Redstone chooses MWO for £5m TV campaign

National communications company Redstone Telecom has handed its &£5m advertising account to Mortimer Whittaker O’Sullivan, which will take the brand onto TV for the first time. The appointment gives Redstone its first agency of record.

The agency pitched against Bates UK to win the account. Media buying and planning are handled by the incumbent, BJK&E. Redstone marketing director Bob Cushing used the AAR to search for an agency. Previously, Redstone used Ware Anthony Rust on a project basis.

Mortimer Whittaker O’Sullivan managing partner Tim Mortimer says: “We will take Redstone onto TV to help build a brand around the company’s personality – passionate, energetic, intimate and hard-working. It fits very well with the rugby sponsorship announced last week.”

Redstone has signed a four-year, seven-figure deal as the first sponsor of the Welsh national rugby team. Redstone was title sponsor for Honda’s 2000 British Touring Car Championship.

Mortimer Whittaker O’Sullivan has also won the creative account for the Jim Henson Company, the puppeteer. The agency will work on the relaunch of The Muppets, which will take place next year, and Channel 4’s new pre-school TV series, The Hoobs. The agency’s client list includes AOL, Compuserve and Direct Line.

Redstone was given its licence to run a public phone network in 1995 and is transforming itself into a communications group offering broadband voice and data services, targeting small and medium-sized businesses. It floated in October 1999.

The company’s future development depends on the unbundling of BT’s local loop – effectively the opening up of the local telephone network. Telecoms watchdog Oftel wants the unbundling completed by July 2001.