Right before the Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) report on transparency in the ad buying world came out, there were signs of distress. Maurice Levy, CEO of Publicis Group SA,
called the study “unfair and an unwarranted attack on the entire industry," according to a report in the
Wall Street Journal. The study is expected to reveal that ad companies are
collecting rebates from media vendors in the U.S. on behalf of their clients as a reward for buying a certain amount of ad time. "The report... isn't expected to call out specific companies or
individuals that allegedly have received rebates, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Levy said last week in a letter—a copy of which was reviewed by the
Journal—that it is 'shocking' that the ANA would put out a report that doesn’t name specific companies and makes 'broad unsubstantiated and unverifiable assertions of unethical
behavior against some or all advertising agencies.' He said that the claims have the 'potential to cause great financial and reputational damage' to the ad business."
Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »
