Hill Holliday wins Hyatt account

Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos emerged the winner Thursday inthe hard-fought battle for the $15 million Hyatt Hotels Corp.advertising account.

The Boston and New York-based agency takes over from J. WalterThompson U.S.A., Chicago. JWT originally had been included in theaccount review, but withdrew when management realized the odds werestrongly against its retaining the account.

Tatham-Laird & Kudner, Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam onthe local front and Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, were the otheragencies in the competition, and each considered the win importantbecause of the prestige and visibility connected with the hotelchain's advertising.

JWT's most recent campaign for Hyatt, "Faraway Places,"spotlighted the exotic locales of Hyatt resorts.

Hill Holliday, with about $265 million in billings before theHyatt win, has been attracting attention and awards for its campaignsfor clients, including John Hancock Cos. financial services and WangLaboratories computer systems. `MOLLY MC BUTTER' TO BBDO CHICAGO

BBDO Chicago has added the $3 million Alberto-Culver productMolly McButter, which will be introduced later this year.

Grey Chicago, still the primary Alberto-Culver ad agency,originally was working on the upcoming product, because neitherAlberto nor the agency considered it to be a conflict with theadvertising for real butter, which the New York office handles onbehalf of the National Dairy Research Board.

Alberto does not look at Molly McButter as a butter substitute,especially because it contains real butter, a company executive said.The new product is positioned as a condiment, and it will be sold, asis its Mrs. Dash product, in the seasonings section of thesupermarket.

According to an Alberto executive, the account switch was madeto avoid the controversy of the perception of a conflict with thereal-butter business. BBDO earlier this year got its firstAlberto-Culver assignments. FCB EARNINGS UP IN QUARTER, HALF

Foote, Cone & Belding Communications, Chicago, reported anearnings increase of 9 percent in the second quarter and 6 percentfor the first half of this year.

For the quarter ended June 30, net income was $5.7 million,compared with $5.2 million last year, on revenues of $85.4 million,an increase of 3.9 percent.

For the first six months, net income was $7.7 million, or $1.85per share, compared with $7.2 million, or $1.74 per share.

First-half revenues declined 1 percent due to divestitures ofthree operating units late in 1986, which accounted for 8 percent ofthe company's revenue base.

Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Norman Brown said,"we are generally pleased with our financial performance during thefirst six months, but we continue to step up our program to moretightly control expenses."

Despite new business wins, FCB's Chicago office earlier thisyear experienced a 4 percent staff reduction. JWT EXEC'S STORMY TENURE MAY END

The stormy tenure of JWT/Chicago's Executive Vice President andGeneral Manager Don Sullivan may be coming to an end, sources say.Sullivan, who is on vacation until late this month in a remoteMontana location, is likely to return to a different job.

Steve Bowen, who heads the ad agency's U.S. operation, said thatwhile it is "not true" that Sullivan will not be returning to JWT, hewould not comment on whether Sullivan would be keeping his currenttitle.

With the new management team, including Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer Burt Manning in the WPP-owned J. Walter ThompsonCo., Bowen said, "there will be some changes in a variety of places."

Nancy Millman writes Monday through Friday.