16207: Wendy Clark Makes Like The Energizer Bunny.

 

Campaign reported former Dentsu International Global CEO Wendy Clark landed a new role at Consello, a financial services advisory firm whose not-very-diverse leadership includes NFL icon Tom Brady. Given how Clark managed to orchestrate corporate restructuring at Dentsu that eliminated her own position—and concocted the short-lived We Are Unlimited experiment—it will be interesting to see her provide sage financial advice to Consello clientele. Clearly, her hucksterism is intact.

 

Wendy Clark lands at financial services advisory firm Consello

 

By Sabrina Sanchez

 

Former Dentsu International global CEO Wendy Clark has started a new role as partner at financial services advisory firm Consello, the company announced on Monday.

 

She joins the firm after departing from Dentsu in September in a company-wide restructuring that led to the elimination of her role in a bid to further integrate Dentsu’s international operations with its headquarters in Japan.

 

In November, Dentsu consolidated its Japanese and global leadership teams under Hiroshi Igarashi.

 

“Having had the privilege of leading two different companies, and working on both the client and advisory sides of the business, has given me some unique insight and perspective that I look forward to leveraging on behalf of Consello and its clients,” Clark said in a press statement. “I am thrilled to begin this next chapter in my career journey.”

 

The news comes just a week after Dentsu also parted ways with global chief creative officer Fred Levron, a key player, alongside Clark, in consolidating Dentsu’s creative capabilities under the Dentsu Creative banner.

 

Moving to a financial advisory firm is an unexpected move from Clark, who is a prominent figure within the ad industry. Prior to her role at Dentsu, Clark also served as a marketing executive at Coca-Cola and CEO at DDB Worldwide.

 

Consello lists its services as investment, M&A advisory and investment banking, growth and business development and digital assets advisory. It does not list clients on its website.

 

In addition to the Consello role, Clark sits on the board of luxury jewelry brand David Yurman. Details of her responsibilities were not immediately shared.

 

Consello did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

15247: Impressive Implosions—Past, Present And Future.

For its Year in Review content, Advertising Age awarded “The biggest agency implosion of 2020” honors to The Richards Group—opening by declaring, “It was arguably the swiftest downfall of an agency in history.” Seems like Ad Age is overreacting a tad; plus, the publication is arguably wrong.

 

In 2020, Grey experienced the biggest implosion followed by resurrection when the agency brand was temporarily trashed during a merger with AKQA. Earlier examples of fast folds include We Are Unlimited unraveling as the sole client—Mickey D’s—essentially said, “We Are Unimpressed,” and hired Wieden + Kennedy as its White advertising agency. Enfatico deserves a mention too.

 

Additionally, when considered in terms of job losses, one could argue that greater implosions are happening with the holding companies—especially Dentsu and WPP—and the true devastation may not be fully realized for years.

 

Perhaps the aforementioned detonations weren’t as quick, but The Richards Group is still standing and will probably rise like a culturally clueless phoenix from the ashes. Hey, Campbell Ewald rebounded after its 2016 racist fiasco…

 

Stan Richards might be a pioneer in that he lost his job as the result of referring to White people in derogatory style. Indeed, was Richards’ “too Black” rating of a campaign idea more offensive than the racism displayed by Campbell Ewald? Arguably not. Plus, anyone with multicultural marketing experience can verify that campaign concepts are routinely rated for being “not Black enough”—that is, in Adland, Black is used to measure concepts and candidates. Richards simply had the misfortune of making his ignorant comment in a time of heightened sensitivity—although that doesn’t excuse the man’s inappropriate perspectives and absolute stupidity.

 

For now, if viewed through the lens of discrimination and systemic racism, it’s safe to predict that bigger and swifter implosions are on the road ahead for the advertising industry.

 

The biggest agency implosion of 2020

 

Motel 6 turned the lights off at Richards Group and other clients fled

 

By Judann Pollack

 

It was arguably the swiftest downfall of an agency in history.

 

In the space of a week, The Richards Group lost the bulk of its client roster after it came to light that its founder, Stan Richards, made a racist remark in an internal meeting. In a now-legendary tale, Richards rejected an ad proposal for then-client Motel 6 on the grounds that it was “too Black” and threatened to alienate the chain’s “significant white supremacist constituents.”

 

In short order, Motel 6—which had already been reviewing its account—dismissed the agency and other clients were quick to follow. The following day Home Depot put it account up for grabs, followed by Keurig Dr Pepper, Orkin, Advanced Auto Parts, H.E.B., Shiner Beer and more, while Cracker Barrel dropped The Richards Group from its review.

 

To stop the bleeding, Stan Richards, until then a revered figure who founded the agency 44 years earlier and still turned up to work every day at age 88, stepped down on Oct. 15, a week after the remark was made.

 

The entire incident brought into focus the unusual culture of the agency, which clocked employees in and insisted they be at their desks by 8:30 a.m., and appeared to have separate rules for male and female staffers. But it also raised questions about whether an agency can be too closely allied to a founder. The industry is now watching to see how it can recover.

14977: Wendy Clark Dumps DDB For Dentsu.

Advertising Age reported DDB Global CEO Wendy Clark is taking her act to Dentsu Aegis Network in the very near future, as confirmed by a memo from DDB Chairman Chuck Brymer that Ad Age published too. The move exposes Clark’s true restless ambition—and presents more freelance opportunities for Ted Royer. When it comes to bullshit, she is unlimited.

