• by David Goetzl , April 2, 2007

Johnson & Johnson is shaking media up again. The pharmaceutical giant, which unsettled the marketplace in May by sitting out the TV upfront, has now placed its multibillion-dollar global media account into review--a move that has the greatest potential impact for Interpublic, but also affects holding companies Omnicom and WPP Group.

Launched Friday, although speculated by trade publications months ago, the review includes buying and planning duties. It was prompted, in part, by the 2006 $16.6 billion acquisition of Pfizer's over-the-counter business.

The big loser could be Universal McCann, which has managed the massive U.S. account (pegged at $2.2 billion for 2005 by Advertising Age) for years. Another IPG agency, Initiative, has a portion of the business, as do Omnicom's OMD and WPP's MindShare, across the globe. All four agencies will be trying to hold onto their portions of the business, if not expand them, by participating in the review, J&J said.

J&J bought the Pfizer OTC business, which includes brands such as Sudafed and Zantac, last year. J&J said the acquisition "created an opportunity to re-evaluate our media agency relationships and enhance the ability of our brands to effectively communicate and leverage investment across the rapidly changing and increasingly diverse media landscape."

One reason J&J was said to have taken a pass on the traditional TV upfront last year was to better align its media budgetary process with the calendar-year cycle. The review will be completed in time for the 2008 planning process.