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TBWA\C\D, Riney Split Duties On Sprint and Nextel NEW YORK Sprint and Nextel Communications on Friday selected Nextel lead agency TBWA\ Chiat\Day to handle the launch campaign for the companies' planned merger and that going forward, it would use TBWA\C\D for consumer-directed ads and Sprint lead agency Publicis & Hal Riney for business-directed ads. Billings were not disclosed, but sources expect the merged entity to spend more than $500 million annually on all forms of marketing. Riney, a Publicis shop in San Francisco, and Omnicom's TBWA\C\D in New York had been competing since April to handle the launch. Promotional duties were assigned to Publicis' Frankel in Chicago. The companies have yet to decide who will handle other tasks, including Hispanic, interactive, direct and media duties. The $35 billion merger is expected to be completed in August. Saatchi Rebuts Burns' Motion to Dismiss 'Saatchi 17' Lawsuit NEW YORK Saatchi & Saatchi has opposed a move by its former General Mills account chief Mike Burns to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Publicis agency that accuses Burns of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of the duty of loyalty related to the Feb. 14 walkout of staffers who worked on General Mills. In legal papers, which were handed to Burns' lawyers last week, Saatchi lays out a "very thorough rebuttal" of Burns' motion to dismiss the suit, which seeks at least $3 million in damages, said Tom Marino of Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller, the New York law firm representing Saatchi. Marino declined to elaborate but said the papers—and Burns' reply to them—will be filed in state Supreme Court in late June. Marla Gordon, a lawyer for Burns, declined comment. Finalists for Hilton's $40-50 Mil. Account to Bring the 'Love'LOS ANGELES Hilton Hotels has identified at least five finalists in its creative and media review, with presentations due to wrap before June 30, sources said. The incumbent, IPG's Foote Cone & Belding in Chicago and Irvine, Calif., has advanced, as have IPG's McCann Erickson in New York, WPP's Young & Rubicam Brands in Irvine, Calif.; and Omnicom's GSD&M in Austin, Texas, sources said. Omnicom's TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif., which handles Hilton's Embassy Suites brand, has been invited into the final round, too, but sources said the shop has not determined if it will go forward. The status of WPP's JWT in Los Angeles was unclear at press time. Hilton's RFP seeks "pinnacle-level creative" to convert the brand from one of the "best known" to "best loved." It says the "umbrella positioning" should convert travelers who consider separate brands "for different reasons at different times" into those who see the "benefits for choosing us for all reasons at all times. We know this is confusing. Your mission is to help us be clear and compelling."Lowe's to Name 4 Finalists in Review for $315 Mil. Ad DutiesNEW YORK Lowe's is expected to cut to four finalists this week in the review for its $315 million account, sources said. The incumbent, IPG's McCann Erickson in New York, will automatically advance. The client held chemistry meetings last week with McCann and its IPG siblings Deutsch in New York and Campbell-Ewald in Warren, Mich.; Omnicom's BBDO and TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York and Element 79 in Chicago; and independent Doner in Southfield, Mich. Raleigh, N.C., consultancy Hasan + Co. is handling the process. With Most Founders Gone, OMC's LLKFB Becomes Unit-7NEW YORK Direct communications agency LLKFB is renaming itself Unit-7, effective immediately, now that nearly all of its founding partners have moved on, said Tom Harrison, chairman and CEO of the Diversified Agency Services division of Omnicom. The New York shop has most recently focused its efforts on pharmaceutical advertising. But in January, when founding partner Loreen Babcock took the CEO and chairman posts vacated by Bob Lieber last year, she said the agency would work to win business in other categories, including financial services, automotive and packaged goods. The agency switched offices last month, moving from 299 W. Houston Street to 30 Irving Place. Babcock was not available for comment.

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