Poynton to leave Ogilvy.

The story behind the dramatic departure of Ogilvy's executive creative director.

Malcolm Poynton was in New York on a shoot for DHL when his departure was suddenly announced to Ogilvy Advertising staff in a meeting on Friday afternoon.

Guy Lambert, the Ogilvy Advertising managing director, used the all-staff meeting to reveal that Poynton's executive creative director role is being scrapped, and that the creative department will now be led by the four existing creative partners: Greg Burke; Will Awdry; Alasdair Graham; and Dennis Lewis. They will report to Lambert.

The four will continue to take responsibility for certain accounts, including Dove, Ford, Motorola and American Express. Creative teams will, however, work across different accounts and clients.

At Friday's meeting, Lambert also treated the agency to a video montage featuring Madonna, which was intended to demonstrate, in the words of one of those present, 'that you can be big and old, but still reinvent yourself'.

Lambert also unveiled a number of initiatives, including 'free-thinking Fridays' (which has already been dubbed 'freaky Fridays' by Ogilvy staff), to allow creatives to spend time together out of the office and help them come up with new ideas.

Ogilvy and Poynton are still in negotiations over the terms of his exit. As a result, Lambert was unable to explain the circumstances of his departure to staff at Friday's meeting. Poynton himself remains employed by Ogilvy for the time being, and is expected to return to his office until legal issues have been resolved.