McCann Erickson, part of Interpublic Group, beat Arnold Worldwide to take the account. The incumbent on the work was Lowe, also part of Interpublic, with Verizon reportedly calling a review of the work in January after saying it was unhappy with Lowe's efforts. Nine agencies were involved in the review.
Lowe has created the character "test man" for Verizon, who goes around asking "Can you hear me now?", although he may not be used in further campaigns.
Verizon, in which Vodafone owns a 45% stake, is the biggest provider of wireline and wireless communications in the US and also the largest directory publisher in the world. It was formed in 2000 by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE.
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