NEW YORK Wachovia Corp. has further narrowed its search for an agency to handle creative and media duties on its ad account, a client representative said today.

Still in the hunt for the business are teams led by the New York offices of WPP Group units Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy & Mather, according to the Wachovia rep. No longer in contention is Omnicom Group's Merkley + Partners here, which two weeks ago had advanced to another round of presentations.

Wachovia, which last year spent about $145 million in major measured media, according to TNS Media Intelligence, remains in "active discussions" with the remaining contenders and hopes to select an agency as early as next week, the rep said.

Each contender is partnering with other shops for media services and specialty disciplines. Y&R's partners are Maxus (for media) and VML (for interactive duties) and Ogilvy's are Maxus, Neo@Ogilvy and Soho Square.

"Wachovia has been pleased with the quality and talent of the agencies participating in our review process," the rep said, in a statement. "Our two finalists represent some of the best marketing and creative minds in the business, and we would be well served to have either of them as our partner."

The winning team will succeed IPG's Mullen in Winston-Salem, N.C. -- the incumbent for traditional creative and media duties -- and Aegis Group's Carat in Boston, which handles interactive creative and media duties.

Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif., is managing the search.

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