Experience ADWEEK House at Cannes, June 16-19. We’re celebrating 45 years of reporting with Now and Next—a creative opportunity for brands to define who they are and their future in the industry. Register .
Sometimes it's a subtle pricing scheme that stacks the deck. Sometimes it's as blatant as calling in a favor.
Either way, the result is the same: Ad agencies are often rigging production bids to favor their in-house studios over independent vendors, according to several veteran producers who spoke to Adweek in the days since a Wall Street Journal report sent shock waves through the advertising industry.
That report revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation to determine whether creative agencies regularly manipulate the bidding process for production contracts in order to send more work to their parent companies or internal studios.
Making the report especially ominous is the fact that lead investigator Rebecca Meiklejohn also handled a 2004 case involving a "kickback conspiracy" between WPP and a print studio, resulting in the indictment of a dozen executives.
WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.
Subscribe today!
To Read the Full Story Become an Adweek+ Subscriber
Already a member? Sign in