The US Army may be by most estimates still the most powerful military force on earth – maybe ever – but it can’t seem to get rid of McCann however hard it tries. Maybe it should outsource the job to the US Navy Seals.
Interpublic’s McCann, which has handled the $4bn account since 2005, was eliminated from a review last year on the grounds that it wasn’t officially a contractor, although clearly it was. So McCann appealed successfully. Now McCann has launched another appeal, this time following a dispute over the completion of some of the no doubt vast body of paperwork the review requires. This earns it another 90 days’ grace, extending beyond the November 16 deadline for the review to be completed. Omnicom and WPP are the other agency groups pitching.
Quite how you sustain a productive client/agency relationship in these circumstances is difficult to fathom.
Al the contenders need now is for President Trump to become involved, maybe observing in a late night tweet that those limeys at WPP shouldn’t be pitching for all that US taxpayer money. McCann may end up winning after all.
