So it's official, GSD&M have decided not to play a part in the round 2.0.1.4 of the Wal-mart merry-go-round.
Here's the official word from the Sheriff (as I call him), Roy Spence, Co-Founder and President of GSD&M.
"I want to thank Wal-Mart for inviting us to re-pitch the business. I have decided to decline. We helped build Wal-Mart from $11 billion in sales to $312 billion. We declare victory. We will do everything to make the transition perfect. We wish our great friends well. And we are moving on."
Part of the reason why I've kept so quiet is because I participated in the review, working with the folks over at GSD&M. It was the first pitch I've participated in for over 5+ years and I was proud to have played a part in it. GSD&M tried something different with this review - an experiment - by enlisting the help of outside experts like myself. I hope they learned a lot in the process and are better off for it...I suspect they are.
We worked damn hard. I'm sure the other agencies did equally good jobs as well, but when you put a bunch of "suspects" into a line-up, any originality becomes marginalized in what is essentially a meat market.
The other (larger) part is because the coverage by the dailies, trades and blogs have been disgraceful.
It's times like these that I am beyond disgusted and embarrassed to have ever been associated with this industry. It's part of the reason why crayon is an unAgency and intensely focused on pioneering Life after Advertising (forget the 30-second spot...this is much bigger)
As I wrote about in Chapter 10 of my book, which you can download here for free): THE WHOLE PITCH PROCESS is a circus at best and a sham at worst. Search consultants are an unncessary layer that impede the process; purchasing is clueless and out of their depths and ultimately the whole song-and-dance is contrived, unnecessary and counter-productive.
ABOLISH IT NOW and figure out a better solution (perhaps that means agencies need to do a better job differentiating themselves)
Anyway, bottom line...let Julie and Sean get on with their lives. Let Wal-mart clean up the mess they created. Let the television writers do their jobs writing schlocky soap-operas for daytime TV. Let us work on improving the image of this bastardized business, where our reputation is only ahead of used-car salesmen and behind lawyers and politicians.
Uggggh.
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