OTHER NEWS - April 29, 1992

Merger Keeps Ayer Agency Alive in L.A.: The long-struggling Los Angeles office of NW Ayer--known as Ayer Tuttle--merged with the 30-year-old Los Angeles ad firm Gumpertz/Bentley/Fried. The newly formed agency, GBF Ayer, will generally--but not entirely--operate independently of Ayer’s New York office. The merger, a last-ditch effort to keep Ayer’s name alive on the West Coast, is a further indication that the ad industry continues to suffer in Los Angeles during the ongoing industry recession. Industry executives expect more mergers. Ayer creates AT&T; ads nationally but locally has Doubletree Hotels as its only client.