Problems1

TO: All Employees
FROM: [Name]
SUBJECT: Change to Advertising Campaign

This is to advise you that we may be changing certain elements of our advertising campaign due to news we have just received about [product].

Retailers have been experiencing a higher than normal return rate on [product] due to unexpected breakage or other performance problems after even minimal in-home consumer use. We will therefore be ceasing all advertising support immediately so that we can test the product ourselves and, if necessary, redesign or reformulate it. If necessary, advertising will be revised to reflect any product changes we make, and we will then resume our media schedule as originally planned.

Marketing has directed the ad agency to immediately cancel all current media and will provide the agency with product revision updates that might affect the creative work once QA has completed testing. We will keep you informed on our progress in this area and will let you know when we expect revised advertising to be ready for air/publication.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

[BL]* It is usually wiser to be candid--and brief--about product problems. Touch on the issue quickly and move on to the resulting changes in communication that must be addressed.
* Let the reader know when advertising will be pulled and when you expect it to be revised and resumed.