- Noreen O'Leary

Omnicom Group's BBDO has added creative chores for online travel service Orbitz following a review, the company has confirmed.

"In BBDO, Orbitz has chosen a partner that is an award-winning agency across all forms of marketing communications," Orbitz said in a statement. "The creative team will be led by chief creative officer David Lubars and executive creative director Ronald Ng."

BBDO declined comment, referring queries to Orbitz.

The online travel service spent $40 million in major measured media last year, sans digital, down from about $60 million in '08, per Nielsen.

Orbitz launched the review in December, just six months after pulling its creative chores from Interpublic Group's Mullen and assigning them to Trailer Park Studios.

Orbitz's newly named vp of brand marketing Deborah Italiano, a Travelocity veteran, was among the key decision makers in the review. She joined Orbitz last November.

Review contenders were not disclosed. Orbitz had said Mullen and Trailer Park were invited to participate. A Mullen rep today said the shop did not pitch for the business.

Last June, Orbitz shifted creative to Hollywood, Calif.-based hybrid agency/production house Trailer Park, citing cost savings. There was no competition for the business at that time.

Mullen's MediaHub unit handles buying chores for Orbitz, and that part of the business was not in play. Boston-based Mullen initially added Orbitz to its client roster in 2006 when it won creative, acquiring the media portion of the account two years later.