Speculation surfaced in French newspaper reports Friday that Publicis Groupe is in talks to acquire online advertising firm Criteo. According to Reuters, the companies had held talks before Publicis and Omnicom tried to combine. Reuters cited an unidentified Publicis source as saying that current rumors about new talks are "unfounded." 

Writing in AOL Jobs earlier this week, agency veteran Tom Siebert reveals that when he was a young staffer at the Discovery Channel back in the 1980's he was sitting in a programming meeting and was the first to blurt out the idea for what became one of the channel's most enduring hit programs. He was kidding, but higher ups ran with the idea and, naturally, got all the credit.

MillerCoors is conducting a creative agency review for its Miller Lite brand. Three shops are competing for the business including Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett, Omnicom's TBWA and a new agency within WPP called Royal Order.

Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett has been awarded an assignment by McDonald's centered on "refreshing" the fast food chain's brand, according to a report by Adage.com. The award came after a "shootout" with the shop's lead creative agency DDB, per the Adage.com report, and will likely result in a campaign from Burnett that debuts later this year or next year. The award comes after disappointing sales at the fast food chain.