GM picks Bates Worldwide to handle $40m global brief
Bates Worldwide in New York has won the $40m (26m) Electronic Data Systems Corporation account, which will involve producing a global branding campaign.
The appointment follows a seven-month review that began when EDS, which is owned by General Motors, decided to find a single agency to handle its advertising worldwide. A small agency, Goldsmith/Jeffrey, has handled the account since May 1993.
Bates won the account after beating D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in New York and the Richards Group in Dallas in the final pitch. Goldsmith/Jeffrey may continue to do project work for the company.
Although EDS is now part of GM, the company was founded by maverick billionaire Ross Perot, who ran for the US presidency in 1993.
The appointment follows the announcement by GM in August that it would spin-off EDS to preferential shareholders in General Motors. GM paid $2.5bn (1.62bn) for the company which it bought from Perot in 1984.
