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The IPG/Octagon Debacle: Time to Rethink the Ad Biz

On Saturday, Oct. 19, the front page of the business section of The New York Times featured an article about Interpublic Group and Octagon Motor Sports, headlined, “Ad Company Makes Bad Bet on Auto Races.” My mind immediately raced back about 40 years to announcements in the ad column of the same newspaper about another agency investing outside its basic business. Doyle Dane Bernbach, the leading creative shop of the day, decided that since its clients were busy diversifying, it should follow suit.

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