Barely two weeks after watching its Esurance business get whisked away by the brand’s new parent company Allstate and placed in the hands of Leo Burnett (though Deutsch LA was initially in the discussion), San Francisco shop Duncan/Channon has come back with some positive news as it’s been tasked with launching the first U.S. advertising effort for Japanese mobile social gaming “leader,” GREE. Despite the Esurance loss, D/C has picked up three new accounts including GREE in the past six weeks (1-800 CONTACTS and Ancestry.com being the other two), so that at least says something.

Sho Masuda, GREE’s VP of marketing, says in a statement, “We were impressed by their strategic thinking, their creative, their deep knowledge of our audience and their enthusiasm.  We are ready to fully establish ourselves in the U.S. market.” Those of you riding the 101 out on the West Coast might catch the image above that’s being featured on a billboard and is the first component of an integrated campaign for GREE that will roll out in the coming weeks.