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AGENCY SHUTDOWN
Today is the end of an Ayer.
The agency that created some of the world's most enduring brand slogans-"Reach out and touch someone," "Be all you can be," "A diamond is forever"-disappears today as parent Bcom3 Group folds the shop into sibling Kaplan Thaler Group.
The combined entities, with nearly 100 employees and $325 million in billings, will use the Kaplan Thaler Group name under Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO and chief creative officer.
While it helped create enduring brands, the 133-year-old shop was unable to save itself. Retiring the venerable N.W. Ayer name wasn't easy, said Bcom3 Chairman-CEO Roger Haupt.
"I've thought about this a lot. I'm not somebody who believes in extending names for the sake of extending names," Mr. Haupt said. "It is more about the Kaplan name. ... We're in a situation where we have an excellent agency...