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Jurors Split the Verdict In Color Wheel TrialNEW YORK After deliberating for four days, a Manhattan jury on Friday found former Grey Worldwide vp, associate director of graphic services John Steinmetz not guilty of charges related to bid-rigging, overbilling, kickbacks, fraud and tax evasion. But co-defendant Birj Deckmejian, a graphics-supply salesman formerly associated with The Color Wheel, was convicted of several anti-trust violations and fraud charges. Mitch Mosallem, the former evp, director of graphic services at Grey, pleaded guilty to related charges last April and will be sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in New York. He could receive up to 78 months in prison and a $100,000 fine. Clio Launches New Category, Names Jury ChairsNEW YORK A new Clio Awards category, Content and Contact, will award innovation in media and excellence in creativity; the jury will be led by Nick Brien, president of corporate business development for Starcom MediaVest Group in Chicago. Other jury chairs at the May 15-18 event in Miami Beach will be Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director Bob Isherwood, leading TV and radio judging; Kirk Souder, president of Publicis & Hal Riney in San Francisco, leading the print and poster jury; Paul Rothwell, managing director of Gorgeous Enterprises in London, leading the technique jury; and Lars Bastholm, creative director at Framfab in Copenhagen, leading the interactive jury. The Clio Awards are owned by VNU, parent of Adweek.Heekin Makes First Hire at Euro, Tapping McCann's LepereNEW YORK McCann-Erickson Worldwide's former evp, manager of integration, Marc Lepere, will join Euro RSCG Worldwide as evp, chief marketing officer starting Nov. 17. Lepere, 43, will be responsible for all areas of Euro RSCG's marketing, including development of multinational client partnerships. Lepere, based in London, will report to Jim Heekin, president and COO of Euro RSCG Worldwide. This is Heekin's first appointment since he joined in September from McCann, where he was CEO. At McCann, Lepere established and led the agency's estimated $500 million global Microsoft account. Schiffer, Curtis Pose for Gap's Holiday EffortNEW YORK The Gap is aiming for cross-generational appeal in a TV, print and outdoor holiday campaign from Laird + Partners in New York. Claudia Schiffer, Jamie Lee Curtis and Katie Holmes, among others, will appear in ads wearing the retailer's line of fair-isle sweaters and jeans. TV spots break later this month during broadcast shows including NBC's Friends, Fox's 24 and ABC's The Bachelor, and on cable networks ESPN, MTV and VH1. Spending was not disclosed. Gap spent about $130 million on ads last year, including an estimated $35 million in November and December, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. 3 IPG Shops Present to Verizon WirelessNEW YORK Three IPG shops last week presented creative ideas on Verizon Wireless, the estimated $700 million account at IPG's Lowe in New York. The presentations, which had been rescheduled at least twice, took place Tuesday at the client's headquarters in Bedminster, N.J., sources said. Besides Lowe, client executives heard ideas from the Boston office of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos and McCann-Erickson in New York, said sources. The client wants to evolve its "Test Man" campaign, which launched in January 2002. The agencies declined comment; the client could not be reached.Marriott Splits With McCann; Moves Media, Interactive Duties NEW YORK Marriott International has shifted national media and interactive duties from IPG's Universal McCann in New York to Aegis' Carat Affiliates in New York and T3 in Austin, Texas, respectively, the client said last week. Marriott, which spends about $90 million a year on advertising, has also cut ties with IPG's McCann-Erickson in New York, leaving lead ad duties in the hands of New York independent mcgarrybowen, which joined the roster in July, sources said. It was unclear at press time which agency previously handled national interactive duties. The three shops will handle all Marriott brands except The Ritz-Carlton, which remains at Sawyer Riley Compton in Atlanta.

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