So ah, we heard the other day that a certain agency that's seeing tough times had to lay some people off. But that's not the interesting part. Before seeing said lay-off-ees out, they and the remaining employees got together for a moment of prayer. Has it really gotten to that point? Really? I mean, come on — it can't be that bad. We're being half sarcastic here.

Remember when Johnson & Johnson (healthcare) said it was going to consolidate its $3 billion dollar media bonanza? Oh yeah. Well, in case you weren't aware, we heard that the race for first place began about two weeks ago, and that the next round is soon to come.

The take is big; per our spy, "the winner gets 130 brands worth $120 mill [sic] in agency fees."

After round 1, during which all the holding companies presented, WPP, IPG and inVentiv Health are supposedly still in the race. Omnicom, and Publicis, we're told, took a wrong turn somewhere, and are now wallowing in their own...stuff.

We heard Havis made a bid too, but can't confirm their participation. We're just glad that a big account like this is out there. At a time of economic meltdown, any winnings are good news (uh, so someone should win this, and that's good). Go get 'em, BDAs. Just remember, karma's a bitch — a win now is a failure later, if you don't share the love.

(Ed's note: yeah, it sucks that the work is getting consolidated. But J&J has made the decision, and there's no reason to rehash that. So let's be glad that a large portion of the community will be able to feed their kids, even though half of the rest of you are dealing with the ass-end of this deal. For you, we are truly sorry.)

More: "Karma is a Salty Whore"

Here's a short list of some of today's tips, rumors, rumblings et cetera, that we thought you might like to hear about. Send us more info about them (and whatever else you feel like sharing) at matt@mediabistro dot com.

— "lots of shake ups and rumours [sic] at atmosphere bbdo layoffs...resignations...... possibly merging?"

(Ed's note: The official response from BBDO on these accusations: "...people come and go all the time. However, there have been absolutely no changes in the senior management team," said BBDO's Roy Elvove in an e-mail. The official response on the alleged mergers and resignations: "no comment".)

Find out what else is going on, after the jump.

More: "Wednesday Odds And Ends"

continued...

Overheard at a party during Advertising Week:

Ad man one: That last talk was so fucking boring. I can't believe that I sat through that.

Ad man two: Obviously, you haven't been broken in yet.

More: Overheard In The Ad World

"PHD not only let go a Director. She was easily the brightest one in the building which is now infinitely dimmer with her departure. They've lost 8 directors (7 quit one let go) over the past 12 months. Their culture is gone. What a sad, sad place to work."

Forget your concerns about the temporary bans on short-selling here in the US and in the UK, and the second shut-down of Russia's trading floors. It's Friday, the week endeth, and we've got some tidying up to do. Here's your Odds & Ends:

— We hear Y&R Irvine was cut in half on Thursday. Ouch.

— Is PHD New York struggling without anyone at the helm? A source says yes, "It must be hard when there's no president. Guess when they cat's away, the mice really do play. Supposedly they just let go of another director."

— Layoffs at Ogilvy NY rumored...again.

— Element 79, we're told, laid off three creatives over the last week.

— If you were hoping to boogie down with Saatchi & Saatchi NY over Halloween or Christmas, fugedaboudit. Well, that's our spy's advice, since he/she believes the shindigs are canceled. But not to worry, there's always the AgencySpy party!

More: "Overheard in the Ad-World"

Word on the street, though it's not yet been confirmed, is that Minneapolis based Colle + McVoy has lost Time Warner Cable Business Class.

An e-mail to C+M's David Denham, director of strategic initiatives, was not returned...after two days. But hey, Christine Fruechte (Frook-Tee) didn't get back to us when we inquired about her firing of Mike Fetrow, either. So we're not surprised.

Likewise, TWC's rep. has apparently been tracking down the details on this one for us, but has yet to provide any useful information. A simple yes or no would do! This one screams — something.

We'll get more on this when it comes in. In the meantime, check out this sweet campaign by C+M veteran John Jarvis.

"A certain ... interactive agency, **** *** *****, has a nasty habit of dealing with people who leave. A Sr designer with a foreign visa gave his 2 weeks notice recently and management made him leave that day. He ended up having to leave the country as a result because of his visa situation."

Overheard at a bar in New York City:

Creative: "Dude. I'm burnt. Working with brands just tires you out. They never let you off the leash."

Sr. Producer: "Yeah well, your work can only be as creative as the clients let it be. Otherwise, you'd be an artist."

Over hear something priceless? Send it to us at superspyin at gmail dot com

More: Overheard In The Ad World

"Nicholson Kovac in KC is flushing itself down the tolite [sic]. At the annual meeting Pete Kovac made fun of one of the local clients to all the staff. Saying that it is the worst client they have ever had. Then he has asked us to stay after work to brainstorm with him on how we can get new biz in the shop. Whatever happend [sic] to hiring an actor to make new biz calls. We are not even close to project to breaking even this year. We wonder why he is firing all of his management team except for a couple of the butt kissers who are causing this agency to spiral out of control. We are on our 5th CD in the last ten years. Back in July Pete had a major cow on being ranked ninth in the KC ad community. Pete believes that all of the other agencies lied about their billing and that he projects us to be ranked 4th in the market. Inside sources have told Wme [sic] that our major media account has cut all of its tradional [sic] budget. The other rumor we have heard is the Pete is looking at selling the agency to an outside company while he still has something to sell."