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GSD&M to Wal-Mart: Thanks, but No Thanks

Incumbent GSD&M - invited by Wal-Mart to re-pitch for the $580 million account after the retailer reversed its decision to bring on DraftFCB - has declined to rejoin the fray.

In a statement released by GSD&M, the agency’s co-founder and President Roy Spence said: “I want to thank Wal-Mart for inviting us to re-pitch the business. I have decided to decline. We helped build Wal-Mart from $11 billion in sales to $312 billion. We declare victory. We will do everything to make the transition perfect. We wish our great friends well. And we are moving on,” reports AdAge.

It is unclear why the agency declined to re-pitch, but speculation has it that the original pitch put pressure on the agency, particularly given the fact that the retailer and GSD&M had a 20-year, high profile relationship. It is also possible that the storm of news surrounding the dismissal of Wal-Mart change agent Julie Roehm and Sean Womack, vp-communications architecture, made the account - though undeniably quite desirable in terms of billing - less palatable to the agency.

Left to pitch for the account are WPP Group’s Ogilvy & Mather and Interpublic’s Martin Agency, which, the article points out, couldn’t be more different from each other in terms of approach. Ogilvy is respected for its full spectrum of marketing services, which it employs for marketers such as IBM and American Express, while the Martin Agency is best known for producing quirky campaigns such as the Geico Gecko.