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OMC, IPG Stocks Rise; WPP to Report Q2 EarningsNEW YORK—Omnicom Group's share price closed at $61.16 Friday, up 11 percent from the week before, when the company told analysts that auditor KPMG had OK'd its accounting for Seneca Investments. However, Standard & Poor's said last week it would maintain a "credit watch" on Omnicom, citing its debt load. Interpublic Group, meanwhile, saw its stock close at $18.48 last week, up 8 percent from the Friday before. Investors showed confidence in the company after IPG executives explained why they had postponed a second-quarter earnings report: the discovery of a $68.5 million internal accounting imbalance within McCann-Erickson in Europe, which, in turn, caused IPG to restate revenue back to 1997. (After the adjustment, IPG reported worldwide revenue of $1.6 billion for the second quarter, down 8 percent from the same period last year.) WPP Group, whose American Depository Receipts were down slightly for the week at $36.06, will report its second-quarter numbers tomorrow.Richards' Hyundai Work to Break in OctoberDALLAS—The Richards Group will break creative work that includes a new tagline for its newly won, estimated $200 million Hyundai Motor America Dealer Advertising Associations account on Oct. 16, the same day work for the client's factory account breaks, agency principal Dale Hruby said. The win of the dealers' creative account, announced late last week, had been expected since May, when the Dallas shop landed the $160 million U.S. factory account, which had been handled by Bates USA West. Aegis Group's Carat North America, New York, continues to handle media. Richards hired 10 former Bates staffers to work on the dealer business, Hruby said.California Lottery Postpones FCB's WinLOS ANGELES—The California Lottery commission on Friday postponed voting on whether Foote, Cone & Belding should be granted its five-year, $125 million ad account. The IPG shop had been named the winner on July 31, pending approval from the commission. A lottery representative said the vote is now set for Sept. 10 to allow the state's legal office to review a protest filed last week, on undisclosed grounds, by Omnicom's DDB in Los Angeles. When DDB filed its intent to protest, sources attributed it to a dispute over information provided by FCB San Francisco and Initiative Media North America in Los Angeles about media costs. DDB officials declined comment. FCB San Francisco president Ian Beavis said the shop had been asked to provide additional information to the lottery prior to the meeting.Ogilvy Bows American Express US Open AdsNEW YORK—American Express breaks its first TV commercials for the US Open today; the three spots are the first part of a $30 million "umbrella" campaign being launched for all American Express sports and entertainment sponsorships. The ads, by WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, New York, feature tennis stars Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles. Roddick tests out a towel he's interested in purchasing by wearing it; Capriati tosses oranges at a produce stand to an aggrieved stock boy; and Seles does her trademark grunts as she attempts to pick up items in a supermarket.

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