That didn't take long. A week after a lurid lawsuit was filed against Gustavo Martinez, the Chief Executive Officer of J. Walter Thompson, he fell on his sword, resigning "by mutual agreement," the agency's parent, WPP, announced, "in the best interest of the J. Walter Thompson Company." The suit, filed in federal court in New York by the agency's Chief Communications Officer, Erin Johnson, painted a sordid picture of Martinez, alleging sexist, racist and anti-Semitic words and behavior along with a peculiar preoccupation with rape. It reminded me of the scene from "Blazing Saddles" when the villain is recruiting bad guys to attack the town of Rock Ridge. One thug, asked for his qualifications, replies, "Rape, murder, arson and rape." Told he'd said rape twice, he replies, "I like rape." The villain's response: "You'll do."
Stuart Elliott: What the @&$!#% Happened at J. Walter Thompson?