Global CEO Wendy Clark To Leave DDB For Dentsu

The high-profile exec is joining Dentsu Aegis Network as global CEO

By Brian Braiker

Omnicom Group’s DDB Worldwide announced early Monday morning that Global CEO Wendy Clark would be stepping down. She will be assuming a new role as global CEO of Dentsu Group’s Dentsu Aegis Network.

“Wendy Clark has advised us that she will be leaving DDB Worldwide in the very near future,” DDB Chairman Chuck Brymer wrote in a note to staff. “In order to ensure that our teams and clients across the network are supported, I have agreed to lead the company on an interim basis until which time we have established the new leadership structure.”

According to a statement sent by Dentsu, Clark will report to Tim Andree, executive chairman of Dentsu Aegis Network, and “will be appointed Executive Officer at Dentsu Group Inc. at the same time she joins the business in September with the approval of the Board of Dentsu Group Inc.” Dentsu Group uses the title “executive officer” for the holding company’s various corporate officers.

Andree, who led the search, has been executive chairman of London-based Dentsu Aegis Network since 2013. Andree also holds the title of executive VP at Dentsu Group, the Tokyo-based agency holding company.

Dentsu Aegis Network oversees holdings outside Japan for Dentsu Group.

In an interview with Ad Age Monday morning, Clark said conversations with Dentsu began last year and “culminated in February.”

“The people are incredibly intelligent, kind, hardworking, passionate,” Clark says of Dentsu. “You look at the over 170 acquisitions they’ve done in the last five years, they have been very deliberate.”

In 2016 Dentsu bought a majority stake in Maryland-based digital agency Merkle, in a high profile acquisition estimated at the time at $1.5 billion. In 2020 alone, Dentsu bought both identification and data services company 4Cite Marketing and Media Storm, one of the largest independent data-driven audience planning and targeting agencies.

Clark, speaking from her home in Atlanta, tells Ad Age she will commute to Dentsu offices in New York and London, and “Japan a little bit,” as she has done in previous roles. “I’m very comfortable being on an airplane,” she says.

In the global CEO role at Dentsu Aegis Network, Clark says she will oversee all operations outside of Japan and brands including Merkle, Carat, Isobar and mcgarrybowen. She praised Dentsu as being a holding company that has succeeded in “integrating technology with creativity” through its acquisitions.

Ad Age will be updating this story as it develops throughout the day.

“I know that these next few months will be very tough for all of us,” DDB’s Brymer wrote in his note to staff. “The challenges that we and our clients are facing are beyond anything we could have imagined even a few months ago. Fortunately we possess an incredible leadership team, spirit and resolve. Each one of us is dedicated to ensuring as smooth a transition as possible.”

Clark was appointed DDB’s president and chief executive of North America in 2016, joining the agency from Coca-Cola, where she served as North American president of sparkling brands and strategic marketing. Previously, she had been responsible for the global leadership of all Coca-Cola’s sparkling brands.

During her early tenure at the Omnicom-owned agency, DDB expanded existing relationships with clients Conagra Brands, Johnson & Johnson and State Farm; the last client severed ties in November. Under Clark, the agency brought in new business from Molson Coors, Time Warner Cable, Merck and, notably, McDonald’s.

For McDonald’s, Clark oversaw the brand’s custom-created agency We Are Unlimited, which was launched in 2016 following an agency review and selection process led by Deborah Wahl, McDonald’s U.S. chief marketer at the time, who left the company in 2017. Omnicom won the McDonald’s account in a pitch led by Clark, who would later be promoted to CEO of DDB North America and, in February 2018, CEO of DDB Worldwide. We Are Unlimited officially began working on the account at the start of 2017.

But the relationship failed to gain meaningful traction, and in September of 2019 McDonald’s announced it had decided to go with Wieden+Kennedy, New York, as its lead creative agency in the U.S. The move toward an independent creative agency was a major shift for the country’s largest restaurant chain, which had for decades worked with shops that are part of large holding companies. It also suggested that a bespoke agency within a holding company structure, hailed by Clark and her acolytes as an exciting new model at the time, may not be the answer for major marketers when it comes to creative partners.

Clark’s early tenure at DDB was blessed (or possibly cursed) with high visibility. A 2017 Ad Age Executive of the Year, Clark was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2019, for among other things, having “driven a renewed sense of new business winning helping to land over 32 pitch wins, including Volkswagen, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, Kellogg’s, Miller Lite and the U.S. Army, to name a few.”

It was understood at the time that the Army win would provide DDB with a consistent revenue stream from a multi-year government contract. The contract was for “a full array of advertising and marketing services for a five-year base period and two successive option periods of, respectively, three years and two years, for a total possible period of performance of 10 years,” according to a Government Accountability Office document.

According to an earlier Ad Age story, McCann was believed to take in $30 million to $40 million a year with its Army deal.

In October 2018, Clark stepped down from the leadership committee for Time’s Up Advertising, an initiative aimed at addressing sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace, after reportedly hiring creative Ted Royer as a freelancer. Royer had previously left his post as Droga5’s chief creative officer under a cloud of still-unspecified controversy.

