Backchannelmedia

Business Wire

Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY), one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, announced today that it has invited six agencies to compete for its $250 million advertising account.

Agencies that will make capabilities presentations next month will include Campbell-Ewald (Warren, MI), DDB (Chicago, IL), Euro RSCG (New York, NY), Goodby Silverstein & Partners (San Francisco, CA), McCann Worldgroup (New York, NY) and Y&R Brands (New York, NY).

The business up for review includes broadcast creative, strategic planning, broadcast media planning and buying, and promotional marketing. Pile and Company (www.pileandcompany.com), a Boston-based firm, is managing the review process. A group of finalists will be identified in late July.

About Safeway

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The Company operates 1,772 stores in the United States and Canada and had annual sales of $38.4 billion in 2005. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.