The Premier League appointed Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R as its first advertising agency, according to Omar Oakes of CAMPAIGN LIVE. RKCR/Y&R won the pitch "after going up against Adam & Eve/DDB in the final round." M&C Saatchi took part at an earlier stage in the process, which was handled by Robin Consulting. The WPP agency will "begin working on the advertising, digital and social media account immediately." For the first time since its inaugural '92-93 season, the EPL will operate without a corporate sponsor from the end of the current campaign (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 2/25). MORE ABOUT ADVERTISING's Stephen Foster reported "almost as sweet for the WPP-owned agency is the fact that it beat" A&E in the final round. A&E had been a "cloud looming over Y&R" in the U.K. ever since three senior Y&R execs, headed by current A&E CEO James Murphy, quit to set up the U.K.’s "most successful and high profile start-up" in '08. The win is a "big boost" for new Y&R CEO Jon Sharpe, who took over from Ben Kay at the end of last year. Sharpe had to persuade WPP CEO Martin Sorrell that he "should stick with the agency as it was after A&E won the giant Lloyds account from it last autumn" (MORE ABOUT ADVERTISING, 2/25).