And after DDB lost McDonald’s last September, State Farm announced in November it would be switching up its agency roster, naming Omicom’s Marketing Arm as lead creative agency, dealing yet another blow to DDB, this time in Chicago, an agency partner of State Farm’s for seven decades. While DDB still works with the marketer, its shift away from lead agency on creative was a significant demotion.

In January of this year, DDB announced the loss of client Capital One, marking the end of a 16-year relationship.

Contributing: Judann Pollack, Lindsay Rittenhouse and E.J. Schultz

14835: We Are Unlimited Continues We Are Unassembled Operation.

AgencySpy posted that the former We Are Unlimited CEO has been reassigned to head the Unilever business at DDB. Hey, it’s just slightly better than having to say, “We Are Unemployed.” After all, it seems like only two years ago that the White man was named We Are Unlimited CEO, charged with transforming the enterprise into a more sustainable shop versus an exclusive service center for Mickey D’s. Um, it was only two years ago. McMission accomplished…? This scenario truly demonstrates failing upwards—a privilege generously extended to White people in adland. Or, more likely, the reassignment represents a reparations of sorts for having been initially placed into an impossible situation doomed for failure…

We Are Unlimited CEO Is Now Running The Unilever Business at DDB

By Erik Oster

Back in September, we learned that We Are Unlimited would be folded into DDB Chicago by the end of the year in the wake of McDonald’s naming W+K as its lead creative agency, continuing to operate under its own name but as a part of the larger DDB agency.

Sources with direct knowledge of the agency explained that as a result of the structural change, We Are Unlimited will now work under DDB Chicago’s leadership team. It’s not exactly surprising then that the chief executive for We Are Unlimited has been given a new assignment within the DDB network.

Mark Mulhern, who has served as We Are Unlimited since the beginning of 2018, is now global business director for Unilever at DDB. Mulhern lists the new role on his LinkedIn page.

Before joining We Are Unlimited in 2018, Mulhern served as eastern region president for iCrossing for around two and a half years. Prior to that, he held roles as business director, Microsoft Office for JWT and senior director, Petcare North America for BBDO.

The move follows a significant setback for DDB Chicago. Last week, State Farm named The Marketing Arm as its lead creative agency, following a review, retaining DDB Chicago on its agency roster to focus on “lower funnel and cross-sell marketing programs.”

14764: Reports Claim We Are Unlimited Are Soon To Be DDB.

AgencySpy posted that Business Insider reported We Are Unlimited—or whatever is left of the White advertising agency—will be absorbed by DDB. If any minorities come with We Are Unlimited, Wendy Clark will probably count it as a diversity boost for the DDB franchise. Look for We Are Unlimited to soon pick up AOR duties on Propel.

Report: We Are Unlimited Will Be Folded Into DDB Chicago After McDonald’s Taps W+K

By Erik Oster

Less than a week after McDonald’s announced its new U.S. lead creative agency would be Wieden + Kennedy New York, it appears the once-dedicated agency Omnicom had created to service the chain will no longer stand on its own.

Citing anonymous sources, Business Insider today reported that We Are Unlimited will be folded into DDB Chicago at the beginning of next year. Sources told the publication that We Are Unlimited will retain its name but operate as part of DDB Chicago, while continuing to work on marketing for aspects of the McDonald’s business, including promoting the Happy Meal.

For now, DDB isn’t commenting, but the move certainly wouldn’t be the year’s most surprising. McDonald’s spent months undergoing a review of its U.S. agency model, with W+K New York eventually coming out as the big winner.

We Are Unlimited already had a round of layoffs earlier this month, attributed to changes to the McDonald’s account.

The move comes a week after McDonald’s selected W+K New York as its new U.S. lead creative agency, following a review of its U.S. agency model. It also follows a round of layoffs earlier this month attributed to changes to the account.

We Are Unlimited was created in 2016 after McDonald’s consolidated its creative account with Omnicom, ending its relationship with Publicis Groupe. The agency’s exclusive relationship with McDonald’s ended at the start of 2019 and the brand turned to TBWA/Chiat/Day to promote its McCafé house coffee line around a year ago, following a review limited to Omnicom agencies, which reportedly included We Are Unlimited.

Minda Smiley contributed reporting to this story.

14761: In The Divertsity Era, All White Advertising Agencies Look Alike.

AgencySpy posted an internal email from Wieden + Kennedy leaders (depicted below) boasting about the White advertising agency’s Mickey D’s win while slamming ex-AOR We Are Unlimited. This is the equivalent of a professional athlete executing an end zone dance after posterizing a Special Olympian. The barbs included, “But in the end, WAU forgot the power of creativity (or arguably didn’t have much to offer).” Stay classy, W+K.

The truth is, W+K and WAU actually are very equal rivals in one key area. Both White advertising agencies are divertsity and divertisement deceivers. Indeed, the shitholes are run by White women—Colleen Decourcy and Wendy Clark—who talk the talk and walk away. These fools are only interested in promoting White women—especially themselves.

Decourcy and Clark are soul sisters in the Divertsity Era, perfectly representing the new racism exclusivity of the field.

14760: We Are Unlimited Rendered Limited By Mickey D’s—And Limited Talent.

