McConnells takes the lead in ESB race

McConnells has emerged as the front-runner in the closely contested pitch for the ESB advertising account. The tendering process has been lengthy, with 32 agencies first presenting credentials in July.

A shortlist of five was then composed comprising the incumbent agency CDP, as well as Des O'Meara's, Owens DDB, DDFH&B and McConnells. The last two made it to a final shortlist and their creative proposals were researched for effectiveness by the ESB.

The account is particularly attractive from an agency point of view as it allows the creative department to actually make large-scale television advertisements. The spread of global advertising means that the chances to create for television domestically are becoming less common.

The ESB account comes up for statutory review every two years and this time the company made the decision to unbundle the account by holding separate competitions for creative work, worth about £600,000 (€761,840), and media planning - worth £2 million.

The current pitch for which McConnells is favoured is the creative work. The media pitch will take place next month.

CDP, which has worked on the business since 1996, will continue to service the account until the handover in January 2002.

The ESB has a history of producing strong and sometimes costly television advertising to support the brand and also to sell electricity and its applications.

A driving force behind the creative brief has always been to stress the integral relationship between the ESB and Irish life.

However, as domestic consumers have little choice but to use the company for their electricity needs and indeed for their energy needs (aside from some gas-fired appliances and home heating), the lavishness of their commercials can be surprising. This was particularly notable in last year's "Silent Partner" television commercial, made by CDP. As it will take some months for the new agency to devise and shoot a television commercial, it is likely the "Silent Partner" advertisement will stay on air well into the new year.

McConnells has several other big brand accounts - whose target is essentially everyone in the State.

These include the National Lottery and Eircell. McConnells, still the largest independently owned agency, has been in buy-out negotiations with the global group Lowe.

bharrison@irish-times.ie

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