The telecommunications giant picked BBDO over Bates and Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) after a four-month global search.

BBDO's win came despite its late entry to the final pitch process. It was not shortlisted after its initial pitch, but SingTel pulled it back into the fray after two other shortlisted agencies, Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, dropped out along the way.

SingTel's search for a new agency began in September, when it said it would invite bids for its advertising account - estimated to be worth up to $30 million a year - to keep up with its changing business environment.

The decision marked the end of its relationship with ad agency Young & Rubicam (Y&R), which held the telco's account for almost two decades.

Y&R, which renewed its contract with SingTel in 2004, was invited to make a pitch, but it declined to do so.

BBDO was picked as it 'excelled in creativity, strategic thinking and account management', said Mr Allen Lew, SingTel's chief executive for Singapore.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.