Capital One appoints DDB London to £19m UK account following US move

by Julia Pearlman, Brand Republic 28-Feb-05, 14:00

LONDON - McCann Erickson has lost the £19m UK account for credit card giant Capital One to DDB London, after a pitch that also included Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

The pitch comes after Capital One moved its $170m (£88m) US account out of McCann Erickson New York at the end of last year, shifting the work into DDB Chicago and Element 79, part of the BBDO network.

The UK and US arms of McCann Erickson won the combined £150m account in April 2003 after a review when incumbent D'Arcy was closed following its purchase by Publicis Groupe.

Capital One's branding campaign originated in 2000 with the introduction of D'Arcy's "What's in your wallet?" ads. According to research by Mori, Capital One is the fastest-growing credit card in the UK.

Capital One has become the UK's first credit card company to use the fear of identity theft to market its products.

It is running a two-month, £4m TV campaign, created by McCann Erickson and starring TV impressionist Alistair McGowan, to promote its new identity theft assistant service.

Capital One will continue its relationship with Starcom MediaVest for media planning and buying. The company's direct marketing efforts will continue to be managed by BC-S and its in-house studio.

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