Global eBay Review Pits Incumbents WPP Against Publicis

American ecommerce company eBay has launched a review of its global media planning and buying responsibilities in an attempt to streamline that business, a spokesperson confirmed today. Its goal is to choose a single agency to handle this work around the world. “With eBay’s new markets organization, regional teams are working together more closely than…

Allergan Sends U.S. Media Account to Spark Foundry Following Review

Pharmaceutical company Allergan has concluded a review by selecting Spark Foundry as its U.S. media agency of record, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Adweek. According to one source, Spark Foundry will be tasked with media strategy and planning, content and analytics for the U.S. Allergan spent over $378 million on measured…

Wrangler Sends $40 Million Global Creative Account to Mother New York

Wrangler has named Mother New York as its global creative agency of record, following a review launched last fall. Sources close to the matter say the brand handled the review internally. Mother New York will be tasked with handling branding development and communications strategy development globally, spanning channels including broadcast, digital, OOH and print. The…

U.S. Army to Dissolve Marketing Division and Relocate Operations to Chicago

As its account moves from longtime AOR McCann to DDB, the U.S. Army will rebrand, relocate and reassign the division responsible for managing hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars spent on marketing and recruitment efforts each year. According to a letter sent to leaders of the Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve by Secretary…

Leo Burnett Wins Lead Creative Duties on Coors Light as Brand ‘Revamps Marketing Approach’

MillerCoors has ended a three-month review by choosing Leo Burnett to lead creative on top-selling brand Coors Light. According to a blog post and an email sent to the company’s distributors, operating managers and executives and contacts today on behalf of CMO Michelle St. Jacques, the Publicis agency will collaborate with other roster shops, including…

Ackerman McQueen Moves to Terminate 38-Year Contract With the NRA

An escalating legal fight between the National Rifle Association and Ackerman McQueen, its longtime partner in advertising, production and public relations, boiled over this week as the agency moved to terminate its contract with the gun rights group after nearly 40 years. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news this afternoon. This latest development…

AB InBev Follows the In-Housing Trend With Rollout of draftLine

The world’s largest brewer has gone all in on the in-house trend. AB InBev, the megalith behind Bud Light, Corona, Beck’s, Stella Artois and many more, has built up its own in-house agency called draftLine, which the company says it developed to be closer to the creative process. Although draftLine is not a new operation,…

Agencies Balk at ‘Insane’ Conditions of New General Mills RFPs

Consumer-packaged-goods giant General Mills is currently seeking new creative agencies to help promote its broad range of brands. But at least some of the shops that received a call to pitch have voiced displeasure with the conditions listed in the RFP. This follows GM’s recent decision to move away from the agency of record model,…

Disney Prepares to Review $1 Billion-Plus Global Media Business

Disney will soon begin a closed review of its entire global media planning and buying business. Several sources close to the matter told Adweek that the pitch, expected to kick off in the fall, will involve a series of incumbent agencies from four major holding companies, as well as independent network Horizon Media. The pitch…

PlayStation Consolidates Global Brand Strategy and Names adam&eveDDB Agency of Record

Sony has concluded a six-month review process and settled on a new overarching strategy to promote its PlayStation brand around the world. The gaming giant also chose adam&eveDDB, part of Omnicom’s DDB network, as global creative agency of record, following a hard-fought competition. International consultancy R3 oversaw the review. A spokesperson for R3 declined to…

CarMax Sends $100 Million Creative Account to The Martin Agency

CarMax has selected The Martin Agency as its creative agency of record, following a four-month review. Incumbent McKinney did not defend in the review process. Dentsu Aegis Network’s Vizeum handles CarMax’s media work, which was not part of the review. “Martin impressed us throughout the selection process with their passion for our brand, strong strategic…

McCann Beat Droga5 and CPB to Win Creative and Strategic AOR Duties for ADT

Security company ADT has selected McCann as its creative and strategic agency of record, following a review. Two parties with direct knowledge of the review confirmed that CPB and Droga5 were the other finalists and that media buying and planning duties were not part of the review. Doner and Horizon Media had been creative and…

Software Giant Intuit Is Seeking a New Global Creative Agency of Record

From Silicon Valley software maker Intuit comes the latest example of an increasingly rare event: a global creative agency of record review. According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the company issued an RFP earlier this month seeking a shop to handle work promoting its primary brand. Omnipresent advisory firm MediaLink is…

Peloton Launches Digital Review Ahead of Rumored IPO Filing

Peloton is looking for a new agency partner to help expand its increasingly profitable business, which has been described as a “cult” in the best sense of the word. According to parties with direct knowledge of the matter, the at-home fitness brand whose co-founder Tom Cortese served as a featured speaker at Adweek’s February Brandweek:…

NRA’s Longtime Ad Agency Disputes ‘False Claims’ in Lawsuit Over Millions in Billings

Last Friday, the National Rifle Associated sued advertising agency Ackerman McQueen over matters concerning the allocation of millions in fees for work on its business, stating that the agency has failed to comply with requests for related documents as part of an ongoing internal audit. Ackerman McQueen–which is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and has…

Healthcare Startup Oscar Seeks New Agency Partner After Hiring Old Navy CMO

Oscar Health, an insurance startup launched in the wake of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is shopping around for agencies. According to two parties with direct knowledge of the matter, the company recently issued an RFP for a competitive creative review. One indicated that it is a project-based pitch focused on further defining and raising…

Duracell Sends Global Creative Account to Wunderman Thompson

Duracell has selected Wunderman Thompson as its new global creative agency partner, concluding a four-month review process which included over 10 agencies. Wunderman Thompson will be tasked with leading creative for Duracell in all regions except North America, where Wieden + Kennedy has served as creative agency of record since October 2016. W+K remains creative…

OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Seeks New Ad Agency Partner

Purdue Pharma LLC, the company best known for producing and marketing such extended-release opioid painkillers as OxyContin, is looking for a new ad agency amid a wave of negative press and more than 1,600 state and federal lawsuits, the first of which was recently settled for more than $270 million. According to an email correspondence…

Brooks Running Hands Off Agency of Record Duties to Huge

Seattle-based Brooks Running has selected Huge as its integrated agency of record after a review. Austin, Texas, agency McGarrah Jessee was incumbent on the account and was invited to defend. “We are proud of the work we accomplished together during a period of record global growth for the company,” McGarrah Jessee marketing director Heather Snow…

Payless Still Hasn’t Paid the Agency Behind Its Viral ‘Palessi’ Stunt

It was a massive success for the Payless chain that led to millions of impressions–nearly all of them earned. It provided the best media hit for Payless since the struggling company emerged as a “rare bankruptcy survivor” several months earlier. It was also Adweek’s most popular story of 2018. Today, however, the agency behind the…