Five years after Connecticut-based private equity firm Mill Road Capital helped take Canadian-based ad agency Cossette private, Mill Road is putting the agency up for sale, saying it "has decided to explore strategic alternatives for the company's North American assets." Mill Road took the then-public agency private in 2009 -- with the formation of mini holding company, Vision7 -- when a bit of a feud erupted between partners Claude Lessard and Francois Dufar. Lessard prevailed. Of the sale, a statement read: "Vision7 management is supportive of the review and is playing a major role in the process. While the company …

An agency is in stealth mode! Or at least they were. But wait. An agency in stealth mode? We thought only tech startups had a stealth mode. Anyway, what do we know? We're just a journalist. Speaking of journalists -- or rather, stealth mode agencies or both -- Ready State, a just-out-of-stealth mode ad agency has hired "Wall Street Journal" reporter Ben Worthen to join the agency's team of "trained reporters who are fusing journalism and content marketing." Fusing journalism and content? WTF. Only an ad agency could coin a phrase like that. And only an agency could actually say, …

Martin Sorrell, never one to keep quiet on any topic, has issued a warning of sorts to those creating ads for TV and newspaper. Noting that digital now accounts for 36% of WPP revenues, Sorrell said of Cannes: "It would be nice to see algorithms win." He's got a point. So much of advertising today is based on the science behind getting the right ad in front of the right person with minimal waste. It's great that ads win because they are pretty, but what's the point of those ads if they aren't delivered to the right target? Increasingly, getting …

What would Cannes Lions be without a little controversy every year? This year's controversy comes to us from Panasonic, whose media agency, UM Australia, says it did not place the ad that won the brand a Silver Press Lion. Of the snafu, UM Australia CEO Mat Baxter said: "We have reviewed the winning Cannes print work for Panasonic and can confirm that UM did not book any Australian media activity featuring the creative material in question. It is important to note that Panasonic or Saatchi & Saatchi themselves may have booked media space without our knowledge and we would encourage …

Remember that recent don't-text-and-drive ad from Ogilvy & Mather for Volkswagen that showed moviegoers in Hong Kong watching a person driving when suddenly, everyone in the movie theater received a call, took it, and then saw the person driving on screen crash? Maybe you are one of the 25 million people who have seen the ad. Well, Happiness Brussels is accusing Ogilvy & Mather of copying a don't-talk-and-drive ad they created in 2009. You can view the Ogilvy ad here and you can view the Happiness Brussels ad here. Of the ads' similarities, Happiness Brussels Founder Karen Corrigan said, "The …

The IAB has selected JWT North America Chief Creative Officer Jeff Benjamin as chair of the judging panel for the 10th anniversary IAB MIXX Awards. Of the selection, IAB EVP and CMO David Doty said: "We are honored that Jeff Benjamin, a highly accomplished creative pioneer, has agreed to lead the IAB MIXX Awards jury and raise the bar even higher in collaboration with a stellar gathering of cross-industry judges. His deep commitment to leveraging digital's distinct capabilities for engaging and delighting consumers in interactive promises to result in an impressive showing of the best-of-the-best in this 10th anniversary year …

While adam&eveDDB CEO James Murphy is high on London and believes it's truly the ad capital of the world, a couple of ads guys in Dallas want to be heard as well. Integer Group ECD Will Clarke and Marketing Arm Chief Strategy Officer Chris Smith were Promo and Activation judges at Cannes Lions last week and said they surprised more than a few with their presence. Smith said, "it's fun to see the industry's shock that there are actually some great agencies in the flyover states. The advent of digital, social and mobile has helped agencies like the Marketing Arm …

Hey, New Yorkers -- there's a dude across the pond who thinks London is the capital of the ad world. Hot off multiple wins at Cannes Lions last week, adam&eveDDB CEO James Murphy says London now has a "gravitational pull" that is attracting top ad talent and clients from around the world. He noted that the agency's multiple wins were a "testament to the vitality of London" and added that "London is a much more global place. Staff are more international. It is equidistant between China and Japan and the tech companies in California. It means we have a really …

Writing in "Forbes," Avi Dan points out the real dangers to increasingly common 120-day payment terms: interest rates. Currently, short-term credit rates are near zero, minimizing the effect that longer terms have on agencies. But when markets turn and interest rates shoot back up to 5% or 6%, 120-day payment terms could be a death knell for some agencies. Agencies will need to borrow at higher interest rates just to stay afloat while waiting to be paid. Of this impending doom, Dan writes: "If the ad industry is not able to thwart this move toward extended payment terms, this could …

Well, Cannes Lions happened. adam&eveDDB cleaned up -- taking home 4 Grand Prix for Harvey Nichols. Alas, the Festival is over, and it's time to get back to the mundane practice of creating working-class ads that sell stuff versus winning awards. With that in mind, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy is wasting no time refocusing his energy on less-than-massive acquisition deals, setting his sights on bolstering the digital side of the agency's business. Putting the Publicis-Omnicom debacle behind him, Levy said, "I am 100 percent focused on the future. I am not very much interested in the past; it is the …