Under the Interpublic umbrella, the 17 operated a New York agency known as OneSeven, based in the offices of sister Interpublic agency Lowe. Its clients included BusinessWeek and Unicef, and Interpublic is now in the process of reassigning executives to other projects and finding other homes for its clients.
An Interpublic spokesman said: "We have finalised decisions regarding separation from OneSeven. They are a talented group of professionals and we hope some will find opportunities within the group. Others have chosen to go forward independently."
Sixteen of the 17 executives in the start-up agency had worked on the General Mills account at Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi in New York. Interpublic hired them after their mass walk-out when Burns, the former worldwide account director on General Mills at Saatchis, left the agency.
Interpublic expected the General Mills work, which included the Cheerios, Pilsbury and Wheaties brands, to follow the executives. However, to date the account has remained with Saatchis.
Burns, OneSeven chairman, said: "Over the past 18 months, we've built a solid agency foundation for One Seven with our client partners. We're now looking forward to growing our business with an independent focus and an entrepreneurial energy."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .