Grey New York Chosen as Agency for Red Lobster

Published on Thursday, 19 August 2010 14:41 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Grey today announced that its Grey New York flagship office has been selected as the advertising agency-of-record for Red Lobster, following a review.  The trade press estimates billings in excess of $115 million.

Red Lobster, owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc., is the world's largest casual dining seafood restaurant, with nearly 700 locations in the United States and Canada, about 60,000 employees and total sales of $2.5 billion.  The iconic brand introduced fresh, delicious seafood to America.

Salli Setta, Executive Vice President, Marketing, of Red Lobster said, "Grey demonstrated superb creativity, strategic thinking, integrated capabilities and a deep understanding of the casual dining marketplace.  We look forward to working with this great team to leverage the growth and success of Red Lobster in the years ahead."

Jim Heekin, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group, said, "We are deeply proud of our partnership with Darden and the tremendous vote of confidence Red Lobster has given Grey by entrusting us with this premier brand.  Together, we'll take it to new heights."

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) is the world's largest company-owned and operated full-service restaurant organization.

About Grey

Grey New York is the flagship and largest office of Grey, the advertising network of Grey Group.  Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies.  Its parent company is WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY).  Grey Famously Effective Since 1917 serves a blue-chip client roster of many of the world's best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, Pfizer, Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly, ETrade, NFL, Boehringer Ingelheim, J.M. Smucker and T.J. Maxx.  FAST COMPANY named Grey to "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies" list in 2010 (www.grey.com).

Contact: Owen Dougherty

212-546-2551

SOURCE Grey