Carphone hires two for £3m task
Carphone Warehouse has hired an ad hoc team of two independent admen to handle its Christmas TV advertising campaign. The decision follows the loss of Carphone’s marketing director and agency within three weeks of each other while a pitch for the &£12m full account was in progress.
The mobile phone retailer has asked Phil Brisk, a partner at the Drayton Bird marketing consultancy, and Adrian Rowbotham, founder of Adrian Rowbotham Films – both of whom have created work Carphone in the past – to develop a &£3m campaign in the run-up to Christmas.
The move leaves open the question of who will take over the account resigned by Young & Rubicam last month.
Y&R’s merger with Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe created a conflict with the Carphone business because of Rainey Kelly client Virgin’s move into mobile telecoms.
The decision followed the resignation in August of marketing director Lesley Angus, who left due to differences of opinion with Carphone founder and chief executive Charles Dunstone after just five months with the company.
Brisk and Rowbotham, who created Carphone’s first TV ad in 1995, will be employed on a heavyweight campaign designed to take advantage of any expected increase in mobile sales before Christmas.
