Categories: Articles

And Poof Like Keyser Soze Agency.com Is Gone

Word just hit the streets that Agency.com has withdrawn from the pitch to become Subway Restaurants‘ interactive agency of record.
This makes news for one reason only. As the pitch process started, Subway Restaurants asked all competing agencies to submit a five minute video that illustrated their team’s corporate philosophy. Agency.com posted their video to YouTube prior to submitting it to Subway. Agency.com wanted to show the potential client how they “get” viral marketing.
You can read all about the escapade and see the video here: Agency.com Pitches Subway For All To See.
Here’s how Adweek Magazine‘s article, Agency.com Exits Subway Contest, explains the latest development:
“A representative of the Omnicom Group agency here said it withdrew from consideration when it reached the finals of a pitch for a conflicting account, which he declined to name. Subway’s account selection process was taking longer than anticipated, and Agency.com decided to take itself out of the running, he said.”
Interesting. But, here’s what’s most interesting: we don’t care anymore. It’s old news. We’re all tired about hearing from Agency.com and Subway Restaurants. Had Agency.com won the business, lost the business or dismissed themselves from the pitch, the story was over 48 hours after that pitch video was posted.
We live in a disposable world and although this will linger in places like Google search results, nobody will say anything (or care) when Agency.com announces their next big win, or when Subway does make their choice.
We’re already too busy talking about the Coke Grand Theft Auto commercial, Tea Partay or Snakes On A Plane… which we won’t be talking about next week.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.