It's often said that the advertising business is all about relationships. But what happens when those relationships turn sour?
Here are 10 huge fights, all involving CEOs—such as WPP's Martin Sorrell and Deutsch's Donny Deutsch—where the hatchets remain unburied.
Some are just petty. In others, like those involving Walmart's Julie Roehm and Lowe Worldwide's Frank Lowe, huge sums of money were lost.
Julie Roehm v. Walmart: The lapdance heard 'round the world.
Julie Roehm, Walmart's former advertising chief, was fired in 2006 after she was seen sitting in the lap of an exec at ad agency DraftFCB, which had paid for a $2,000 dinner at New York's trendy Nobu restaurant.
Walmart had hired Roehm to bring some rock 'n' roll to the conservative company, but Roehm's antics—the bottle-blonde once wore leather pants while pregnant—was too much for the retailer.
Roehm then sued the company claiming wrongful dismissal. She also claimed Walmart CEO Lee Scott took gifts from vendors including a number of yachts and a large pink diamond. The suit was eventually dropped.
WPP's Martin Sorrell v. Publicis' Maurice Levy: bickering like an old married couple.
The years-long rancor between WPP chief Sorrell and Publicis boss Levy is easily the most colorful fight in advertising. The pair never tire of needling each other.
In the past, Sorrell has called Levy an "amateur,""callous," and "hysterically funny." In return, Levy has called Sorrell "a little Englishman trying to stir things up" and "totally wrong" on corporate strategy issues. (The "little" barb was likely deliberate—Sorrell stands 5'4".)
More recently, in February, Sorrell's people were so angered by growth claims made by Levy that they put together a slide-by-slide rebuttal to Publicis' 2011 full year results.
Peter Arnell v. Omnicom: Give my stuff back!
Once upon a time, Peter Arnell was one of the most sought-after brand aesthetes in New York. Then his ego got the better of him. He wrote a book about how he eats 50 oranges a day and was crowned one of New York's worst bosses by Gawker.
After a string of bad calls—his Tropicana makeover was met with universal revulsion and had to be reversed by PepsiCo, for instance—Omnicom ousted him from the agency he built, Arnell Group. To make matters worse, they replaced him with his wife, Sarah. Awkward!
Arnell then sued Omnicom, demanding the company return to him his collection of vintage books and movie memorabilia. The suit was settled this year.
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