Advertising Age reported Mickey D’s selected Wieden + Kennedy New York as its new White advertising agency, essentially deep-frying We Are Unlimited—its “dedicated” White advertising agency—in the process. The news—especially the demise of We Are Unlimited—is hardly news and clearly displays McDesperation and McBullshit on numerous levels.

First, Wieden + Kennedy presumably besting We Are Unlimited is a no-brainer—and it was probably no contest. In contrast to the recent self-promotion, We Are Unlimited churned out some of the worst campaigns in the fast feeder’s history. Even Omnicom likely questioned We Are Unlimited’s capabilities, as the White holding company reportedly added two sister shops—TBWA and Adam & Eve/DDB—to the shootout. Wouldn’t be surprised if Wendy Clark freelanced Ted Royer for the McContest.

Second, Mickey D’s ignoring Wieden + Kennedy’s relationship with KFC shows conflicts of interest might be a relic of the past. After all, Mickey D’s arguably competes directly with KFC, particularly when considering the many McChicken menu items. Wieden + Kennedy using its New York office to service the Golden Arches while its Portland office covers KFC is a pretty slick move too. Hey, the independent Wieden + Kennedy doesn’t have the ability offer a portfolio of White advertising agencies.

Third, another slick move involves Mickey D’s decision to shift business to an East Coast shop. The fast feeder is headquartered in Chicago and probably receives financial perks from the city and Illinois. To effectively put hundreds of Chicagoans out of work—from We Are Unlimited staffers to local vendors—is not nice from professional and political perspectives. Maybe this is why We Are Unlimited will stay on the roster to handle “operational excellence” for Mickey D’s. Right, let the creators of the worst McCrap ever handle the excellent operations.

Fourth, We Are Unlimited joins the junk heap of dead-dicated White advertising agencies including Team One, Team Detroit, Cavalry, Enfatico, et al. That’s quite a posse of poop piles.

McDonald’s picks Wieden & Kennedy New York as lead U.S. creative agency

Golden Arches turns to independent agency for a fresh approach three years after Omnicom Group won the business

By Jessica Wohl

McDonald’s has chosen Wieden & Kennedy, New York as its lead creative agency in the U.S., delivering a blow to Omnicom Group’s DDB three years after it emerged the victor in the chain’s creative shootout.

The move toward an independent creative agency is a major shift for the country’s largest restaurant chain, which has for decades worked with shops that are part of large holding companies. It also suggests that a bespoke agency model, hailed as the wave of the future when DDB created one for McDonald’s three years ago, may not be the definitive answer for major marketers when it comes to creative partners.

In August 2016, the Golden Arches named Omnicom Group the winner in a U.S. creative contest in which it fought against Publicis Groupe. Now We Are Unlimited, the Chicago-based agency that Omnicom’s DDB created to support McDonald’s, is taking a back seat to Wieden & Kennedy, New York.

We Are Unlimited will continue to work on the brand with a focus on what McDonald’s is calling “operational excellence.” We Are Unlimited’s scope includes Happy Meals and other assignments where there’s a steady volume of work to churn out, such as digital marketing, customer relationship management and work on the mobile app.

The move is a huge win for W&K. The U.S. is the Golden Arches’ biggest market with nearly 14,000 restaurants that bring in annual system-wide sales of more than $38 billion. Notably, McDonald’s does not see a conflict with KFC, for which Wieden & Kennedy, Portland has done award-winning work including creating a rotating cast of Colonel Sanders characters.

‘Getting the best work’

In an interview, McDonald’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley said the Chicago-based restaurant chain spent time getting comfortable with the idea of working with an agency that works with another company in the fast-food industry. “At this point, it doesn’t concern us,” she said of W&K’s relationship with KFC. “We wanted to make the decision around getting the best work that this business deserves.”

McDonald’s also noted that the brands will be worked on from different offices, with different teams and IT safeguards will be put in place.

McDonald’s says it selected Wieden & Kennedy, New York for its blend of strategic and creative work. “Creative excellence is a huge passion point of mine,” says Flatley, noting that the W&K team understood “the heart and the soul of this brand.” The fast-feeder conducted the review internally and was seeking a more creative approach to help it build stronger connections with current customers and get those who don’t visit the restaurants to come in for the first time or return.

The review began about nine months ago with three agencies under consideration: Wieden & Kennedy, New York along with two Omnicom shops: TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles and Adam & Eve/DDB, Flatley said.

McDonald’s narrowed the field in May to W&K and TBWA, and those agencies began working on “business-critical briefs for 2020,” as Flatley described the process. The decision was made this week after both agencies delivered their final presentations on Tuesday. TBWA has worked globally with McDonald’s for more than three decades and had recently expanded its relationship with the company in the U.S., including for work on its McCafé coffee.

W&K will begin work on the brand in the next month to plan for 2020.

McDonald’s will now have a tag-team approach. “The challenge is balancing both world-class creative and also how you put data, insights, and speed in the center of everything you do,” says Flatley. McDonald’s pointed to W&K’s work for brands including Nike, Bud Light, Coca-Cola’s Sprite and Vitaminwater, and Delta.

Winning streak

This appointment marks another major brand win for W&K’s New York office. Once operating in the shadow of the agency’s Portland office, New York has added multiple blue-chip clients in recent years, including Bud Light and Ford, the latter of which came aboard late last year after the automaker demoted WPP’s GTB, a bespoke agency model that was relegated to lower-profile work.

