8321: Lenovo Search Results Are Pure White.

Advertising Age reported that three agencies are vying for the chance to handle Lenovo global advertising duties. As always, zero minority shops were invited to compete. Digital divide or discriminatory dealmaking? More like computerized Corporate Cultural Collusion.

Agencies Competing for Lenovo Global Ad Duties

Presentations Taking Place at CES in Las Vegas

By Rupal Parekh

NEW YORK -- Three shops are set to face off in a final-round pitch to handle global advertising for Lenovo just as the tech company unveils a suite of new products—including an Android-based tablet—at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

According to people with knowledge of the agency review, those shops are: Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi, New York; MDC Partners’ CPB; and the incumbent for Lenovo’s ThinkPad products, WPP’s Ogilvy. It is understood that shops will meet with client executives while at the CES, and some presentations of work will take place this week during the event.

Lenovo representatives did not respond to requests for comment, while agency representatives declined to comment or couldn’t be reached.

While the company is a major global player, U.S. spending on the account has plummeted in recent times. According to Kantar Media, Lenovo in 2009 spent a little more than $30 million on domestic measured media, with the majority of it backing the marketing of its ThinkPad. But between January and October of 2010, that figure has dropped to less than $5 million.

The review comes five years after Ogilvy was selected to handle global advertising for Lenovo’s “Think” branded products, shortly after the computer maker purchased IBM’s PC Division. It also comes as Lenovo preps to unveil several new products.

Just today at CES, it announced the new “Le Pad” slate. According to SlashGear, the tablet, which can also dock to create a laptop, will sport a 10.1-inch display, weigh less than 2 pounds, and come in a variety of colors for about $520 a pop, retailing in China initially. On its website, Lenovo has also announced thinner and slimmer versions of its ThinkPad laptops and IdeaPad series of netbooks.