D’Arcy scoops £15m A&L task

The Alliance & Leicester has ended its 15-year relationship with BMP DDB by axing the agency from its £15m creative advertising account and handing the business to D’Arcy.

The Alliance & Leicester has ended its 15-year relationship with BMP DDB by axing the agency from its &£15m creative advertising account and handing the business to D’Arcy.

The company saw pitches from three agencies for the business, which was originally believed to be for a one-off project. BMP was not invited to repitch.

D’Arcy will now develop a branding campaign in line with A&L’s new business strategy, which was unveiled at the end of last week by new managing director Peter McNamara, who joined in June from Lloyds TSB.

A&L has split its operation into eight divisions, including a small business unit linking up with its Girobank arm, headed by strategic marketing director Tim Pile.

Graham Pilkington, who was poached by McNamara from Lloyds TSB, will spearhead A&L’s drive for personal account customers (MW July 13).

BMP first won the A&L account in 1985, when it was a building society. Recently A&L has relied heavily on direct marketing, through Barraclough Hall Woolston Gray and Brann Worldwide.

In the mid-Nineties, BMP created the “Be a smarter investor at the Alliance & Leicester” campaign, featuring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.

Its last major TV campaign launched in April 1998. The ad, which starred Fast Show comedian Simon Daye, carried the endline “Alliance & Leicester. Common sense in a crazy world”.

Media is handled by Manning Gottlieb Media.