this calibre. Our dollars count and we don't want you to think that your 'little joke' of a magazine will bring in pizza dollars. Instead, it will backfire!"
Family First had complained the magazine featured tongue in cheek articles on bestiality, a "world exclusive" interview with the stingray that killed Steve Irwin and "provocative pictures" of Nicky Watson.
Blomfield replied to the email next day, apparently unaware that he was communicating with the wife of Hell brand's co-owner, and his client.
"None of us have any interest in producing soft-porn or indeed producing anything that we wouldn't stand behind with some pride in what we have achieved," he wrote.
"You are, of course, entitled to your views and I'm sure that no one is going to convince you that your righteous indignation is perhaps better directed at some of the more genuinely offensive things in our community, like parking wardens, local government politicians and giant billboards featuring Daniel Carter's undies."
Later that day, Mark Backhaus wrote to Blomfield: "I agree with my wife Linda who you have been in communication with.
"The magazine does not work for me and I am ashamed to be associated with this brand. I would also like to ask you to pull this magazine. I was led to believe that this magazine had been approved by [Hell brand manager] Keith Young prior to publishing, which was not done. I was told you were going to indemnify me for losses associated with this advertising. Please send me this in writing asap so I can forward to my lawyers."
Blomfield rejected a suggestion that the "out there" marketing approach was limiting Hell to being a niche brand, saying that high impact adverting had worked for corporate brands like Virgin.
Tasman is far from being a conservative advertiser - it backed the Burger King bikini girl ads that drew a lot of flak and were banned by regulators.
Burger King's ad agency, Y & R Advertising, is filling in on the Hell account, and Tasman Pacific Foods is putting the account out to pitch.
Farewell
Ad agencies dumping a client is rare.
Back in the early 1990s, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington famously dumped a client that did not fit its corporate image.
The client was Land Transport Safety Authority, which has since become a cornerstone account for Clemenger BBDO and has been famously amenable to brave creative campaigns that have scooped numerous awards.
Dumping the LTSA made sense at the time, but in hindsight it came to represent what happens when an ad agency gets too big for its boots.
Colenso BBDO considered losing SkyCity as its client by putting itself forward for the Lotteries Commission ad account. But it worked hard to hold on to SkyCity, for the meantime at least, which is handy because it did not get Lotto.
SkyCity - which has a reputation around the ad business as a demanding client - felt the casino and lottery operations were competing business, and Colenso could not have marketing secrets for both.
SkyCity stuck in there - but amid the company's numerous upheavals it is putting the ad account out to pitch.
Letter from London
Speaking of SkyCity, former chief Evan Davies has laid low after leaving the top job in June, but has been spotted looking rather cheerful at parties for the Great and Good over the past couple of weeks.
However, it is understood there are still some unresolved issues with his former employers over holiday pay.
Meantime, Davies' temporary replacement, Elmar Toime, has apparently taken to writing the occasional newsletter to senior staff when he's in town - and not at his London base - to try to raise morale.
After the last one was sent out a week ago, he followed it up with an anxious note asking "Is there anyone out there?"
One insider said the few remaining senior execs, in what is increasingly like a ghost town, joked that if they responded he might remember they were there and promptly send them packing.
The latest exec to leave SkyCity is Kevin Brewer, who has been overseeing the Adelaide casino for the past year. Brewer introduced extra thrills to the Sky Tower by bringing in the bungy jump, so he has a special take on life at SkyCity.
K-K-K-K Kathmandu
Retail advertising agency Colenso.99 has continued its stellar run, winning the advertising account for outdoors company Kathmandu.
The business - which has been held by Christchurch-based Strategy - is understood to be worth around $5 million. Colenso won the three-way pitch against Y & R and Ogilvy.
Kathmandu had been privately owned but under new owners - a private equity fund managed by Goldman Sachs JBWere - it is pushing its advertising profile more heavily in New Zealand, in Australia and in Britain.
It is understood that the contract is very focused on sales but, as you would expect, it incorporates a high degree of promotion for the brand.
The win is the latest in a long line of successes for Colenso.99 , the retail side of the agency that was formed just four years ago.
Pantene moments
To paraphrase Rachel Hunter, with regard to this column's TV predictions, they might not happen overnight, but they will happen soon.
Michael Wilson has resigned from TVNZ's ASB Business and he will announce soon he is joining TV3's Sunrise - as this column last week said he would.
Meanwhile, Neil Waka is moving to the new 4.30pm bulletin. His departure as sports presenter on One News will occur - probably around the time high-octane presenter Tony Veitch gets back from reporting on the Rugby World Cup.
