TBWA Given Pepsi-Cola U.S. Creative Duties, Replaces BBDO
PepsiCo has shifted its creative duties in the U.S. for its Pepsi brand from Omnicom-owned BBDO Worldwide to fellow Omnicom agency TBWA/Chiat/Day, according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. BBDO has "produced campaigns for the brand since 1960," but PepsiCo North America CMO Dave Burwick said the change in agencies is being made "to refresh Pepsi's communications, and to reinvigorate Pepsi's legacy of leading-edge advertising." Pepsi PR Manager Nicole Bradley added that new ads are being "developed by TBWA/Chiat/Day to start running at the beginning of next year." However, she said that she "did not know whether they would be introduced" during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII in February. Elliott notes PepsiCo has "for many years used the Super Bowl as a launching pad for new campaigns for Pepsi-Cola and other brands." The shift to TBWA/Chiat/Day "represents an expansion of a fledgling relationship between PepsiCo and TBWA/Chiat/Day; in April, the company gave the agency the creative assignment for its Gatorade line of sports beverages." BBDO "will continue to create campaigns for Pepsi-Cola in markets outside the United States." The agency will also remain the "creative agency of record" for other PepsiCo beverages, including Amp, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist (N.Y. TIMES, 11/18).
NEW GENERATION: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Suzanne Vranica writes the move is a "blow to the U.S. operations of BBDO." The agency shift also is "part of [a] broader effort at Pepsi to revitalize its soda business as U.S. sales continue to slide." PepsiCo is "working on a set of initiatives to rejuvenate beverage sales in the U.S., including efforts to tap new low- or zero-calorie natural sweeteners," while graphic changes are "planned for Pepsi bottles and cans to produce a sleeker look" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/18). BRANDWEEK's Hein & McMains noted PepsiCo "made no secret of its plans to shake up the brand following years of sales declines" (BRANDWEEK.com, 11/17).
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