LABATT NAMES AOR'S FOR BUDWEISER AND CARLSBERG BRANDS
By Adnews Staff
Labatt Breweries of Canada has announced the selection of Palmer Jarvis DDB Toronto as new agency-of-record for its Budweiser brand and Ammirati Puris Lintas of Toronto as its new agency-of-record for its Carlsberg brand. The appointments follow True North Communications' recent merger of advertising networks Bozell Worldwide Canada, who previously handled advertising for Labatt's Budweiser, Bud Light and Carlsberg brands with FCB Canada Ltd. The merger resulted in a client conflict because Harrod & Mirlin/FCB handles advertising for competitor Coors Canada. Labatt launched a non-traditional review, identifying a small group of agencies that met the specific criteria they were looking for in a new agency. Labatt also had a long standing relationship with Ammirati Puris Lintas, which handled the breweries Labatt Blue advertising and its "Out of the Blue" campaign. Bozell Worldwide had been working on the Labatt account since 1991. At press time, it was not known if the recently announced Interpublic Group of Companies merger of Ammirati Puris Lintas and Lowe & Partners Worldwide will affect the Labatt appointment. Lowe & Partners presence in Canada includes Lowe RMP Direct, a direct marketing agency created by Roche Macaulay & Partners and The Lowe Group.