Safeway Parks $50 Mil. in Media In JWT Retail Lot

J. Walter Thompson has been selected to handle $50 million in media planning and buying chores for Safeway, one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America.
JWT Retail Group has been wooing the Pleasanton, Calif., retailer for two years, said Chris Grindem, executive director of the Detroit agency. The decision came without a formal review.
Western Initiative Media, Los Angeles, was the incumbent on the media account. Safeway moved creative from McCann-Erickson, San Francisco, to Dailey & Associates, West Hollywood, Calif.,