Wal-Mart vs. Julie Roehm: Battle Grows More Sordid
March 20, 2007

The Wal-Mart situation involving former Chrysler marketing executive Julie Roehm, dismissed from the giant retailer, gets more sordid by the minute. It makes the controversy surrounding her at Chrysler look tame by comparison.

In court documents filed Monday, Wal-Mart accused Roehm and another top marketing executive (who was fired from the retailer) with having an affair while they were selecting new advertising agencies and seeking jobs from the agency they ultimately recommended to represent Wal-Mart, according to The New York Times.

Wal-Mart accused Julie Roehm and her colleague Sean Womack of extending their visits with Draft FCB, an ad agency being considered for Wal-Mart, to spend more personal time together and to promote themselves to the agency as job candidates. The New York Times published lusty emails allegedly sent by Roehm to Womack, whose wife provided them to Wal-Mart as part of the lawsuit. Roehm and Womack now work together as marketing consultants.

Roehm denied the affair and job discussions with Draft FCB to the newspaper. Roehm is suing Wal-Mart for giving no valid reason for her ouster and owing her money under her contract.

Roehm was embroiled in controversy of a different sort at Chrysler. She signed the Dodge division as a sponsor for the Lingerie Bowl, a football game played by scantily clad women. The ensuing furor prompted Dodge to withdraw from the Lingerie Bowl. But a month later, Roehm made Dodge a sponsor for a Super Bowl party hosted by British laddie magazine, Maxim. The event reportedly had women dressed in feline attire and towed in cages by Dodge vehicles.

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:32 AM under Chrysler , News , Personalities , Rumors | Comments (1) | digg this | Seed Newsvine