Publicis, Interpublic Owed $167 Million in GM Bankruptcy

General Motors owes Publicis and Interpublic ad agencies about $167 million in unpaid bills, according to its bankruptcy filing this morning. (Download GM's creditors list here.)

Here are the advertising vendors, and the amount they are owed, on GM's list of 50 largest unsecured claims:

Starcom MediaVest Group: $121 million
Publicis Groupe: $25 million.
Interpublic: $16 million
McCann Erickson: $4.6 million
Total: $167 million

Note that Starcom, the sixth largest creditor, is owed twice as much as Delphi, GM's parts supplier -- which may lead people to ask why a carmaker was more dependent on its ad agency than it was on a company that actually supplies things you can make cars with. (Click image to enlarge detail from the list.)

Also of interest: In the Chrysler bankruptcy, BBDO received a huge amount of flak for being left on the hook for $58 million in unpaid debts from the client. But compared to Starcom's list of wreckage, BBDO comes out looking like a master of billing.

Meanwhile, GM launched a new commercial on how bankruptcy will, er, do nothing but good for the company.

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