Microsoft Drops Wieden for McCann-Erickson

Microsoft Corp. has unexpectedly ended its five-year relationship with Portland, Ore.-based Wieden & Kennedy and shifted its brand advertising account, with a reported value of $100 million, to McCann-Erickson. The move gives McCann-Erickson control over all of the software giant’s domestic advertising, with an estimated value of about $230 million.

Microsoft said the change was designed to produce “a more unified and impactful voice for Microsoft across all of its message campaigns.”

The loss of Microsoft is a blow for Wieden & Kennedy, which created Microsoft’s first brand identity campaign, featuring the slogan “Where do you want to go today?”

McCann is expected to direct the account from San Francisco.