An XM Satellite Radio spokesperson has confirmed that the brand is in review at the behest of GM/OnStar, whose AoR (Campbell Ewald) has been working on integrating the XM brand into GM's model.

Per spokesperson:

"GM/OnStar is conducting an ad agency review to select an agency to help them integrate the XM brand into GM vehicle and dealership marketing — across all GM divisions. This business had been with Campbell-Ewald since 2001, and Campbell-Ewald is participating in the review.

XM Radio is working with GM to evaluate agencies, but this is not a review of XM's agencies of record, which remain Mullen (for Media) and Lowe New York (for Creative)."

Word from inside CE is XM notified CE that they'd already lost the account, and that as of yesterday a speedy pull out was under way. Learn more about that, and the fallout, after the jump.

More: Campbell-Ewald: What A Hot Mess Looks Like

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AdAge has a post up this morning about Campbell-Ewald's new creative director on the very big Chevy account. Since May 2007, the CD position has been vacant. Right. Well, it's 2008. Holding onto Chevy, doing the job right, should be of the utmost priority, so what was the problem?

As the article points out, Bill Ludwig, vice chairman-chief creative officer of the Interpublic Group went through 11 candidates (!!!) to replace Gary Pascoe, who pulled a short 16-month turn at C-E before bouncing to BBDO. In the hunt for a CD, Lim said that three, yes three people had accepted the post. Two were from outside the U.S. Finally, he ended up with Dennis Lim (pictured above) from TBWA/Chiat/Day.

I'm calling for the rewind. Get your lighters up.

1. Ludwig should have kept his mouth shut. No one wants to know that you couldn't fill the top CD job at your shop. It's such bad PR. What does that say about your agency, its prospects and your culture?

2. Three people reneged. THREE? The article says that they did so for different reasons. No one is buying that. What - was the pay low? Were the restrictions too great? Were the CDs given no support staff? Ludwig, again... for the love of gawd, please shut up while the gettin' is good.

3. Way to let Lim know that he wasn't first pick. Way to undercut his authority before he even starts.

Moving on... Later in the article, it's mentioned that: "The agency just trimmed its staff by an undisclosed number, though the shop said the reduction was far fewer than the 50 laid off in April. A spokesman declined to comment."

4. Aiyee! From April from September, you guys had two rounds of lay-offs? First, anyone reading our blog knows that to be true, but like, this where you should speak. This is where you say, "You know, we are laying folks off for this reason and that reason, but we're moving forward, blah, blah, blah." Transparency is better in some cases.

The article ends with an insight into Lim's creative management skills: "He will also call daily meetings for two weeks of all the Chevy creative teams to 'infect each other with ideas' for the crucial
Camaro launch next year."

As one super Agency Spy reader/tipster said: "Campbell-Ewald: where you can't replace a light bulb without at least."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

More: All Campbell-Ewald News

Two of our spies have made a point to mention Kunal Muzumdar and Casey Ingle in the many breaths emitted on Campbell Ewald's behalf.

The two are touted as the best account planning folks CE had. You'll recall the 20 layoffs that went down a few weeks back. Muzumdar and Ingle were savvy enough to get out on their own, both landing in Seattle. Ingle, CE's former VP of account management ended up at Cole & Weber United (which recently didn't win Amazon). Muzumdar is reportedly serving at AA|RF.

A second spy said this of the two: "They were two of the smartest minds in the building. The kind of people you build an agency around and nurture. When those are the people leaving your shop, the canary's six-feet under."

Click continued for another glass of juice.

More: Hot Ad (Wo)Man Of The Day: Karama Horne

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We're sick of catching these morons in the act of being moronic, but it's part of the job description. That said, remamber how a little more than two weeks ago (August 14), Information Architects Tim Suliman and Joe Hass were laid off?

During some routine searching for the "No Wukkas" article we post weekly, we thought we'd check out CE's job board. As of August 28, they're looking for, get this, Jr. IAs. WTF CE? You just got rid of the guys who, according to our sources (also known as your former/current employees), were holding the place together (in a manner of speaking). There's little more to say here.

