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"