Albion beats Mother to £10m eBay brief

by James Hamilton, Campaign 01-Jun-07

Albion has scooped the £10 million UK eBay account after a final shoot-out against Mother.

The appointment strengthens Albion's relationship with the online
auction giant; the agency already handles advertising duties for the IP
telephone company Skype, which is owned by eBay.

EBay called a pitch in April, severing its three-year relationship with

Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners, which declined to repitch.

The company originally shortlisted Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, WCRS and
Saatchi & Saatchi alongside Mother and Albion. AMV dropped out before
the final shortlist was pared down to two agencies.

DLKW was eBay's first above-the-line agency in the UK. It developed the
"Buy it. Sell it. Love it" endline, which is expected to continue in
eBay's new advertising.

Albion's win comes just six months after the appointment of Olivier van
Calster as the eBay marketing director. He replaced Simon Darling, who
left the company last September to set up his own digital
consultancy.

Media, which is handled by PHD, is unaffected.

Albion won the Skype account in October 2005, a month after the
telephone company sold to eBay for $2.6 billion. The agency has
produced animated viral spots and an international print campaign for
the company.