“We’re incredibly excited and honored to be part of the McDonald’s team at this critical juncture in their business transformation,” Neal Arthur, managing director of Wieden & Kennedy, New York, said in a statement provided by the client. “McDonald’s has created some of the most iconic branding, advertising and marketing initiatives the world has ever known, and we look forward to working across the company and agency network to continue this rich tradition.”

We Are Unlimited, meanwhile, pointed to its continued relationship with the brand. “We remain a proud partner with McDonalds’s and are working closely across both the McDonald’s and We Are Unlimited teams to ensure we remain focused on our shared goals and priorities,” the agency said in a statement.

“It’s been a privilege to work with McDonald’s in the U.S., and we’re proud to continue working with them in many markets around the world,” TBWA CEO Troy Ruhanen said in a statement. “We love the brand and wish them every success.”

McDonald’s has been on a roll under the leadership of CEO Steve Easterbrook, posting 10 consecutive quarters of U.S. same-store sales growth and 16 consecutive quarters of global same-store sales growth. In the recent second quarter, U.S. same-store sales shot up 5.7 percent, growing at a faster clip than rivals Burger King and Wendy’s. McDonald’s has been improving its menu with the addition of fresh beef Quarter Pounder burgers and updated McCafé coffee, is renovating thousands of restaurants and has gotten a sales boost from the addition of delivery. Still, its franchisees began organizing in a bigger way, in a group called the National Owners Association, pushing for more of a say in how the company operates.

Flatley, who worked on brands including Gatorade before joining McDonald’s in May 2017, runs McDonald’s marketing in the U.S. Colin Mitchell, who was promoted to senior VP of global marketing in July, was also deeply involved in the domestic agency review.

“Globally, we are trying to evolve our creative, like the rest of the customer experience,” Mitchell said in a statement. “This move allows us to push our vision for modern marketing in this very important market.”

Still lovin’ it

Wieden & Kennedy, New York is expected to help McDonald’s U.S. communicate more consistently the optimistic tone of togetherness and community that the company tries to project globally, Flatley said. The “I’m lovin’ it” slogan, cooked up in 2003 by DDB’s Heye & Partner, of Germany, is sticking around. “You’ll see it and my expectation is it will start to have more meaning,” Flatley said.

Other U.S. agency relationships remain intact, including a mix of multicultural agencies, co-op relationships with various creative agencies for work at the local level, and media agency OMD.

We Are Unlimited was created in 2016 following an agency review and selection process led by Deborah Wahl, who was McDonald’s U.S. CMO at the time and then left the company in 2017. Omnicom won the McDonald’s account back then in a pitch led by Wendy Clark, who at that time was CEO of DDB North America and is now CEO of DDB Worldwide. We Are Unlimited officially began working on the account at the start of 2017.

We Are Unlimited debuted years after the demise of Element 79, a Chicago-based Omnicom agency created in 2001 to focus on PepsiCo that later lost clients including PepsiCo’s Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker, and was absorbed by DDB Chicago in 2012.

McDonald’s is also beefing up its technology investments. On Sept. 10, it announced the plan to buy Apprente, a voice-based conversational technology company. Earlier this year, it invested in mobile app company Plexure and acquired Dynamic Yield, which is helping the chain make its digital billboards more personalized and more adaptable to changes such as the weather.

14750: We Are Unlimited Unraveling, Undone And Going Under—Call The Undertaker.

AgencySpy posted on layoffs at We Are Unlimited resulting from reassignments via Mickey D’s—coupled with corporate cultural collusion involving work being shifted to TBWA, an Omnicom sister White advertising agency. We Are Unlimited employees were also shuffled to DDB, another Omnicom sister White advertising agency. We Are Unlimited may soon change its name to We Are Unemployed.

We Are Unlimited Goes Through Round of Layoffs Amid McDonald’s Review

By Erik Oster

Omnicom’s We Are Unlimited has gone through a round of layoffs while the client it was created for decides how to handle its creative account going forward.

Sources close to the matter claim that around 10 employees were laid off and 8 transferred to DDB as a result of changes to the McDonald’s business. Another source claims the number impacted could be significantly higher, with some employees leaving at the end of the month and others at the end of the year.

McDonald’s launched a review of its U.S. agency model back in July, while also sending an unspecified project to W+K New York. Omnicom set up We Are Unlimited as a unit dedicated to the McDonald’s account after winning creative AOR duties three years ago.

We Are Unlimited’s exclusive contract with McDonald’s ended back in January, leaving We Are Unlimited free to pursue new business opportunities. Last fall, McDonald’s sent lead creative duties on its McCafe brand to TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A following a closed “jump ball” pitch which reportedly involved We Are Unlimited competing against TBWA.

A source close to the matter claimed it’s possible that more We Are Unlimited employees could be impacted as the client’s creative account continues to evolve, including possible transfers to TBWA.

14708: Mickey D’s Hints We Are Unlimited Has A Limited-Time AOR Status.

