• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 26, 2016

As you may have heard...oh wait...of course you've heard. Unless, of course, you've had your head buried in Snapchat or have been too busy swiping left and right on Tinder. Anyway, you've probably heard that McDonald's has placed its account in review, potentially removing it from Leo Burnett and DDB which have, off and on, handled the account for better part of 50 years. 

In a wonderful, information-packed piece about the McDonald's review -- researched and crafted by the esteemed Lewis Lazare -- several industry insiders have posited the the reason behind basically everyone in the world, except, IPG, receiving an invite to participate in the pitch. 

Insiders note that former Leo Burnett creative director, Susan Credle is now global chief creative officer for FCB, a big name in the IPG stable which, potentially, could be why McDonald's has chosen not to include IPG in the review. A possible reason behind the diss could be the most recent work Credle oversaw at Leo Burnett, the revamped "I'm Lovin' It" campaign, which received middling reviews. 

Whether or not that is that case -- no one is corroborating anything here -- it certainly seems a logical premise.  

Or it could just be time for the proverbial switch up. Two former Leo Burnett big wigs, Cheryl Berman (32 years, Chairman, CCO) and Paul Schrage (30 years at McDonald's as marketing exec), both think the review is a good idea citing, respectively, rapid change in the industry and smart marketers at McDonald's doing the right thing as reasons. 

Thoughts?