The strained relationship between Apple and TBWA\Chiat\Day has reached a new stage.
Two months after unflattering email exchanges between Apple’s head of marketing and TBWA’s Media Arts Lab surfaced as part of the extended Apple vs. Samsung copyright battle, Bloomberg was the first outlet to report that the company will now be creating more (if not all) of its TV spots in-house.
An Apple spokesperson reminded Bloomberg that the internal team, which “includes at least two people Apple hired away from Media Arts Lab”, is responsible for recent spots like this one:
The shift has been in the works since early 2013, with Apple deciding to take control of more production duties and build up its own team rather than search for a new agency.
Other outside hires include at least two higher-ups from Wieden+Kennedy: Tyler Whisnand and Bill Davenport.
No one at MAL–which recently went through some staffing changes of its own–offered a comment to Bloomberg, so the current and future status of the partnership remains unclear. 72andSunny CEO John Boiler did weigh in, however, calling the company’s decision to hire from within MAL “…an indication of some seriously broken trust.”