Advertising Age reported We Are Unlimited likely has a limited time remaining on its AOR position with Mickey D’s. This should not be surprising, as the White advertising agency is responsible for the worst Mickey D’s campaigns in the last few decades at least. If the fast feeder launches an account review, look for Wendy Clark to recruit Ted Royer for the pitch. A Mickey D’s spokesperson claimed, “For some time, the McDonald’s U.S. marketing team has been evaluating an agency model that mirrors the significant transformation in the U.S. market.” Of course, that statement does not translate to the McClient looking beyond White advertising agencies for its roster.

McDonald’s re-evaluates agency model

DDB’s We Are Unlimited faces new threats on the account

By E.J. Schultz

McDonald’s is re-evaluating its agency model, putting more pressure on We Are Unlimited, the agency that Omnicom’s DDB created in 2016 to handle U.S creative for the restaurant chain.

“For some time, the McDonald’s U.S. marketing team has been evaluating an agency model that mirrors the significant transformation in the U.S. market,” a spokesman said in a statement. “An internal process to identify the model that is best for our business and for our customers is underway and nearing completion.”

McDonald’s recently put a significant project out to bid with Wieden & Kennedy New York and TBWA\Chait\Day Los Angeles emerging as finalists, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. McDonald’s has worked globally with TBWA for more than three decades and recently expanded its relationship with TBWA in the U.S., including for work on creative and design assignments, including for McCafe.

If W&K triumphs in this major assignment, it would add a new threat for We Are Unlimited. Still, W&K must navigate potentially thorny conflict concerns since it handles KFC from its Portland office. The chicken chain is a major W&K client and one with which the shop has enjoyed creative freedoms to pump out highly regarded work around the KFC’s Colonel character.

KFC representatives did not return messages asking about conflict issues.

Asked if McDonald’s has selected a winner in the pitch, a spokesman referred back to the company’s statement that the process is “nearing completion.”

We Are Unlimited was formed after a major creative agency review that saw the end of the fast-feeder’s 35-year relationship with Publicis’ Leo Burnett. The creation of the bespoke agency was spearheaded by then-DDB North America CEO Wendy Clark, who has since been promoted to CEO of DDB Worldwide. It was formed under the direction of then-McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing Officer. She left in 2017 and was replaced by Morgan Flatley, who had been chief marketing officer for PepsiCo-owned Gatorade, which has long used TBWA.

We Are Unlimited has seen notable changes of late, with the departure of CCO Toygar Bazarkay earlier this month.

McDonald’s on Friday reported that same-store sales grew 6.5 globally in the second quarter, which according to Bloomberg marks the chain’s biggest sales gain since 2012. U.S. sales shot up 5.7 percent, with the company attributing the rise to “successful national and local deal offerings, including the 2 for $5 Mix and Match deal.”

Contributing: Ann-Christine Diaz, Lindsay Rittenhouse

14695: Toy Story—Adding To The Unlimited Resignations At We Are Unlimited.

Adweek reported Toygar Bazarkaya resigned from his Chief Creative Officer role at We Are Unlimited. Hey, Wendy Clark is probably checking Ted Royer’s availability. A spokesperson at the White advertising agency gushed, “Over two years and thousands of pieces of content, Toygar has been instrumental in shaping the McDonald’s brand story and We Are Unlimited as an agency.” Two years? We Are Unlimited should install a drive-through exit for employees, as the place deals with more turnovers than the Pillsbury Doughboy. Also, the statement should have read, “…thousands of pieces of caca.”

We Are Unlimited Chief Creative Toygar Bazarkaya Leaves to Join Optimist as Global CCO

Derek Green and John Hansa will serve as co-executive creative directors for Omnicom's McDonald's-dedicated unit

By Erik Oster

Toygar Bazarkaya is leaving his role as chief creative officer at We Are Unlimited to join Optimist as the agency’s first global CCO.

Derek Green and John Hansa will assume creative leadership of We Are Unlimited as co-executive creative directors, reporting directly to DDB North America CCO Ari Weiss.

“Over two years and thousands of pieces of content, Toygar has been instrumental in shaping the McDonald’s brand story and We Are Unlimited as an agency. We appreciate all he’s done to create business impact and award-winning work on this iconic brand and wish him the best in his future,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “We are pleased to have Derek Green and John Hansa step up as co-ECDs reporting to Ari Weiss, CCO of DDB North America who will be leading the creative vision.”

Bazarkaya first joined We Are Unlimited as CCO in April of 2017, a month after leaving Havas, where he served as CCO, Americas, as Weiss’ first major hire since arriving as DDB North America’s first CCO that February. We Are Unlimited opened in Chicago in November of 2016 to service the McDonald’s account Omnicom won in August of the previous year, following a lengthy review process. As of this January, it appears We Are Unlimited is no longer working exclusively with McDonald’s.

Bazarkaya joins Optimist as its first-ever global CCO.

“We are supremely excited to welcome Toygar at Optimist to unify all creative functions under his leadership. Now we are able to expand our progressive communication solutions to modern brands that want to change the game, not just ride mid-stream,” Optimist CEO Juergen Dold said in a statement. “Culture forward, always authentic, experientially rooted, channel agnostic, socially digital and always innovative—those are the qualities that our work will be measured on. We are a good fit for global brands with a strong desire to break down what’s not working and embrace what’s possible today, and Toygar will help us continue to deliver on this promise for clients.”

