Winning Isn't Everything

The spoils usually go to the victor, but the runners-up in this summer’s L.L. Bean review ended up doing OK as well.
Though Mullen in Wenham, Mass., won the $20-25 million account, two other finalists divvied up a generous consolation prize–an estimated $20,000 apiece in L.L. Bean merchandise.
The goods were shipped in cardboard boxes to The Richards Group in Dallas and Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis after the review ended in June.
“This is the third review we’ve done in the last 20 years and we’ve done a [participation] fee in the past, but this time we wanted to do something different,” said Steve Fuller, director of advertising at L.L.