Hotlines: Late-Breaking Industry News

Online Ad Spending Surpasses $5 Bil. During Second Quarter NEW YORK Online advertising enjoyed another stellar period of growth during the second quarter of 2007, bringing spending for the first half of this year to nearly $10 billion, according to the latest data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their research confirmed the medium remains the fastest-growing segment of the ad business. Online ad spending eclipsed $5 billion during the second quarter, per the "IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report," surging 25.4 percent over 2006 to a record $5.1 billion. (That's up roughly $2 billion from the same quarter just two years ago.) The Q2 growth spurred a record first half for Internet advertising in 2007, as spending soared by nearly 27 percent through the first six months to just under $10 billion. That sets up the online ad market to land between $20 billion and $21 billion for the year, said the IAB. TBWA Gets on P&G Roster With $30 Mil. Pur Win NEW YORK Omnicom's TBWA, after years of wooing Procter & Gamble, has landed on the company's roster by winning creative duties on the PUR water-filtration device, P&G confirmed last week. TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif., will oversee the account, which was handled by longtime P&G shop Saatchi & Saatchi in Torrance, Calif. Major media spending on the brand totaled about $30 million last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. PUR becomes the third P&G brand to leave Saatchi in the past two years, after Eukanuba and Old Spice. Eukanuba put independent Wieden + Kennedy on the P&G map in 2005, and the Portland, Ore., shop expanded its relationship with the addition of Old Spice in early 2006. Before Wieden, those two brands were handled by the New York office of Publicis' Saatchi. The PUR shift is expected to be completed by Jan. 1.Finalists Emerge in $75 Mil. Royal Caribbean ReviewNEW YORK Royal Caribbean last week chose four New York shops to pitch its ad account: WPP's JWT, Publicis' Saatchi & Saatchi, Omnicom's TBWA\Chiat\Day and IPG's DraftFCB, sources said. Each agency is partnering with a sister media shop in pursuit of the creative and media account. JWT is teaming with MindShare, Saatchi & Saatchi with MediaVest, TBWA\Chiat\Day with PHD and DraftFCB with Initative, said sources. The final list excludes incumbents and Havas units Arnold (creative) and MPG (media), both in Boston. Arnold had handled creative duties on the account since 1999. Royal Caribbean, which last year spent more than $75 million in major measured media, has scheduled final presentations for mid-November, said sources. Hotels.com Selects Finalists; Incumbent Out of the Pitch NEW YORK Hotels.com has selected three finalists to pitch creative duties on its ad account and another three finalists in a parallel pitch for media chores, sources said. Sources identified the creative contenders as WPP's Young & Rubicam in Chicago, Publicis' Saatchi & Saatchi in New York and Omnicom's TBWA\Chiat\Day here, and the media contenders as independents Horizon Media and TargetCast, both in New York, and Publicis' Optimedia in Seattle. Each trio emerged from a field of six agencies visited by client execs. The media pitches are slated for Oct. 18 and 19, and the creative pitches for Nov. 8 and 9, said sources. Hotels.com spent more than $60 million in major measured media last year and nearly $45 million in the first seven months of 2007, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The cut appears to spell the end of incumbent Doner's tenure on the brand. The Southfield, Mich., independent, which did not return calls, had handled creative and media duties since 2004. Ark Advisors in New York is managing the process.Cadbury Reviews $140 Mil. In U.S. Media Chores Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages confirmed last week that it has placed its domestic offline and online media chores in review. Consultancy Roth Associates will manage the process, and the incumbent, WPP Group's Mediaedge:cia, has been invited to defend, the client said. Cadbury Schweppes spent $140 million on domestic ads last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The search is expected to be completed by year's end and will focus only on the beverage holdings.Aegis Group's Carat Gains $500 Mil. With Mattel MediaNEW YORK Toymaker Mattel has awarded Aegis Group's Carat its global media planning account and the majority of its media buying, according to sources. Annual ad spending on the business moving to Carat is approximately $500 million, sources said. The incumbent was WPP's MindShare, which retains the buying assignment for the domestic network TV portion of the business, which totaled $220 million in 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

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