The brand experience agency launched in Los Angeles a decade ago and has since expanded to a team of over 150 with offices in New York, London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague. The agency counts Nike, Google, Target and Red Bull among its client roster. Last November, Volkswagen-owned Czech auto company Škoda selected Optimist as one of its two global creative agencies of record, following a review, and this year Uber Eats also named the agency as its brand experience partner.

“Experiences make us feel something and they stay with us. Experiences can be anything, and Optimist is one of the best at creating them for brands,” Bazarkaya said in a statement. “A brand experience has to have a strategic fit, have a great idea at its core and be able to express itself in any form, environment or platform, that’s what I love to do and take pride in. Great brands understand the importance of it, the team at Optimist are the best at it and I am excited to part of it.”

14693: Multicultural McDivertisement Deserves Receiving The Finger.

Advertising Age spotlighted a divertisement from Mickey D’s to celebrate National French Fry Day. The patronization and hypocrisy are escalated by We Are Unlimited being identified as the creators.

Diverse hands become the Golden Arches in McDonald’s National French Fry Day campaign

Mark Seliger shot the minimalist campaign from We Are Unlimited

By Ann-Christine Diaz

To celebrate National French Fry Day, which took place this weekend on Saturday, July 13, McDonald’s released a series of minimalist, photography-driven ads that show consumers uniting in the act of sharing its fries.

Striking images shot by Mark Seliger depict diverse pairs of hands—two men, two women, man and woman, old and young, each of different skin tones, set against a golden yellow backdrop. As they are about to dip into Mickey D’s signature offering, the hands come together to form McDonald’s iconic arches, with no official logo in sight.

The campaign, titled “Share the Love,” was created out of We Are Unlimited and appeared in out of home ads, social media and on a billboard above McDonald’s flagship restaurant in Times Square.

14636: Mickey D’s Extra Vile Meal.

Mickey D’s is getting deep-fried for its rampant sexual harassment—and now the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund is rolling into the drive-thru. Hey, is it an unfortunate coincidence that the fast feeder partners with a White advertising agency run by a former TIME’S UP Advertising leader who left her position after getting caught freelancing an alleged sexual harasser?

14606: We Are Unlimited Bullshit Artists Worldwide.

AgencySpy posted on the hiring of new Executive Creative Director Derek Green, who will oversee the Mickey D’s business at We Are Unlimited. Two paragraphs warrant commentary:

According to the agency’s own writeup, Green will work to “expand the agency’s creative ambitions for the McDonald’s client” while also tending to all those other unnamed pieces of business. He reports to CCO Toygar Bazarkaya.

The Australian native arrives after spending nearly 4 years at Ogilvy in Sydney and a whopping 9 months on “paternity leave”—because unlike our United States, Australia treats its citizens like actual human beings.

First, it’s interesting to note that the agency’s “creative ambitions” continue to ignore DDB Global President and CEO Wendy Clark’s restless ambition to create a diverse workplace. Although maybe Clark thinks bringing in White men from other continents is diversity.

Second, not sure what the AgencySpy hack was thinking when typing, “…unlike our United States, Australia treats its citizens like actual human beings.” Tell it to the indigenous citizens and people of color from the land down under.

14149: We Are Untalented.

We Are Unlimited created a campaign starring John Goodman, Charles Barkley and Gabrielle Union to hype Mickey D’s fresh beef—and the spots are anything but fresh. The concept of being rendered speechless by enhanced junk food feels like something from the 80s. Plus, using Goodman and Barkley—two old guys who’ve struggled with obesity over the years—is patently ignorant and downright irresponsible. We Are Unlimited went from annoyingly outdated rap to cloyingly outdated crap.

14098: McHaters Playing Chicken.

The Sad Truth: Mickey D’s haters continue to produce better campaigns than the fast feeder’s exclusive White advertising agency.

14087: McHaters Rule.

Campaigns by Mickey D’s Haters are more breakthrough than the god-awful bullshit from the fast feeder’s exclusive White advertising agency.

14015: Bling Mac & Big Hacks.

Adweek spotlighted the latest awfulness from Mickey D’s White advertising agency—We Are Unlimited—featuring the Bling Mac. No, it’s not a BHM advertisement, as the talent in the video is all White. The mess is actually a Valentine’s Day contest, which is part of an overall Big Mac promotion that includes a retro video game. Once again, We Are Unlimited has shat out work that appears painfully outdated and poorly executed. The “agency of the future” is stuck in the past.

14002: Mickey D’s Diversifies Menu.

Advertising Age reported Mickey D’s hired two people of color for U.S. marketing positions. Meanwhile, the fast feeder’s White advertising agency—We Are Unlimited—continues to hire Caucasians, despite DDB North America CEO and President Wendy Clark regurgitating restless ambition rhetoric regarding diversity.

McDonald’s Hires Two Outsiders for U.S. Marketing Roles

By Jessica Wohl

McDonald’s is hiring two marketing executives for its U.S. business, the latest additions of outsiders from the consumer goods industry as the Golden Arches seeks fresh perspectives to shake up its approach.

Kenny Mitchell is joining as McDonald’s USA’s VP of brand content and engagement and Lizette Williams is coming in as head of cultural engagement. The appointments come after PepsiCo’s Morgan Flatley joined McDonald’s last year as its U.S. chief marketing officer.

