MG OMD wins Eidos' £3m media brief

Ian Darby, Campaign 02-Oct-08, 05:50

LONDON - Eidos, the company behind the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider video games, has appointed Manning Gottlieb OMD to handle its £3 million UK media business.

InvENTS, the agency's specialist entertainment division, will handle the account. It won the business after Eidos called a pitch following MPG's decision to resign the account (Campaign, 2 June).

The first work from the agency will involve the launch of the next Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Other successful game franchises owned by Eidos include Hitman, Championship Manager, Kane & Lynch and Just Cause.

In April, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints against four ads for the Kane & Lynch game and ruled that they should be withdrawn.

Jon Brooke, the head of UK marketing at Eidos, said: "I'm certain that Manning Gottlieb OMD's media planning and buying expertise is going to help make the likes of Tomb Raider: Underworld hugely successful."

Eidos is owned by SCi Entertainment Group, which acquired the business in 2005.

Earlier this year, it announced a cost-cutting programme designed to reduce staff levels by 25 per cent and to deliver £14 million in savings.

This followed a strategic business review in which SCi highlighted "disappointing game development" and a "failing to realise the commercial return our creative ability and shareholders demand".