- David Gianatasio

Four agencies have emerged as contenders for creative chores on Baskin-Robbins' ad account.

Pitching the business are MDC's Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, WPP's Ogilvy & Mather and Omnicom's Merkley + Partners, all in New York, and 22Squared, an independent agency in Atlanta.

Pile + Co., the Boston-based consultancy overseeing the process, confirmed that list of contenders today.

Canton, Mass.-based Baskin spent $14 million in domestic measured media last year, and about $12 million through the first two-thirds of 2008, per Nielsen.
 
The ice cream chain was the last client handled by Cliff Freeman and Partners in New York. That iconic agency closed its doors in late October.
 
In May, CFP rolled out a major campaign that played up the chain's long-standing major point of differentiation: it's selection of flavors. An initial ad showed kids bombarding a white ice cream truck with colorful explosions. The tagline was: "Don't be so vanilla." The effort also included an iPhone app that helped consumers locate Baskin scoop shops.