Mitchell joins McDonald’s Feb. 5 from PepsiCo’s Gatorade, where he was head of consumer engagement, leading global integrated marketing. Mitchell fills a post left vacant after Joel Yashinsky left McDonald’s in 2017.

Williams is joining January 29 from Kimberly-Clark, where she was the packaged goods maker’s North American multicultural marketing leader. Prior to Kimberly-Clark, she also worked at PepsiCo on its Quaker brand. In her position, a new one at McDonald’s, she’ll be responsible for developing the company’s efforts to build brand devotion among multicultural customers.

Both Mitchell and Williams will report to Flatley, who was best known for her work on the Gatorade brand before she joined McDonald’s. (Both Flatley and Williams have been on Ad Age’s Women to Watch list.)

McDonald’s USA is currently promoting its new $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu. Other U.S. marketing plans for 2018 include the upcoming rollout of “hot off the grill” burgers, or those made with fresh patties. McDonald’s, the nation’s 33rd largest advertiser according to the Ad Age Datacenter, works mainly with its dedicated creative agency, Omnicom Group’s We Are Unlimited.

McDonald’s has brought in a number of leaders from outside the company in recent years. Among them, Chris Kempczinski joined McDonald’s in 2015 from Kraft Heinz Co. and became McDonald’s U.S. president at the beginning of 2017. Bob Rupczynski took on the newly created role of global VP of media and customer relationship management in 2017, following positions at food marketers including Mondelez International and Kraft. Starbucks VP Linda VanGosen joined McDonald’s last year as head of U.S. menu.

We Are Unlimited has also looked outside for fresh leadership. ICrossing’s Mark Mulhern became the agency’s CEO earlier this month.

13937: Unlimited Exclusivity.

Advertising Age reported We Are Unlimited brought in a new CEO—replacing one White man with another. What’s more, the new White man has ties to Omnicom. Come to think of it, so did the old White man. Given all the hoopla about promoting White women—aka diverted diversity—it’s strange that DDB North America CEO Wendy Clark continues to ignore her restless ambition to diversify her McEmpire. Then again, Ad Age stated We Are Unlimited is seeking to transform from Mickey D’s exclusive peons to “a more sustainable agency.” So maybe that’s why Clark is erecting a typical White advertising agency.

MCDONALD’S DEDICATED AGENCY WE ARE UNLIMITED BRINGS IN NEW CEO

By Lindsay Stein and Jessica Wohl

DDB North America’s dedicated McDonald’s agency We Are Unlimited will come under new leadership after one year in business, with iCrossing’s Mark Mulhern taking the helm as CEO on January 8.

The leadership change comes as We Are Unlimited, which at first was solely dedicated to McDonald’s U.S. marketing, prepares to pitch for other accounts.

Mulhern will fill the post that was initially held by former BBDO Senior Director Brian Nienhaus, who was the first chief executive of the DDB bespoke shop. Nienhaus is moving into a new role within Omnicom. Specific details were not disclosed, but DDB North America CEO Wendy Clark says Nienhaus will work with both DDB and holding company Omnicom in the post.

“Brian was part of the pitch team and came into the account naturally,” says Clark, adding that We Are Unlimited is at a point now where it is looking to pivot from a startup into a more sustainable agency.

She says DDB and McDonald’s made a “collective and collaborative decision” to hire Mulhern, who has been “successfully” leading iCrossing New York for the last two-and-a-half years, as president. Hearst-owned iCrossing was one of Ad Age’s 2017 Agencies to Watch. Mulhern will report to Clark.

Mulhern, who earlier in his career spent three years at sibling agency BBDO as an executive vice president, will look to continue to build momentum for McDonald’s, says Clark. He will also help take We Are Unlimited to other clients by pitching for other accounts in 2018. When the two businesses began working together in August 2016, We Are Unlimited made a deal with McDonald’s to not pitch for other business for 18 months, but after that, the shop will have the opportunity to bring in new clients.

In May, DDB North America Chief Creative Officer Ari Weiss hired Toygar Bazarkaya, known for his creative work at Havas and BBDO, as the first chief creative officer of We Are Unlimited. The agency was created under prior McDonald’s leadership following a major creative agency review at the world’s largest restaurant chain. Back in 2016, Deborah Wahl was McDonald’s U.S. chief marketing officer and Mike Andres was its U.S. president. Chris Kempczinski took the McDonald’s U.S. president role at the beginning of 2017, just as We Are Unlimited officially began as McDonald’s national agency. In May, Morgan Flatley, who knew Kempczinski from their tenures at PepsiCo, joined the Golden Arches as U.S. CMO.

“We are grateful for Brian’s leadership and his incredible commitment during this first year of our new agency model,” Flatley said in a statement provided by DDB. “We welcome Mark and look forward to leveraging his expertise as we build upon our creative and integrated marketing approach aimed at enhancing connections with our customers.”

Mulhern is joining We Are Unlimited as McDonald’s prepares to promote a new value menu. The chain is trying to maintain and grow the sales momentum that has been rolling along since the October 2015 debut of All Day Breakfast. A new $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu debuts Jan. 4, including items such as $1 any size soft drink, $2 two-piece Buttermilk Crispy Tenders and $3 Happy Meals. McDonald’s, which has roughly 14,000 restaurants across the country, posted a healthy 4.1 percent increase in comparable sales in the third quarter.

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.