Ogilvy Scandal Tarnishes Image-Building Business

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Allegations that Ogilvy & Mather improperly billed its ONDCP client are just the latest in a series of highly publicized charges to cast a cloud over Madison Avenue in the last 20 years.

Some of the complaints about overbilling since the 1980s can be attributed to the decline of the commission system and the rise of a labor-driven, fee-based compensation structure. But when scandal deals a blow to the image of one agency, the larger industry ends up with a black eye.

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