Excite Names Lowe & Partners/SMS as AOR

Excite Inc. named Lowe & Partners/SMS of New York City as the company’s advertising agency of record, with a focus on consumer advertising.

“The appointment of Lowe will take our natural momentum and propel us forward quickly, making us the first choice for consumers going online…we are looking forward to an energized and aggressive consumer marketing campaign starting in the fourth quarter ’98 and taking us well into 1999,” said Fred Siegel, Excite’s new senior vice president of marketing.

Billings were estimated at $25 million to $30 million. The account had been handled by the San Francisco office of Foote, Cone & Belding.

“Our challenge is to produce work that helps Excite to become a household brand name,” said Lee Garfinkel, co-chairman and chief creative officer of Lowe & Partners/SMS.

Excite plans a campaign to begin in the fourth quarter aimed at building a relationship with consumers new to the Internet and those thinking about exploring the Internet in the near future. Additionally, the creative platform developed will offer a consistent image from which to build future campaigns.

Lowe & Partners/SMS is a full-service advertising agency and marketing communications firm that handles clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Mercedes-Benz, Heineken USA Inc., Sun Microsystems, Braun, Eddie Bauer, KPMG Peat Marwick, Century 21 Real Estate, Oral-B, Ralston Purina, Western Union, Denny’s, Perdue, Courtyard by Marriott, Long John Silver’s, U.S. Virgin Islands, Valvoline and Whitehall-Robins. Billings are about $740 million