Velib' is a station bicycle system in which rented bicycles can be picked up in one station and returned to a different one, and is an initiative of the mayor of Paris in partnership with JCDecaux, the giant advertising company. The system has been an instant success, with 50 million users in its first two years of operations.

This case describes the dramatic rise and fall of Saatchi and Saatchi in the Advertising industry, based on their vision of scale, globalization and diversification, driven by an aggressive acquisition strategy. The (A) case, set in 1988, is a condensed version based on the earlier INSEAD case by Sumantra Ghoshal and Alice Aves (INSEAD, 1989).

The (B) case provides an update of the subsequent events leading to the downfall and further developments up to 2002, with WPP, led by the former S and S Finance Director, Martin Sorell, coming out as the ‘winner’ in this global consolidation game.