Sources said that TBWA won the business because the agency handles the brief in the UK, the first of nine markets in which the telco is planning to roll out its third generation mobile phone services under the brand name "3".
Hutchison, the sources stressed, wanted to have a consistent worldwide brand message.
O&M was a favourite to win the assignment, because it is the incumbent on the Orange brand, which Hutchison operates under a franchise agreement with France Telecoms.
