RUMOR: WPP Will Buy Interpublic Group To Reclaim Top Spot In Ad World [THE BRIEF]
Rumors are swirling that WPP will acquire Interpublic Group in the wake of the proposed Publicis/Omnicom merger. After a Daily Mail story reported another big deal was in the works, a WPP spokesperson denied the rumor in a story published by Bloomberg. Interpublic has long been the subject of acquisition rumors; and WPP has long denied them. Such a deal might get back WPP chief Martin Sorrell's crown as head of the largest agency holding company in the world.
Hulu has been beta testing an ad exchange, Ad Age reports. The exchange is open to only a small group of ad tech partners and is being sold at higher prices than the streaming video service's upfront inventory, so as not to hurt its sales staff.
Toyota is launching an educational campaign from 360i to foster safer driving habits among teenagers, a group that dies more frequently from car crashes than any other cause. The campaign includes a charming ad that will run on ABC.com and Hulu.com, as well as a website, TeenDrive365.com, that encourages teens to drive safely and parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of distracted driving.
Forbes Media is considering selling itself. It's said to be seeking a price between $400 million and $500 million.
Olson hired former McCann executive Mitchell Caplan to be its chief marketing officer.
Digiday offers some tips for making mobile advertisements suck less. Among them are suggestions to make fewer mobile ads and to create ads that offer users real utility as opposed to just brand messaging.
McDonald's thinks its recent run of weak sales can be blamed in part on less-than-stellar creative used in its $1.4 billion annual U.S. marketing budget. According to Ad Age, CEO Don Thompson has told agency partners Leo Burnett and DDB he wants better work, and the fast-food giant could be reaching out to new agencies for help.
Domino Sugar has some some sleek new packaging to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Papa John's is putting its advertising account up for review. The account is currently held by ZGroup, a unit of Zimmerman Advertising.
Previously on Business Insider Advertising:
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What Pandora Tells Advertisers About You When You're Listening To Music
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Why Snapchat Would Face A User Revolt If It Tries To Sell Advertising
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Sony Plows Ahead With Its 'Perfect Day' PS4 Launch Despite Death Of Lou Reed, Who Wrote The Music
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What Other Banks Can Learn From JPMorgan's Epic Twitter Fail