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By Alexandra Bruell 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (July 25, 2019).

WPP PLC's Ogilvy won't quit working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the advertising agency said in an internal memo responding to backlash over the account.

"Some of you feel strongly that we should stop working for CBP," Ogilvy Chief Executive John Seifert said to employees in the memo, sent this afternoon. "While I do understand and appreciate this point of view, I have concluded that our work for CBP is genuinely intended to improve the quality of this government agency's public services. And we should continue to do all we can to support this objective."

The agency's relationship with CBP has generated criticism from some employees and advocates since it became public late last month. At least one client also has expressed concerns, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The CBP has been one of the agencies charged with responding to the flow of adults and children into the U.S. from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and has come under fire for dire conditions in the facilities that hold them.

In his memo, Mr. Seifert described the agency's CBP work as limited. "Our assignment focuses exclusively on hiring better and more diverse applicants across the CBP organization; it does not include any work related to CBP detention operations," he wrote.

He also positioned the account as part of an important portfolio of government assignments in the agency's Washington, D.C., office. "This practice is an important part of the broader work Ogilvy has done with governments and municipalities since our founding: engaging with people, businesses, and public sector organizations around a range of societal issues -- from public health emergencies and public safety to volunteerism, tourism, and beyond," he wrote.

The memo follows a meeting between Mr. Seifert and employees on July 9. "I've worked here for nine years and I've never not been proud until Monday to come to work," one employee told him during that meeting, according to a transcript published by BuzzFeed News.

Mr. Seifert said during the meeting that he could relate to concerned employees on a personal level, describing the human situation at the southern border as "horrific" and "abhorrent," according to the transcript. He also told employees that his first wife was Mexican-American, and both of his sons are 50% Mexican, according to the transcript.

CBP said it hired Ogilvy to facilitate the development and introduction of a "new recruitment brand" to help the agency meet pressing recruiting demands.

"This contract was structured so the new recruitment brand and marketing program would be developed as efficiently as possible while still resonating with qualified recruits, ultimately increasing applications for CBP front-line careers," a CBP spokeswoman said in a statement.

Ogilvy's CBP contract is valued at more than $12 million, but is expected to generate only around $1 million in annual fees for the agency, according to the person familiar with the matter. The remainder is allocated to costs such as production and research.

News of the shop's relationship with CBP began spreading online after a report on the website Sludge included Ogilvy on the ad firm's list of its contractors. Employee unease and one staffer's email exchange with Mr. Seifert was reported by Adweek. The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, also known as Raices, a Texas-based nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants, criticized Ogilvy for work it described as "state propaganda."

Ad agencies often weigh whether to take on business that employees or clients might consider controversial. But agencies don't always turn away from lucrative -- and potentially polarizing -- accounts.

In the transcript of his meeting, Mr. Seifert told employees that Ogilvy has supported BP PLC through the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and worked for clients which included tobacco companies and Coca-Cola Co., which produces sugary drinks that some blame for rising levels of obesity.

"There's almost no client who walks a perfect line of doing nothing but good for the world. So we make this choice every day," he said.

Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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