London airport hub Heathrow is understood to have appointed Havas Worldwide as its new creative and marketing agency. Havas pitched with below-the-line shop Havas Helia against adam&eveDDB with DDB’s Rapp and M&C Saatchi with Lida.
Heathrow is currently engaged in a pitched battle for a new London runway against smaller rival Gatwick. Most business leaders have called for Heathrow to be the winner although this view is not so popular with the millions of people who live under its overcrowded flight path. Before he became PM David Cameron said he opposed a new runway at Heathrow, as does Tory London mayor candidate Zac Goldsmith, the MP for nearby Richmond.
Heathrow is also a major business in its own right, hosting hundreds of shops and restaurants. But securing another runway is key to the commercial ambitions of the heavily congested airport’s Spanish owner Ferrovial.
M&C Saatchi specialises in such highly political accounts while adam&eve has been the go-to agency for most big UK accounts for the past three years or so. So the win is a considerable coup for Havas Wordwide (formerly Euro RSCG) and may testify to the influence of Havas EMEA boss Chris Hirst who joined from WPP’s Grey last year.
