Dell shifts £75m press from DDB to AdPeople

by Darren Davidson, Campaign 23-Jun-06

DDB London's recent woes are set to continue with the news Dell Computers is moving an estimated £75 million pan-European portion of its creative account to the Danish ad agency AdPeople following an internal audit.

The news breaks as reports emerged that WPP is talking to AdPeople about
a possible acquisition. The Copenhagen-based full-service agency also
has an outpost in Bangladesh.

The lion's share of Dell's advertising is in press, which is now moving

to AdPeople from DDB. However, DDB will keep the TV account.

AdPeople already handles Dell's online and direct marketing.

Ronnie Job, the founder of Adpeople, refused to comment on the Dell
appointment.

However, he confirmed talks were taking place with WPP. He said a deal
would only be struck if it enabled the agency to improve the level of
service it could offer clients. WPP declined to comment.

Dell's move follows a downbeat set of financial results. Last month, the
computer giant reported first-quarter figures for 2006 that showed a 19
per cent fall in operating income to £502 million.

DDB's London office is also experiencing difficult times. It has been
without a chief executive since the beginning of the year and has lost
its PG Tips, Guardian and Weetabix accounts in that period.