DOES OVITZ MOVE TO MAGIC KINGDOM MEAN END FOR CAA AND COKE?

     The move of CAA founder Michael Ovitz to Disney "raises
doubts about the relationship between CAA and Coca-Cola,"
according to Robert Frank of the WALL STREET JOURNAL.  Many execs
at Coca-Cola say Ovitz was the "main reason" the company signed
CAA to do advertising, and many believe the "partnership's days
are numbered."  Frank reports the "relationship has been under
other strains for a while," as CAA is "looking less like a star
attraction than just another supporting player," and some say the
"quality of the ads has fallen."  CAA's role in Coca-Cola's
advertising has "eroded, not grown," and it is now one of 20 ad
companies handling the account.  Frank:  "One of the main forces
pushing CAA away from the center of Coke's ad stage is Sergio
Zyman, Coke's Chief Marketing Executive."   Zyman has "thrown
open" Coca-Cola's ad account to other agencies in "hopes of
getting bigger and better variety of creative work" (Robert
Frank, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/16).