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Denny’s Puts $50 Mil. Account in Play

CHICAGO—A desire to pare down the number of agencies and design shops it works with has led Denny’s to put its $50 million account into review, said the consultant overseeing the process. The Spartanburg, S.C.-based unit of Advantica Restaurant Group now works with about 11 agencies. Proposal requests will be issued in late April. Finalists will be visited in early June. WestWayne’s Tampa, Fla., office handles the bulk of Denny’s broadcast advertising. The agency won its portion of the account in May 2000 following a review. An agency representative said WestWayne planned to participate and is “looking to gain even more of the business.” MediaVest in New York handles the client’s media buying, which is part of the review. Denny’s also works with the Chisholm-Mingo Group in New York on ads targeting African Americans and Publicis Sanchez & Levitan in Miami on Hispanic work.

Gaylord Moves to Trahan, Burden & Charles

ATLANTA—Gaylord Entertainment has shifted the ad-vertising account for its hotels to Trahan, Burden & Charles. The Baltimore agency acquired the business from incumbent Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown in Orlando, Fla., without a review. Annual billings are $8 million. The client, based in Nashville, Tenn., owns and operates properties including the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and the Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Fla.

Brann Forbes Aligns With Tricon, Advo

DALLAS—Brann Forbes has forged an alliance withTricon Global Restaurants and coupon mailer Advo to handle Tricon’s direct marketing for the next three years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Tom Cole, president of the Dallas shop, said the agreement gives Tricon the power to integrate all its brands while dealing with just one direct-marketing agency. Tricon, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, purchased the parent of Long John Silver’s and A&W on March 12. The multibranding specialist based in Louisville, Ky., plans to change its name to Yum Brands. Brann Forbes has worked with Pizza Hut on a project basis for the past 11 years. Advo’s coupons reach more than 100 million households annually.

Dieste’s TV Spots to Launch Extremo Brand

DALLAS—Dieste, Harmel & Partners has put a new twist on a familiar Gatorade theme in an advertising campaign to help introduce a spin-off of fruit-flavored drinks for the Hispanic market. In television commercials beginning April 1 for PepsiCo’s new Extremo product line, each Gatorade-colored bead of sweat takes the shape of an “x” as it streams down an athlete’s face. Extremo, which will be sold in 32-ounce bottles, will be available in mango, tropical and citrus flavors. DH&L is located in Dallas.

For the Record

The loss of a $25-30 million American Airlines international marketing account [Adweek, March 11] affected more than 20 DDB offices, not, as suggested, DDB Dallas alone.