Y&R nets Xmas Carphone task

The Carphone Warehouse has hired Young & Rubicam to develop a Christmas TV campaign.

The appointment puts Y&R in a strong position to pick up the rest of the &£10m Carphone business, handled by The Advertising Brasserie. Y&R already has the &£3m account for electrical chain Tandy, which Carphone acquired in January.

Y&R pitched against The Brasserie, Lowe Howard-Spink and Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters for the TV project.

The decision to appoint Y&R was made by managing director Charles Dunstone, just a week after marketing director Lesley Angus, who initiated the review, left the company after a row with Dunstone – her boss and long-term friend (MW August 19).

Angus joined Carphone in March. She was given a brief to formulate a marketing strategy across the group’s retail brands, including the Tecno chain acquired in May.

The group’s combined ad spend is &£14m. It has traditionally focused on radio advertising, sometimes putting new ads on air within hours of price changes. Dunstone says: “We avoid using full-service agencies due to the fast-moving nature of our business. Working on a project basis allows us to quickly evaluate the success of the campaign, while working with some of the best marketing teams in the business.”

The company’s roster of agencies – Radioville, Matters Media and Unity – are unaffected.