- Andrew McMains

Activision Blizzard is shifting U.S. creative duties on its Guitar Hero franchise to TBWA\Chiat\Day from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the client has confirmed.

Major media spending on Guitar Hero totaled nearly $13 million last year, according to Nielsen. That figure does not include online spending. Crispin had handled the business since 2008, and the shift eliminates the MDC Partners shop from the client's roster.

Guitar Hero becomes the second Activision brand handled by the Playa del Rey, Calif., office of TBWA\C\D; the other is Call of Duty, which also spent about $13 million last year, per Nielsen.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based client characterized the shift -- which occurred without a review -- as a consolidation that stemmed from a "smaller slate of Guitar Hero titles in 2010."

Stan Fiorito, a group account director who manages the Call of Duty assignment, will also handle Guitar Hero, said an agency representative.

Media duties on the brand were not affected and remain at WPP Group's Mediaedge:cia in Los Angeles, which handles global media on all Activision brands. TBWA\C\D is a unit of Omnicom.