(FORTUNE Magazine) – "Interpublic--it's worth the wait." That's the slogan many of Wall Street's sharpest value mavens are using to justify owning the battered ad giant. Top funds such as John Rogers's Ariel Appreciation, James Gipson's Clipper, and Bob Olstein's Olstein Financial Alert--highly successful bad-news players all--are among the biggest shareholders in Interpublic Group (IPG, $11).

The funk at the company is real. A continuing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into an earnings restatement and the general malaise in the advertising industry (see "Nightmare on Madison Avenue" on fortune.com) have contributed to its downturn. A serial acquirer in the '90s, Interpublic is also still having trouble cobbling together its 820 global reporting units.

Underneath it all, say the contrarians, is a solid group of assets that will shine once management clamps down on expenses. Ariel Capital Management research director Tim Fidler says Interpublic is among the "handful of companies"--along with Omnicom and WPP Group--that can still serve large multinational firms. Olstein predicts that in a year or two Interpublic could be earning $1 a share, compared with Wall Street's estimate of around 30 cents for 2004. At that price Interpublic will be worth $19 to $20 a share, guesses Olstein. And no slogans will be necessary. --Adam Lashinsky