Cordiant advertising agency network Bates, New York, lost the account to the Interpublic Group of Companies-owned agency Hill, Holliday, which is based in Boston, following a two-month review.
The loss of the CVS Pharmacy account comes on the heels of a bad few months for Bates in the US. Earlier this year, it suffered a body blow when it lost the $160m Hyundai creative account in April.
The loss of the creative account followed January's loss of the $316m Hyundai US media-planning account, as the South Korean car maker consolidated its entire media budget into Aegis Group-owned Carat.
The loss of the Hyundai account was followed by the resignation of Bill Whitehead, president of Bates Worldwide's US operations. He was succeeded by David Hearn, who was named chairman and CEO of Bates' global operations in March.
According to Todd Andrews, a spokesman for CVS: "We thought it was time to go in a different direction."
Bates had handled the account for the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Pharmacy since 1997. Publicis in New York also pitched for the business.
For Hill, Holliday the win expands an existing relationship for the agency. It already handles advertising and marketing for CVS's ExtraCare loyalty card programme.
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