The ten-year incumbent on the above-the-line account, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, withdrew from the pitch at an earlier stage. Other pitching agencies included Albion, glue London and Gyro.
Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, now part of Proximity, previously handled the direct account and glue London ran the digital account. Virgin Trains called the pitch in March, following the restructure of its marketing department, in order to streamline its advertising arrangements from three agencies to one.
It is now likely to increase its budget to present train travel as a way of avoiding high fuel prices.
In September 2006, RKCR/Y&R created a TV ad for Virgin Trains featuring cowboys and Indians which was criticised for being offensive to Native Americans. Despite receiving 83 complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority cleared the ad.
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