• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 31, 2013

Remember Oreo's Dunk in the Dark real-time advertising spectacle during the Super Bowl? Remember Hill Holiday ad creative Andrew Teman tweeting, "If that Oreo tweet wins a Cannes Lion, I am going to quit advertising and the internet"? Well we all know what happened but what you might not know is that Teman and his creative partner, Thomas O'Connell didn't leave advertising. No, they left Hill Holiday and started their own agency called Heart. Of the Oreo thing, Teman told BostInno, "It was strange to me taking that image and deploying it to Twitter seemed to be something really simple. The fact that it was being held up as the grandest achievement in advertising by being given that award was emblematic of where things have been gummed up as an industry." Hoping to change that sort of thinking Tenman says of Heart, “We’re born out of the idea that this should actually be the norm and not the exception. And we think that it can be.” Best wishes, guys.

Publicis Groupe (as has every other holding company) is making yet another acquisition to expand its offerings so that it can be the one-stop-shop brands seemingly prefer. The holding company has acquired New York-based Heartbeat Ideas, a digital agency which specializes in the healthcare industry, and will combine it with Saatchi & Saatchi's health division. This dovetails with Publicis Healthcare Communications Group's recently merging Saatchi & Saatchi Health with Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. Perhaps confusing matters, Heartbeat Ideas, which consists of Heartbeat Ideas and Heartbeat West will become known as Heartbeat Ideas, a member of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and Heartbeat West, a member of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. OK, enough already. Can't we call the whole shebang Publicis Health? Damn, this gets confusing.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has selected White+Partners as their agency of record following a review that involved a dozen agencies. Under a three-year agreement, White+Partners will provide graphic design, media buying and digital media services to support the Authority' efforts to educate and inform Washington DC residents about new services and related changes. Of choosing White+Partners, the Authority's Assistant General Manager Lynn Bowersox said, “We are pleased to have a partner that brings high-quality professional services, along with deep experience promoting travel and destinations. With the expansion of Metro’s new Silver Line to Reston, we will benefit from White+Partners’ knowledge of the Northern Virginia market and their understanding of how rail service will provide new travel options for the entire region.”

Back in the day, one agency would handle everything for a client. There was none of this unbundling crap when media agencies rose to fame. Or the farming out of various projects because a particular agency specialized in one thing or another. And while the integrated versus unbundled debate will likely never end, it seems brands are opting for more of a one-stop-shop approach to their business. The latest brand to march in this direction is Estee Lauder's Clinique which, after a review, has consolidated its global digital marketing business with Dentsu's 360i. The agency will handle digital, creative, media, social and content strategy. Of the move, Clinique VP of GLobal Marketing Agnes Landau told Ad Age the brand used have "a little more of a fragmented approach. We had different agencies in different parts of the world. We are a global brand. We want to have a unique voice but one that has a global scope."