Less than a week after McDonald’s announced its new U.S. lead creative agency would be Wieden + Kennedy New York, it appears the once-dedicated agency Omnicom had created to service the chain will no longer stand on its own.
Citing anonymous sources, Business Insider today reported that We Are Unlimited will be folded into DDB Chicago at the beginning of next year. Sources told the publication that We Are Unlimited will retain its name but operate as part of DDB Chicago, while continuing to work on marketing for aspects of the McDonald’s business, including promoting the Happy Meal.
For now, DDB isn’t commenting, but the move certainly wouldn’t be the year’s most surprising. McDonald’s spent months undergoing a review of its U.S. agency model, with W+K New York eventually coming out as the big winner.
We Are Unlimited already had a round of layoffs earlier this month, attributed to changes to the McDonald’s account.
The move comes a week after McDonald’s selected W+K New York as its new U.S. lead creative agency, following a review of its U.S. agency model. It also follows a round of layoffs earlier this month attributed to changes to the account.
We Are Unlimited was created in 2016 after McDonald’s consolidated its creative account with Omnicom, ending its relationship with Publicis Groupe. The agency’s exclusive relationship with McDonald’s ended at the start of 2019 and the brand turned to TBWA/Chiat/Day to promote its McCafé house coffee line around a year ago, following a review limited to Omnicom agencies, which reportedly included We Are Unlimited.
Minda Smiley contributed reporting to this story.