Hotlinenewswire

6 Contend for $35 Mil. Michelin AccountNEW YORK—Six agencies have advanced to the next round of Michelin's estimated $35 million review, the client confirmed. Contending are: Campbell-Ewald in Detroit, Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., The Richards Group in Dallas, Leo Burnett in Chicago and Merkley Newman Harty in New York. The Greenville, S.C.-based client had sent questionnaires to upwards of 10 shops two weeks ago, including DDB in Chicago. That shop's New York office was the incumbent. Jones Lundin Beals in Chicago is handling the review.DDB Takes $30 Mil. Infogrames BusinessLOS ANGELES—DDB has landed videogame-maker Infogrames' $30 million creative and media account after a review. The Los Angeles-based shop beat Arnold Ingalls Moranville in San Francisco, Attik in New York and San Francisco, BBDO West in Los Angeles and Rubin Postaer and Associates in Santa Monica, Calif., to take the work. Media Planning in New York previously handled media.IPG Reports Modest Revenue GainNEW YORK—The Interpublic Group of Cos. reported a 6 percent increase in worldwide revenue during the first quarter of 2001, compared to the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was up 2.6 percent to $65.3 million, according to IPG. In the U.S., revenue rose 5 percent to $737 million. Gains were tempered by merger-related client losses at Lowe Lintas & Partners and the loss of "dot-com revenue" at Initiative Media, IPG said. Lowe Lintas Taps Edwards for U.K. RoleNEW YORK—Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide has tapped Paul Edwards, chairman and CEO of The Henley Center in London, to serve as CEO of Lowe Lintas & Partners U.K., a new post. Edwards assumes duties previously held by Paul Hammersley, former CEO of Lowe Lintas in London, who is transferring to New York to become CEO of the U.S. office. The London post has been filled by Chris Thomas, formerly managing director of the London office.Digitas Sees Layoffs, Exec Pay CutsBOSTON—Digitas said it cut about 3 percent of its global staff—65 people—and halted real estate expansion in its Boston and New York offices. Digitas also introduced a temporary 5 percent pay cut for its 70 highest paid executives. The moves were due to a 10 percent decrease in client spending. Digitas reported a net loss of $6.6 million for its first quarter, an improvement over the $7.5 million loss reported for the same period last year. First-quarter revenue was $77 million, up 22 percent from a year ago. GM's O'Malley to Run Ford for JWTDETROIT—Longtime General Motors executive Michael O'Malley has joined J. Walter Thompson as evp and global business director for Ford Motor Co. O'Malley takes over as the agency's head executive on Ford from Peter Schweitzer, who was promoted to chief executive officer of JWT in January. For the past year, O'Malley has been general manager of GM's Cadillac division; he has worked for all five GM divisions in his 20 years at the automaker.Miller Unveils Ads, Welcomes Back Y&RCHICAGO—Young & Rubicam is returning to Miller's fold after a two-year absence. The shop's Chicago office will handle advertising for new products. Separately, Miller unveiled several dozen new spots at its distributor's meeting in Milwaukee last week, including "Brewery Heritage" spots by Core in St. Louis, featuring brewery workers talking about their product, and Ogilvy & Mather's music video-style spots for Miller Lite, MGD and Miller High Life, which break in May. Miller will boost overall spending by 20 percent to more than $300 million this year, sources said.FCB Touts New Taco Bell BurritoSAN FRANCISCO—A new ad for Taco Bell from FCB in San Francisco breaks this week and features Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Elsa Benitez touting the chain's new "Grilled Stuft Burrito." Spending was undisclosed, but Taco Bell spends an estimated $200 million on ads annually. The spot begins airing nationally this week on network TV. FCB won the account last summer from TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif. Newswire RoundupLeo Burnett on Friday confirmed that it will shutter its struggling Leo Burnett Technology Group outpost in Boston, a month after closing operations in San Francisco. The group will likely retrench in its Chicago homebase. … Grey successfully negotiated the last hurdle to win Aetna's $40 million account, as expected. The New York-based shop defeated fellow finalist McKinney & Silver in Raleigh, N.C., [Adweek, April 23] earlier this month, but had to make a final pitch to the Hartford, Conn.-based insurer's incoming CEO, Dr. Jack Rowe. … Impiric has taken over promotional duties for Unilever brands Salon Selectives, Thermasilk and Finesse. The WPP Group promotions arm handles Unilever in Europe and other overseas markets. … Tribal DDB was named interactive agency for McDonald's Corp., expanding DDB's relationship with McDonald's, which splits ad duties between DDB and Leo Burnett in Chicago. … Lowe Lintas & Partners will handle the U.S. portion of Saab's business that was previously consolidated at Lowe Brindfors in Sweden [Adweek, Feb. 5]. Billings are estimated at $60-65 million. The account was previously at The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va. For the RecordIn a news story [Adweek, April 23], the co-founder of the Gardner-Nelson Project in New York, Tom Nelson, was misidentified.

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