Tuesday, November 27, 2012

10795: Oreo Agencies Dunk Contest.

Advertising Age reported Wieden + Kennedy bested Draftfcb for the chance to create a Super Bowl commercial for Oreo. However, Draftfcb retains its AOR status on the brand, as the client insisted W+K is “not an Oreo agency.” Of course it’s not an Oreo agency—in fact, both firms are White agencies.

Wieden & Kennedy Wins Oreo Super Bowl Spot

But IPG’s DraftFCB Remains Brand’s AOR In New Agency Model

By E.J. Schultz, Maureen Morrison

Wieden & Kennedy beat out Interpublic Group’s DraftFCB for Oreo’s Super Bowl ad, but the cookie brand will stick with IPG long-term in a new agency model that will use multiple shops within the holding company.

The move effectively means that DraftFCB will no longer have the brand to itself. But the shop will be part of the new multi-agency structure, which will be led by John Campbell, the current Oreo global account director at DraftFCB Worldwide, said Laurie Guzzinati, a spokeswoman for Mondelez, which owns the Oreo brand.

DraftFCB “is and will continue to be a key agency partner for our company, partnering with us both on Oreo and several other global brands,” including Chips Ahoy, Ms. Guzzinati told Ad Age. But in the future, Oreo will be “supported by an even broader range of IPG resources.” She declined to name the other IPG shops Oreo would call on (beyond Weber Shandwick for PR), calling it an “evolving process.”

The change comes as DraftFCB seeks to recover from significant account losses, including MillerCoors and SC Johnson, which were handled out of its Chicago office. (Oreo is run out of New York.) DraftFCB has also lost several Kraft Foods brands in recent years. Oreo is a former Kraft Foods brand that became part of Mondelez when Kraft split into two companies earlier this year.

The new IPG arrangement will include creative advertising and PR. Dentsu-owned 360i will continue to handle digital. DraftFCB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oreo, which will run a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl’s first half, sought ideas from DraftFCB and Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, in a jump-ball pitch. The brand went with Wieden for the big game because the shop is “the right partner for us with their history of understanding [Super Bowl advertising] in a very meaningful way and getting to creative breakthrough advertising,” Ms. Guzzinati said. Still, she stressed that Wieden & Kennedy’s assignment is “specific to the Super Bowl” and going forward the shop is “not an Oreo agency.”

Oreo’s Super Bowl ad, which was first reported by Ad Age in October, caps a year in which the iconic cookie brand has put major marketing resources behind celebrating its 100th birthday.

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