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Vodafone Taps Wieden for $400 Mil. Global PrizeLOS ANGELES —British telecommunications company Vodafone has hired Wieden + Kennedy to create global advertising. Other contenders: McCann-Erickson and WCRS, both in London. Wieden was believed to have won the account earlier this year [Adweek, March 26], but the assignment was put on hold after Vodafone failed to settle on an ad budget, sources said. Sources said global ad spending for Vodafone will be about $400 million. Dairy Group Seeks Media Shop for $10-15 Mil. WorkCHICAGO—The Midwest Dairy Association has contacted agencies about its $10-15 million media account, sources said. Chicago-based consultancy Jones Lundin Beals was contacted to provide initial support for the review, but is no longer involved in the process, sources said. A client representative could not be reached; there is no incumbent. The MDA is based in St. Paul, Minn.LBTG to Close in AustinDALLAS—Leo Burnett Technology Group will shutter its office in Austin, Texas, at the end of the month. Twenty-one full-time staff members are affected. The move follows closings in Boston and San Francisco as LBTG consolidates at its Chicago headquarters.Lowe Lintas & Partners to Shutter S.F. Office SAN FRANCISCO—Lowe Lintas & Partners in San Francisco is closing, U.S. chairman and chief creative officer Gary Goldsmith said in a statement. Goldsmith said a softening in the San Francisco economy and cuts in ad spending necessitated the shutdown. The San Francisco office had opened in April 1997. The shop worked with ZDNet, Eddie Bauer and InterNAP, all of whom have halted ad spending with Lowe Lintas during the past eight months. It could not be immediately learned how many jobs will be lost as a result of the shutdown.Havas Reports Modest GainsBOSTON—Havas reported 8 percent first-quarter upticks in global billings and revenue to approximately $3.2 billion and $485 million, respectively, based on the current rate of exchange. The Paris-based holding company is parent to the Euro RSCG and Arnold networks, as well as the global Media Planning Group. Temerlin Cuts Staff, Plans Merger With McCannDALLAS—Temerlin McClain last week informed employees of plans to cut staff by 20 percent—about 100 people. The agency lost some revenue in the last two months as DDB in New York picked up the international portion of its Nortel account through a business service agreement, and Verizon consolidated its DSL account at Lowe Lintas & Partners. The layoffs, as expected [Adweek, April 30], are in anticipation of McCann-Erickson's merger of its Dallas and Houston offices under Temerlin, pending parent company Interpublic Group of Cos. acquisition of True North Communications, Temerlin's parent. The agency will be led by CEO Dennis McClain, and McCann's staffers—115 in Dallas and 20 in Houston—will move to the Temerlin building in Irving, Texas.Dial's $20 Mil. Business in PlayNEW YORK—The review for Dial Soap's estimated $20 million creative account is being run by Larry Flink of The New Business Perspective, a Mamaroneck, N.Y.-based consultancy, sources said. At least four agencies, including incumbent DDB in New York, will attend credentials meetings later this month at the client's Scottsdale, Ariz., headquarters, sources said. DDB also handles media planning; Active International in New York does the buying. On Deck for Alcatel: Lou GehrigBOSTON—Alcatel today is scheduled to break a TV spot using digitally altered footage of the 1939 farewell speech of baseball legend Lou Gehrig. The spot, part of the ongoing $40-50 million "Speeches" campaign from Boston's Arnold, shows the New York Yankee, then dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, giving his address at Yankee Stadium. The stands are made to look empty, underscoring the client's point, "Before you can inspire … you must first connect." An earlier spot showed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech. That ad was criticized for cheapening King's memory.Newswire RoundupTom Sharbaugh has resigned from the board of Leapnet following the sale of the unit he oversaw, Planet Leap, to Berlitz Globalnet in March. Sharbaugh, 57, was formerly president of the Leap Partnership ad agency, which he joined in 1996. Sharbaugh will continue to serve Leapnet as a consultant. … Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles media director Richard Weigand, a 35-year agency veteran who spent his entire career at Saatchi, is retiring. Filling his shoes at the Torrance, Calif., shop is Emily Weiss, formerly a senior associate media director. … Danish shoe company Ecco has awarded its estimated $20-25 million global account to Grey, after a review in which the only other finalist was TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York, sources said. … Keiler & Co. last week picked up two accounts, Lockheed Martin and BFGoodrich, following reviews. The Farmington, Conn.-based agency bested Cramer-Krasselt in Milwaukee, and Gray, Kirk/VanSant in Baltimore, for the $15 million Lockheed work; incumbent DDB in New York did not defend. Keiler upended undisclosed contenders for the $2-3 million BFGoodrich account. … Arnold has added Simmons Durham in St. Louis to its agency network. … The National Advertising Review Council, the advertising industry's self-regulating body, has tapped James Guthrie to serve as president. … McCann-Erickson WorldGroup's Momen tum has acquired PR firm Huvane Baum Halls. It plans to merge the firm with its PMK public relations division.

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