The ad world is agog at the $56 million lawsuit filed by Steven Dworin against his erstwhile business partner and advertising superbrat, Donny Deutsch.
In the suit, Dworin alleges all sorts of foul and fetid foolishness on the part of Deutsch to attract and maintain business, including such gems as:
– using the excuse that his grandmother died to miss client meetings on several separate occasions
– improperly padding advertising production invoices (this is a biggie and could cause a major crisis if true)
– grossly exaggerating the size and capabilities of the agency up to, and including, the creation of totally false internal phone directories containing the names of fictitious employees (this tact brings back memories of my former firm which had gone through a series of downsizings and was a shell of its former self. To convince prospective clients otherwise, though, the CEO would have his admin place all sorts of folders and personal effects on empty desks to make it seem as if the "workers" were merely taking a break)
Dworin’s allegations go on and on, and mention Donny’s "…frequent trips to the lavatory, emerging with constant sniffing, and his subsequent incoherence in meetings." My favorite charge, though, has to be the quote from the agency’s then largest client, Steen Cantor, the president of Ikea, who Dworin quotes as saying he didn’t trust the agency because, "…Donny blows smoke up my ass, he is full of shit."
I’d have to believe Donny has his personal spinmeisters working 24×7 to combat Dworin’s attacks. But, what about his agency? How would you like to work at a place that’s accused of perpetrating so many heinous frauds? It would have to be demoralizing to say the least. And, what if you were a current Deutsch client? Might you think twice about reviewing that next invoice? I know I would.
I just hope my business partner, Ed, doesn’t decide to write a Dworin-type "kiss-and-tell" book one day. One thing’s for sure, though. I’m going to cut down on the number of men’s room visits I make during the day.
This stinks of sour grapes to me. While some of these allegations might be true, I wouldn’t be surprised if this lawsuit is being fueled, at least in part, by Steven Dworin’s jealousy over Donny’s rise to super fame.
Jimbo-
Are you still in the PR industry? I would have thought that your best seller- “Interns- Making the most of their skills” would have hit the Times best seller list and that you would be sittin on the beach by now..
Nevertheless, you are a talented PR Pro when you put your mind to it (for those 8 minutes a day)
RepMan, if Ed does in fact write a book, let’s just pray that he doesn’t dig up embarrassing photos from your past.
Check out this image of Donny boy that is making the rounds. Brutal…
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2005/04/you_may_have_he.html
Jimbo,
I don’t care why they ‘are doing Duestch.’ He gets good guests bottom line.
As the viewer, why would I care about how or why he gets his guests?
briz – I think you meant “Letterman.” and being the pr stud that you are, you should know that these “top-notch” guests are doing deutsch to fill their own agendas, not because they are huge fans of this goof-ball.
i-boy – i’ve retired the flip-flops, but they might make a comeback. it seems to me that peppercom has had great success since weeding out the fat (read: fabowitz).
Wow, its Briza and Jimbo back on the same page. Just like old times! Now all we need is a stairwell, a copy of the NY Post and flip-flops and it will be 2000 all over again!
Jimmy- it’s only 11:45- you getting in earlier these days?
Jimbo, I disagree. I like Donny’s pop-culture focused show. It’s very entertaining. What other talk show consistently attracts and covers top notch guests like the Donny Deutsch Show? Lederman? Leno?
Repman, great topic to discuss. I guess the bigger you or your firm gets the more vulnerable you become. Note, this is not a direct reference to Peppercom.
I-man,
When you post something to the public, some backfill (which you have plenty of) would be appreicated.
RepMan, a good blog and I look forward to reading the comments left here. Also, I can’t stand Deutsch’s show and hope he loses it soon. I guess Donny had TO on becuase they both try to do good by their grandmothers (whether they’re dead or alive).
Jimmy
Today’s post kinda makes you wonder how many current business partners can write such a book and ruin their partner’s lives. That was the impetus for me canning Barry…lord knows what he could write.