See the full job description, after the jump. We've got to clean our six-guns. More of the idiocy of CE, here.

More Campbell Ewald news here.

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We were able to confirm a bit of Campbell Ewald gossip today — the kind that will make their management team regret instating the "policy" we're about to share with you.

Ah hem. Drum roll, damnit. CE management has told recently laid-off employees not to speak with current colleagues, even if only to request a reference.

So not only has the agency taken away its employees' livelihoods, it also doesn't want them to, ah, get another job. Way to go, douchebags!

We've firmed up this rumor with more than a few spies as well as our lead agent within CE's walls. At least one other lay-off-ee was asked by HR not to even speak with his former colleagues, let alone ask for a referral.

Check out another tip and some great anti-loose-lip posters after the jump.

continued...

In yet another blow to the already fledgling Michigan agency, Campbell Ewald loses SVP/CTO Ken Burbary today. For any of you CE addies, Burbary is the guy who sat in the northwest office on the first floor.

Burbary did not respond to our questions concerning why he left, what he'll be doing now, and if he sees a future in his blog. We've heard the decision to leave was his, so we'd expect he'd have a new position lined up. But that's just us.

Check back for more on this story as it unfolds. Will the last one out of the building please call Kim Kosak and let her know?

(ed's note: Burbary is not actually a Manga character, but this is the best image we could find on short notice.)

We're told that Campbell Ewald may deliver the aforementioned layoffs this week instead of last, because they only perform such atrocities at the end of a pay period. And though it isn't our intention to scare people, we wouldn't feel right about it if they did happen, and we had kept the information to ourselves.

As it is, we're told that the agency is losing people left and right. With the first round of layoffs from a few weeks ago, addies are jumping ship before they can get let go. As such, the Alltel account, which just started to recover following Jeff Scott's departure could once again be in jeopardy.

And with only Chevy being handled properly, insecurity about the agency's future is rampant. This isn't to say the shop could shut down, rather it would have to have a smoke and possibly a glass of scotch before making anymore decisions. Chill out people, the shit still has some time before it hits the fan...or the fountain.

We're told Detroit based Campbell Ewald will be unloading a number of higher-up employees by the end of this week. We don't have the details on which departments they're coming from.

You'll recall our scoop last week, when we reported that 20 employees went home without a job to come back to.

Among last week's fallen soldiers were CE's information architects and the user experience group, including VP Darin Swan, Tim Suliman, and Joe Hass. Brace for impact.

A spy close to Campbell Ewald informs us that layoffs within the agency are set to commence today. We have two other sources confirming this allegation, but as of yet, no one has left the office.

Alltel is one of the few big accounts still spending their money with CE. You'll recall our coverage of the impending business loss (although that's still not confirmed), and that former important guy Jeff Scott was responsible for the client's unhappiness.

One spy went as far as to say that follwing Scott's departure, Alltel was doing well again. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore, but we'll update you when the guillotine drops. For any CE addies that may be going home early today, we hope you get a decent severance.

Update: We're told the layoffs have begun. No word on numbers as of yet.

Update: "The early count is around 20 so far, and they appear to be spread out across accounts so far. But they're not done, and there's no word as to whether this will continue to tomorrow."

Update: "It was at least 20. It included Chevy, Michelin, and Alltel. The entire Experience Planning/Information Architect is gone." A terrible day for those at Campbell Ewald.

Updated: "60 is the new number."

It seems that anyone who knew Jeff Scott while he was at Campbell Ewald has sent us information about his departure. And though his 21 year tenure is nothing to shake a stick at, CE addies have been more apt to drag his name through the dirt than stick up for his work.

One thing is for sure, his personality and demeanor were both respected and enjoyed by his peers.

That doesn't say much about his ability to get the job done, though. During his tenure, Scott is said to have had a limited role in the success of his clients' work, even impeding it at times. Specifically, the Alltel account. We're told the account is now doing well because of Scott's "non-involvement."

It's not our intention to add to the perception that his work was sub-par, although that will undoubtedly result from this and previous posts on the matter. However, the sentiment among those who knew appears to be that CE will be seeing more business in the near future; or at least, improved work.