Tribal DDB Learns Lesson In Conflicts

For all the talk of digital as a different ball game, some rules remain the same, particularly the one that says agencies don’t work for clients’ competitors. While project work inevitably leads to some gray area, Omnicom Group’s Tribal DDB found out this week the danger of straddling that fence.

At issue is Tribal’s work this year for both Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney. Its Dallas office collaborated with GSD&M to build a Wal-Mart back-to-school Web site launched in July.