Publicis, Interpublic Owed $167 Million in GM Bankruptcy

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General Motors owes Publicis and Interpublic ad agencies about $167 million in unpaid bills, according to its bankruptcy filing this morning. (Download GM’s creditors list here.)

Here are the advertising vendors, and the amount they are owed, on GM’s list of 50 largest unsecured claims:

Starcom MediaVest Group: $121 million
Publicis Groupe: $25 million.
Interpublic: $16 million
McCann Erickson: $4.6 million
Total: $167 million

Note that Starcom, the sixth largest creditor, is owed twice as much as Delphi, GM’s parts supplier — which may lead people to ask why a carmaker was more dependent on its ad agency than it was on a company that actually supplies things you can make cars with. (Click image to enlarge detail from the list.)

Also of interest: In the Chrysler bankruptcy, BBDO received a huge amount of flak for being left on the hook for $58 million in unpaid debts from the client. But compared to Starcom’s list of wreckage, BBDO comes out looking like a master of billing.

Meanwhile, GM launched a new commercial on how bankruptcy will, er, do nothing but good for the company.

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Tags: Layoff, General Motors Corp., Workforce Management, Human Resources, Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.

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GM owes IPG and Publicis $167 million in unpaid bills$

Campaign - 173 days 8 hours 8 minutes ago

The majority of the money owing, $121 million, is to Publicis’ Starcom MediaVest agency for unpaid media bills.Interpublic Group is owed $16 million, Publicis Groupe $25 million and McCann Erickson $4.6 million.Despite owing money to a long list of creditors and filing for bankruptcy with $172 billion of debts, GM has launched a new commercial...
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AdPulp - 172 days 55 minutes ago

Not getting paid for work rendered is a real bitch. And according to The Wall Street Journal , there's some serious bitching going on right now. Monday's bankruptcy filing by General Motors sent chills down Madison Avenue as the car maker disclosed what it owed advertising and media agencies. The car maker disclosed that it owed ad and...
Publicis says its GM exposure is $78 million$

Auto News - 169 days 23 hours 27 minutes ago

Publicis Groupe says its maximum financial exposure to its client General Motors' bankruptcy filing is $78 million
GM Bankruptcy: Publicis Says Its Exposure Is $78 Million$

Ad Age - 170 days 19 hours 29 minutes ago

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Publicis Groupe said today its maximum financial exposure to its client General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy filing is $78 million. The French holding company's Starcom MediaVest Group is listed in the automaker's Chapter 11 filing as its sixth-largest unsecured creditor, owed $121 million and Publicis itself is 18th on that...
S&P Sees "Worst-Case Scenario" at Publicis in GM Bankruptcy; Contrast With IPG Is Striking

BNET Advertising - 170 days 22 hours 2 minutes ago

Standard & Poor’s believes Publicis may face a “worst-case scenario” in the General Motors bankruptcy — where GM fired the agency and leaves it on the hook for $146 million in unpaid media. As a result, S&P placed Publicis on “creditwatch.” The rating — which is a measure of Publicis’ creditworthyness — has “negative...

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1

Emily_N

06/19/09 | Report as spam

RE: Publicis, Interpublic Owed $167 Million in GM Bankruptcy

Auto industries are one of the biggest reasons why the lending of installment loans has been available for consumers. Recently, bankruptcy was seen for many car owners, dealers, auto workers, suppliers, lenders and US taxpayers. Car sales were at record levels over the past decade or two, and a lot of installment loans were made by in house financing from car manufacturers, such as GMAC (now Ally) with GM, or Ford Financing, but now things are a little different. Car sales are slumping; GM and Chrysler have both filed for bankruptcy, and their wondering if they'll ever get a next payday as fewer people are able to purchase cars because there's hardly any credit to be had in this struggling economy. Experts predict some rebound, but installment loans for autos are less numerous these days compared with short term loans.
2

marlena21

07/29/09 | Report as spam

RE: Publicis, Interpublic Owed $167 Million in GM Bankruptcy

GM's solution is to ask the federal government for the cash that will allow it to do all of this piece by piece. But much of the cash will be thrown at unproductive commitments. And the sense of urgency that would enable GM to make choices painful to its management, its workers, its retirees, its suppliers and its localities will simply not be there if federal money is available. Like AIG, it will be back for more, and at the same time it will be telling us that it's doing a great job under difficult circumstances.The same situation now is in pharmacy bussines, people don't buy viagra online now like before some years ago.