In the interim, agencies -- which include longtime lead creative
shop, WPP's Grey -- and marketing groups are reporting to existing
management. Currently E-Trade is in the midst of broad
cost-reduction campaign, reducing its overall expenses, a portion
of which is marketing. According to Kantar, E-Trade Financial Corp.
spent $248 million on domestic measured media in 2012. The company
wants to cut $30 million by 2014.
Grey remains the agency of record. Presumably the roster of
shops will remain intact until at least a new CMO is in place. Mr.
Utton was close both to Grey and the baby ads that have made
E-Trade a recognizable household name, and questions will
undoubtedly arise about the future of the stock-talking
toddlers.
Grey declined to comment on the departure of Mr. Utton.
E-Trade and the agency have weathered storms before. In 2010
Lindsay Lohan sued E-Trade alleging that the company insulted her in one of the ads. The
suit was later settled, and the marketer continued working with the
shop.
Mr. Utton has been one of the most high-profile CMOs in the
business world in recent years, in no small part due to the talking
babies, which have been a hit with consumers and a staple on TV.
The company has also repeatedly advertised in the Super Bowl.
Prior to his nine years with E-Trade, Mr. Utton's career
included stops at financial-services and consumer-packaged-goods
firms. He started out as an associate product manager at Unilever, and from there went on to
hold positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Cadbury Schweppes, Revlon International, MasterCard and JP
Morgan Chase before getting to E-Trade.