Which is no great surprise, Wieden+Kennedy was always in the driving set to see off Publicis in the US pitch for Heineken which also, one would think, brings the global account worth about $400m.
You never can be sure with Heineken of course, it’s changed agencies more often recently than most clients change their frequent flyer preferences.
But new marketing director Lesya Lysyj, who joined from Kraft, seems to have brought a bit of sense to the family-owned giant brewer that has seen its global market share slide alarmingly in recent years.
W+K has produced some terrific work for Heineken, like this with sexy Danish songstress Mette Lindberg.
Indie W+K these days really is a challenger to the big marcoms outfits. It’s had the lion’s share of Heineken in recent years so it’s no great surprise that it’s won the lot.
It’s also going to run Heineken out of New York rather than Oregon, which may just be handy for the client but which may also indicate that founder Dan Wieden reckons he’s ready for a Madison Avenue fight with the biggies.
As for Publicis it was always the outsider in this particular contest but, despite the onwards and upwards trajectory of owner Publicis Groupe, it still isn’t cutting the mustard as the owning company’s flagship brand.
Siblings Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi are doing much better.
I’m yet to see a brewer embrace a truly entrepreneurial approach to advertising.
And given that the laws on advertising alcohol have become so strict is TV and traditional advertising the best way to capture an audience?