INTERPUBLIC EMPIRE BUYS WAY TO NO. 1.

Advertising Age, October, 1999

Marion Harper Jr., who went from Yale to McCann-Erickson as an office boy in 1939, this week in 1963 found himself boss of the world's biggest marketing/communications combine -- thanks to the acquisition of Erwin Wasey, Ruthrauff & Ryan.

The deal, biggest in the history of the agency business, saw EWRR become a wholly owned subsidiary of Interpublic Inc.

As proprietor of a gargantuan, decentralized setup unique in advertising, Mr. Harper has achieved the front-runner's spot, with his several marketing organizations billing $496.5 million altogether.

Technically, Mr. Harper presides over a group of separate agencies. Thus, in connection with the acquisition of EWRR, Interpublic said it would ``welcome an examination of the separateness of...

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