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TBWA\C\D Poised to Take On Pepsi One Ad Assignment in '05NEW YORK TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif., is expected to begin work next year on Pepsi One, a brand last handled by Omnicom sibling BBDO, sources said. Pepsi One has received minimal ad support since 2001, when it was backed by $30 million in measured media, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. TBWA\C\D is already working on Pepsi's iTunes spot for the Super Bowl. That assignment moved from BBDO in New York in the summer. Sources said the Pepsi One assignment was awarded to TBWA\C\D after the shop pitched Diet Pepsi, which went to Omnicom's DDB. A Pepsi rep said, "We haven't made any decisions regarding Pepsi One." Executives at BBDO and TBWA\C\D declined comment.ONDCP Trial: Defense Asks for Documents of 16 Ogilvy ExecsNEW YORK Defense attorneys for Shona Seifert and Thomas Early, the former Ogilvy & Mather execs accused of falsifying time sheets on the White House's anti-drug media campaign, have subpoenaed documents and personnel files of 16 Ogilvy executives, as well as the hard drive from one former executive at the client, the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Among those on the defense's list: Daniel Merrick, a former Ogilvy senior partner who worked with Seifert when Ogilvy first won the account; and Ray Simko, a MindShare chief strategist. Court documents named Richard Pleffner as the ONDCP exec. He is the client who first noticed discrepancies on the time sheets, sources said. The defense is also asking for a memo written by an Ogilvy attorney in 2001, which states, "There is strong, if not conclusive extrinsic evidence that the manager who gave the instruction was the Ogilvy contract coordinator." Court documents do not name that person. Seifert and Early, who have pled not guilty to the accusations, are due back in court for another hearing on Dec. 16.Dowley, Endeavor Close to Forging Strategic AllianceNEW YORK Mark Dowley, who led IPG's Sports & Entertainment Group, is in talks about a strategic alliance with companies including IPG and Omnicom that would involve Endeavor's marketing services, sources said. Dowley has run the talent agency's marketing division in New York since 2003; it has assignments from American Express and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Published reports that Endeavor was for sale renewed talk that IPG or Omnicom might be interested. An Endeavor rep said on Friday: "We are not up for sale." Sources expect a deal involving Dowley to be inked in January. Reps for Omnicom and IPG declined comment. Dowley could not be reached.Smart Car Strategy Pitches To Aim at Creative City SlickersNEW YORK The six shops slated to make strategic presentations to DaimlerChrysler's Smart USA account have been asked to find ways to sell the car to creative urbanites, sources said. The Smart Formore, set to bow in the U.S. in 2006, is most often compared to BMW's Mini, but it will have to appeal to consumers as more than a cool solution for tight spaces, sources said. The client will likely cut to four following the meetings. Vying for the $20 million account: independents DeVito/Verdi, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and Strawberry Frog, all here, Venables Bell, San Francisco, and Creature, Seattle; and Omnicom's Martin/Williams, Minneapolis, sources said. Agencies and the client declined comment.Kaplan Thaler Wins Creative Duties From U.S. BankNEW YORK Publicis' The Kaplan Thaler Group in New York has landed creative duties on U.S. Bank, the client confirmed. Jenny Powell, director of corporate marketing for U.S. Bank, said that besides Kaplan Thaler, the client had considered independents Freedman Gibson & White in Cincinnati, Downtown Partners in Dallas and Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago, and the New York office of Grey as finalists. U.S. Bank spent $20 million in media in 2003, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, and $10 million from January to August of this year. Powell, who would not comment on spending, had no date set for a new campaign.Tag's Davies Returns to TBWA To Steer Absolut WorldwideNEW YORK Neal Davies is returning to Omnicom's TBWA Worldwide, five months after becoming managing director of Tag, the youth-marketing unit of IPG's McCann Erickson. Davies has been named worldwide account director on TBWA's $100 million-plus global Absolut account, replacing Rob Rosenthal. Before Tag, Davies spent five years at TBWA\ Chiat\Day, here, in account-management and new-business-development roles. Among the accounts he worked on: Absolut. Davies' Tag duties will be absorbed by worldwide gm Lori Senecal, a McCann rep said. Tag intends to fill the post. Rosenthal, who also oversees TBWA's multicultural shops, is expected to continue that effort and explore ways to expand TBWA's offerings, said vice chairman Tom Carroll.Revlon Seeks Chemistry in Agency Meetings This WeekNEW YORK Credentials meetings between Revlon and agencies here begin this week, sources said. The client put its estimated $125 million account in review last month, and last week, the incumbent, IPG's Deutsch, here, said it would defend. (It also handles media.) At least five other shops will meet with the New York client: WPP's Berlin Cameron/Red Cell; Publicis' The Kaplan Thaler Group; Havas' Euro RSCG; Omnicom's BBDO; and independent Wieden + Kennedy, sources said. Wieden pitched Revlon's Mitchum brand against Deutsch last month, but the latter is expected to retain it. Morgan Anderson Consulting is handling the review. The client declined comment.Y&R Out to Get Mix Right for Computer AssociatesNew York In the wake of top management changes at Computer Associates, lead agency Young & Rubicam in New York is hustling to come up with the right marketing mix for the Islandia, N.Y., client, sources said. Under one scenario, sister Wunderman would play a leading role, sources said. WPP's Y&R, which has handled the estimated $40-50 million account since 2000, declined comment. During the summer, Joan Blackwood succeeded Nancy Bhagat as svp, global marketing; in November, former IBM honcho John Swainson became CEO-elect. Blackwood came from FleetBoston Financial, whose shop was IPG's Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in Boston. (The Fleet brand is being replaced by Bank of America, following BofA's acquisition of Fleet.)

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