Ad Agency Drops Waldheim, Cites Nazi Allegations
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NEW YORK — The Austrian office of the world’s largest advertising agency canceled its contract with former U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim because of allegations he is a Nazi war criminal, officials said today.
Young & Rubicam--a Manhattan-based firm with many Jewish clients--on Tuesday canceled the contract to provide political advertising for Waldheim’s race for president of Austria, said Mark Stroock, an agency senior vice president.
The cancellation came one day after the World Jewish Congress released additional documents claiming to support earlier allegations that Waldheim was a senior officer on the staff of a Nazi war criminal during World War II.
The New York Daily News reported today that agency officials were stunned when the Waldheim scandal blossomed last month. “The brass went bananas. Especially since many of their major clients are Jewish,” the paper quoted an unnamed advertising agency executive as saying.
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