13766: Mickey D’s Magnificent Seven.

Advertising Age reported Mickey D’s has reduced its roster of local advertising agencies from about 60 to a mere seven. Four of the finalists are White advertising agencies that have already been servicing the fast feeder, and at least one shop in the quartet boasts multicultural capabilities. The three newcomers offer a host of questionable skills, with Doner featuring a multicultural division, Lopez Negrete being a Latino agency and the ever-awful Zimmerman being a sister agency of We Are Unlimited—as well as a resident in the Omnicom stable of jackasses. Mickey D’s Founder Ray Kroc insisted, “We have an obligation to give something back to the community that gives so much to us.” Okay, but the Magnificent Seven hardly reflect the communities that the burger joint serves.

Seven Agency Groups Make the Cut for McDonald’s Local Advertising

By Jessica Wohl

McDonald’s and its franchisees have picked seven agency groups to handle local advertising for the chain across the United States, Ad Age has learned.

Previously, about 60 agencies handled local advertising for nearly 200 cooperative groups across the country. Now it appears that just seven agencies will handle the load going forward. They’ll be working with a smaller number of co-ops, perhaps fewer than 100, as McDonald’s adjusts the composition of its regional groups nationwide.

According to multiple sources familiar with the pitch process, McDonald’s appears to have selected seven groups to be certified as agencies that can work with the co-ops. Bernstein-Rein and Fahlgren, which each worked with McDonald’s co-ops in the past, are collaborating as a team. So are two other incumbents, Moroch and Stern. Davis Elen and H&L are two other incumbents that have been selected, sources said. And it appears three newcomers are set to join the roster: Doner, Lopez Negrete and Zimmerman.

McDonald’s declined to comment. The agencies involved either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, dozens of agencies that have had relationships with McDonald’s co-ops are going to soon lose that business. The media side of those local accounts, which was often handled by the local agencies, has already been moved to Omnicom’s OMD. Omnicom is also home to McDonald’s national creative agency, We Are Unlimited, which was formed after a separate pitch process last year.

The pitch process is still ongoing for the certified agency groups, which must now present to co-ops to try to win their business.