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So, the news is that JC Penney has ended its six-year relationship with DDB Chicago and will move its $430 million account to Saatchi & Saatchi, according to the gossip in AdAge. A sack cloth and ashes memo from DDB CEO, Chicago, Dana Anderson stated: "We are disappointed to tell you that DDB's partnership with J.C. Penney will come to an end. Then later in the evening, JC Penney President, Ken Hicks, called and said, 'You've been a great partner and done fantastic work, but we just felt it was time for a change." In other words. “You’re screwed!!!” Saatchi, which recently withdrew from the Wal-Mart review, is known to have, how can we put it? Kissed Penney’s arse repeatedly recently. Wal-Mart is the higher-profile account and the giant outspent JC Penney last year, with measured media exceeding $580 million. But $430 million is still a hard-to-resist piece of business, and industry experts have suggested Wal-Mart is a lower-margin account. Damn right there, not to mention that the Armani suited suits don’t like to conduct meetings sitting on broken lawn chairs. This account loss has been described as a blow to DDB Chicago, which in addition has also lost both the Dell Computers and Home Depot accounts. Personally, I’d describe it as a punch to the kidneys!!!  

It's amazing how the odd "Penney" saved here and there can add up!