- Gregory Solman

LOS ANGELES Four finalists have emerged following chemistry checks in Mitsubishi Motors North America's review of creative chores on its $185 million ad account, according to sources.
 
The contenders, all in Southern California, are: Omnicom Group's DDB/LA in Venice; and independents Ignited in El Segundo, WongDoody in Seattle and Culver City and Traffic in Los Angeles.

180, MMB and Ground Zero are among the shops that did not advance, per sources.
 
Executives at the agencies, client and search consultancy Select Resources International, Santa Monica, Calif., all either declined comment or could not be reached. Final presentations are scheduled for the end of the month.
 
The three-year incumbent, Omnicom's BBDO West, San Francisco and here, is not defending.
 
The Cypress, Calif.-based automaker spent $185 million in U.S. measured medai in 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, though sources said the client has been clear about future plans to increase digital communications and cut back on broadcast. (Online spending quintupled to $10 million in the last three years, and incumbent Organic's digital creative portion of the business is also up for review.)
 
Mitsubishi's sales are down 18 percent for the year thus far to 36,000 units, per Car Concepts, Thousand Oaks, Calif.