Caffeine Injection for DeVito/Verdi

A&P’s Eight O’Clock Coffee last week awarded its estimated $5 million advertising account to DeVito/Verdi, sources said.
The shop beat The Kaplan Thaler Group and Warwick Baker O’Neill, New York, after a three-month review that began with 15 agencies [Adweek, Sept. 6].
The review was handled by AAR/Bob Wolf Partners in New York and Los Angeles, but officials declined comment, as did those at DeVito/Verdi. The client did not return calls. A campaign is expected next year and will likely include TV and print, a source said.
Sold in about 750 A&P-owned supermarkets in North America, Eight O’Clock Coffee has long been a leader in the whole-bean category, but has lost market share to Procter & Gamble’s Folger’s and Kraft’s Maxwell House, considered the client’s chief rivals, said a source.
Starbucks whole-bean coffee and P&G’s Millstone brand are also gaining ground, per Information Resources.