TBWA poised to pick up 5m Blu-ray business

TBWA/London is tipped to win the £5m advertising account for Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), the consortium recently declared the winner in the battle between rival high-definition DVD formats.

TBWA is understood to have beaten Fallon, US agency Toys in the Attic and Krow, which handled a project for BDA in 2006 (MW September 7, 2006). TBWA will create work for the UK market that will probably be rolled out across Europe.

It is believed the pitch was overseen by Steve Foulser, vice-president of marketing and business development at Disney, which is part of the consortium.

Blu-ray has been battling with HD-DVD for supremacy in a tussle reminiscent of the fight between VHS and Beetamax video in the 1980s. Toshiba’s HD-DVD is backed by Microsoft, as well as film studios Universal and Paramount, while Sony’s Blu-ray is championed by Fox and Disney.

It was Warner Brothers’ decision to back Blu-ray earlier this month that led many to declare Sony the victor. The move means Blu-ray can now claim support from studios representing 70% of Hollywood output.

But the BDA says sales figures show the HD-DVD camp was in serious trouble even before the Warner move. Blu-ray players, such as Sony’s PlayStation 3 device, are outselling HD-DVD players by three to one in the US, according to figures from Home Media Research. In Europe, the ratio is ten to one in Blu-ray’s favour and in Japan it is 100 to one.

Reports suggest Paramount is poised to drop its support for HD-DVD following Warner’s decision.