Congress moves against Ogilvy on US anti-drugs account

by Staff,, Brand Republic 25-Jul-02, 08:40

NEW YORK - Ogilvy & Mather looks certain to have lost its grip on the $152m (£96m) US anti-drug campaign, as the House of Representatives passed a bill preventing the agency from being paid for its work on the account after October 1.

The agency was reappointed to the work, run by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, despite that fact it had been accused of overbilling the US government for the work. Ogilvy, part of the WPP Group, agreed to pay the US government $1.8m to settle the dispute.

Its reappointment last month immediately sparked protests from politicians, including Congressman Bob Barr, who said that a company that knowingly defrauded the government should not be rewarded with more work.

The bill, which will prevent Ogilvy from being paid, must now go before Congress's other house, the Senate, but it is expected to proceed without delay. Ogilvy has responded by saying that it is "a fully qualified federal contractor having passed scrutiny of all relevant agencies. We won an open and fair competition on the merits".

Ogilvy pitched against Foote, Cone & Belding and McCann-Erickson, both part of the Interpublic Group of Companies; Bates Worldwide, owned by Cordiant Communications; and Saatchi & Saatchi, part of Publicis Groupe for the work.

The new bill will say that the government should bar payment to companies that have entered into a settlement to pay claims under the False Claims Act.

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