Merger
Due to the Army scandal, Ayer began to struggle, and its importance gradually faded away. In 1999 Ayer became part of MacManus Group. At the same time, Ayer CEO Mary Lou Quinlan stepped down to from a new unit within MacManus and was replaced by Mary Beth Casey. Ayer's last clients included Continental Airlines and KitchenAid. Under MacManus, Ayer was merged with Leo Group and Dentsu to form Bcom3. In 2002, Bcom3 retired the Ayer name and merged the Ayer group into the smaller Kaplan Thaler Group, where Ayer's influence continued to diminish.
Bcom3 Chairman and CEO Roger Haupt said, "Retiring the venerable N. W. Ayer name wasn't easy .... It is more about the Kaplan name .... We're in a situation where we have an excellent agency in Kaplan Thaler and at the end of the day that's the right thing to do." "Ayer" remained one of the most recognized names in advertising; other agencies approximately as old as Ayer are overshadowed by Ayer's legacy.
Ayer's assets were bought by the Publicis Groupe in Paris, which closed down the Ayer offices in 2002. In 2005, the N. W. Ayer Philadelphia building was purchased and has been made into The Ayer, a luxury condominium. Ayer's successful advertisements remain part of history.
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