Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, November 3, 2022: The Richards Group, an American advertising agency (#1690)

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Artist of the Day, November 3, 2022: The Richards Group, an American advertising agency (#1690)

The Richards Group is an American advertising agency. It is the largest independently-owned agency in the country. Working with founder Stan Richards, there are 35 creative group heads.

The Richards Group, which according to the Dallas Business Journal has 688 employees and $210 million in annual revenue, ironically had vaulted to national prominence because of its “We’ll leave the light on for you” slogan for Motel 6, coined in 1986 by the folksy spokesman Tom Bodett, who ad-libbed the line during the first recording session for the radio campaign. Other red-letter campaigns created by the agency over the years were Chick-fil-A’s iconic cows, which included the line “Eat Mor Chikin,” and Corona beer’s “couples on the beach” spots. The agency’s clients have also included Hobby Lobby, Ram Trucks, and the Salvation Army.

In October 2020, following racist comments about an advertising campaign idea made by the agency's founder, Stan Richards, the company lost two of its longtime clients, Motel 6 (34 years) and Home Depot (25 years); other clients also decided to leave the firm, including Keurig Dr Pepper, the brewers of Shiner Bock beer and grocery chain H-E-B. Richards (who had recently delegated most day-to-day management of the firm to his senior creative directors as part of a previously announced succession plan[5]) resigned from the firm soon thereafter.

Based in Dallas, Texas, The Richards Group reports annual billings above $1 billion. Memorable work includes the Chick-fil-A Cows ("Eat Mor Chikin"), and the Motel 6 campaign featuring Tom Bodett.

Major clients include or have included Fruit of the Loom, The Home Depot, Sub-Zero/Wolf, and Zales. The agency handles advertising, public relations, and promotions for dozens of clients nationwide, in addition to sports/entertainment marketing for colleges and universities.

The Richards Group is associated by common ownership with Houston advertising agency Richards/Carlberg. In 2014, a $10 million fundraising campaign was completed to rededicate the advertising and public relations department at the University of Texas at Austin, naming it the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations. The university released a statement after Richards' 2020 comments and resignation from the firm condemning the incident.

1953: Stan Richards begins doing freelance design work in Dallas.
1976: Company becomes a full-service advertising agency.
1986: Motel 6 is signed as a client.
2016:The Richards Group takes AOR (agency of record) for Blue Bell Creameries.
2018: Dish Network selects The Richards Group as its new creative agency of record.
2020: Richards Group Fired by Motel 6 Over Racist Remark by Agency Founder
2020: Home Depot Breaks With Richards Group Following Founder's Racist Remarks
2020: H-E-B severs ties amid reports of racist comments by its CEO.
2020: Stan Richards resigns from The Richards Group.

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