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A Smith CD Follows Former President's Exit ATLANTA--Charlie Robb, the creative director behind the "God speaks" billboard campaign, has left The Smith Agency, following principal and president Andrew Smith's departure [Adweek, Nov. 8]. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., shop, now called SmithAgency.com, is headed by Jim Lobel. Lobel was president of G&L Advertising, a Fort Lauderdale agency acquired by Smith. A O&M Resigns Shell, Will Close Houston Office DALLAS--Ogilvy & Mather has resigned the Shell Oil Co. account for North America and will close its 60-person Houston office as a result. Joe Kilgore, general manager of Ogilvy in Houston, blamed the closure on a shift in spending to the client's global agency, J. Walter Thompson. "We just felt it was in our best interest to resign the account and open possibilities for us in the oil category on a worldwide basis," Kilgore said. "Shell has been the largest and the anchor account, and if we weren't going to have the income from Shell, it wasn't feasible to support an Ogilvy office here." The $40 million account had been with O&M since 1960. The agency will be resigning its other local clients, leaving accounts such as Randall's Food Markets, Dynegy and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts up for grabs. A Toronto Network Acquires Accent Marketing ATLANTA--Accent Marketing has been purchased by Maxxcom. The Louisville, Ky., marketing communications company is the largest acquisition to date by the Toronto-based network of agencies, previously called The Communication and Marketing Services Division of MDC Corporation. A DDB Hires ATM Advertising for Compaq Ads NEW YORK--DDB Worldwide has contracted ATM Advertising in Baltimore to handle ads on automated teller machines in six markets for client Compaq Computer. The estimated media budget is $250,000, a source said. Starting this month through the end of the quarter, full-color, on-screen ads for Compaq will appear on more than 1,700 ATMs. The effort is part of Compaq's e-business campaign, tagged "24x7xCompaq." A Bos Is Canadian Agency in Sol Beer Review ATLANTA--Bos has been identified by sources as the Canadian shop involved in the $10 million review for Sol, Labatt USA's Mexican beer. The Toronto agency joins The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.; McKinney & Silver, Raleigh, N.C.; Mullen, Wenham, Mass.; and Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York. Incumbent Amster Yard in New York will not participate. A CountryCool.com Names 4 Virginia Finalists ATLANTA--David Strigel, marketing manager at CountryCool.com, said the country music Web site is at least two weeks away from naming a winner in its $2 million review. He identified four finalists: E. James White Co., Herndon, Va.; Focused Image, Alexandria, Va.; and Siddell Matus Coughter and Williams Whittle, both Richmond, Va. The company, based in both Fairfax, Va., and Nashville, Tenn., may also add a Nashville agency to the list, said Strigel.

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