WPP has bowed out of the pitch for McDonalds, leaving DDB (Omnicom) and Leo Burnett (Publicis) in the running in its creative review, battling it out for the food chain’s business.
Sources who must not be named told AdAge of the change in competitors, however no statements have been released from either Mickey D’s or WPP.
WPP was invited alongside DDB and Leo Burnett to compete for the McDonald’s contract, but as these unnamed sources have claimed, unusual financial demands and calls for a rapid turnaround of its pitch may very well be the reasons WPP has backed out.
Respective pitches were required within 60 days in order to meet a June 30 deadline, while Maccas allegedly proposed a financial deal that effectively would prevent the company’s agencies from making a profit on base compensation.
This means the agency working on the business would operate at cost, according to the contract, not counting other fees that could be tied to performance or other sorts of incentives, something the agencies reportedly “balked” at.
The review comes as McDonalds is dealing with a protracted sales decline, and while AdWeek reported that the Golden Arches is re-examining all of its agency relationships in order to reduce overall marketing spend, however AdAge claims the process would not affect McDonald’s host of other agencies, including Omnicom’s OMD, Alma, and its PR agency, Golin Harris.
Possibly the most important piece of news, however, was that CMO Deborah Wahl confirmed to AdAge that the infamous “I’m Lovin’ It” tagline will remain.
