Chicken Chain’s Ad Account: El Pollo Loco,...

Chicken Chain’s Ad Account: El Pollo Loco, the 229-store chicken restaurant chain, said Tuesday that it has consolidated its ad account, which will now be handled exclusively by the Irvine agency deYong Ginsberg Weisman Bailey. The account had previously been split between the McCann-Erickson/Los Angeles agency and deYong Ginsberg.

The account is worth $8 million to $10 million, said Mike Weisman, vice president and general manager of deYong Ginsberg.

Norman McKinnon, marketing director for Irvine-based El Pollo Loco, said the account was consolidated because the company is facing soft sales and increased competition. Dan Ginsberg, president of deYoung Ginsberg, said the new campaign will focus on the healthiness of El Pollo Loco chicken, which is broiled, not fried.