• Adweek, Friday, March 30, 2007 10:15 AM

Volvo has invited Havas' Arnold and Publicis Groupe's Fallon to take another shot at its $150 million account, while cutting incumbent Euro RSCG and 180 from a review. Final presentations and the decision are set for the week of April 16.

Havas' Euro RSCG has been Volvo's principal agency and will hang on to some business in the Asia-Pacific and Latin-American regions. "All four agencies were very strong," says Volvo global ad director Tim Ellis, adding that the creative and strategic presentations of Arnold and Fallon were just a cut above the others.

Volvo had previously signaled it would pick its agency from the field of four, with no interim trims. According to insiders, the review was spurred by disagreements about the brand's creative direction, as Volvo execs couldn't agree whether North American work or concepts created for overseas markets should be used globally. So, Volvo senior management in Sweden decided on a single worldwide concept and chose the review as the best way to get it.

Read the whole story at Adweek »