Wanadoo parent France Telecom hinders £80m ad pitch

by Staff, Marketing, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 12:00am,

LONDON - The drawn-out £80m pitch for Wanadoo's pan-European ad business has been put on hold while parent France Telecom overhauls its global brand strategy.

The ISP, which operates in the UK and on the Continent, had shortlisted five agency groups: incumbent M&C Saatchi, which is pitching alongside BBDO; Y&R Paris and Red Cell; TBWA\London; Euro RSCG; and DDB London.

The agencies were told at the end of last week that the pitch was being put on ice as France Telecom evaluates the strategies for both Wanadoo and Orange.

Separately, Orange is hunting a global branding agency. The search is not expected to affect UK ad agency Mother.

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This article was first published on Marketing