Tesco ad production business boosts BBH

Our spies tell us that BBH’s surprising investment in premises in Welwyn Garden City (for non-UK readers, hardly the centre of UK adland – indeed anything) has paid off, with the award of new client Tesco’s massive production business. This was formerly handled by Tag.

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis (left), who appointed BBH to the account back in January, is moving Tesco’s HQ from Cheshunt to Welwyn.

BBH has had a rough time on the client front recently, losing Diageo and Unilever’s Axe, so extra business from Tesco will be welcome indeed. In recent years Tesco has eschewed big brand campaigns in favour of thousands of price-based smaller campaigns. Many of these were produced by Tag. This doesn’t look likely to change under Lewis, at least in the short term, as he’s battling discounters Aldi and Lidl. So the ‘production’ business is probably the biggest part of the £100m or so account.