Mondelez International has shifted its global Halls creative business to Wieden & Kennedy, abruptly ending its relationship with JWT.
“JWT will no longer be the global agency of record moving forward,” a Mondelez spokeswoman confirmed Thursday in an email. “We informed JWT that we were moving the European Halls business to W&K, effective immediately. When we did so, we also shared that our future plans were to also move the remainder of the Halls global business.”
The WPP agency was terminated Tuesday in its London office. After being asked to work on Halls in other markets despite the eventual move of the entire account before the end of 2013, JWT resigned the rest of the business. It's the latest indicator of the expanding divide between the marketer and agency, and spells the end of JWT's 40-year relationship with Cadbury brands, which joined the Mondelez portfolio back in 2009. JWT recently lost the Philadelphia cream cheese account in Europe to BBH, and it is defending its Jacobs coffee account in Europe in a review. Those accounts represent combined revenue of between $5 million and $10 million to JWT.
]]>Brazil, say hello to Mother.
The independent agency -- which has offices in London, New York and Buenos Aires -- agency is all set to open its fourth location in 2014, and has appointed Gustavo Sousa, the Brazilian creative director most recently of Mother London, to global partner.
Mr. Sousa lives in New York, where he leads the shop's Stella Artois account, but has been spending a significant amount of time working on Mother's expansion in the Latin American region. The agency would be making its second foray into South America, with its first office there being in Argentina.
]]>Gone are the days when world-weary travelers preferred hotels that reminded them of home and provided a respite from the location they were visiting. Today, savvy travelers expect hotels to not only provide the creature comforts of home but while stay true to their surroundings.
To meet that need, execs at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide are taking an unusual step -- temporarily relocating the team to fast-growing markets to determine what will make their hotels stand out.
"There was a time, going back 25 or 30 years, when an international hotel brand was like an embassy or a consulate in a foreign country. It was somewhere you went to feel safe and secure, like a home-from-home," explained Phil McAveety, executive VP-chief brand officer at Starwood.
]]>Brazilian slums were in the news recently when video taken from a police helicopter in Rio de Janeiro showed bullets raining down on a drug trafficker from one of the city's notorious favelas. The episode reminded Brazilians that the slums and drug lords are still doing business in spite of broad-scale pacification efforts.
The shootout comes at a time when an ad agency in Rio wants to teach poor people in the slums how to be consumers.
The agency NBS (for "No Bullshit" -- no kidding) has set up an office in one of the worst slums in Rio after conducting more than 800 interviews with inhabitants from ages 18 to 65 regarding their expectations and hopes for the area.
]]>This music video created by Volvo for the dance group Swedish House Mafia cleverly bridges the gap between branded content, product placement and social media. Swedish House Mafia disbanded in March after five years together, so Volvo, and its agency Forsman & Bodenfors, approached them about making a film in which the trio are seen going their separate ways in the brand's new XC60 cross-country vehicles.
While the music video is a poignant tribute to the band who -- at least for now -- will be saying goodbye to the fast-pace life of touring and traveling, it's also an elegant illustration of how the new car can pull its drive away from frenetic city life to more peaceful environs.
Director Adam Berg filmed it beautifully against a moody Scandinavian landscape, and the soundtrack is a cover of one of their early hits, "Leave the World Behind," by singer Lune. The YouTube video has already created a social buzz, and there's also an interactive website, leavetheworldbehind.com, featuring the video and behind-the-scenes information. Scenes from the video will also feature in TV and print commercials by Volvo.
]]>Ever forget to record a TV show and wish there was another way to do it? Brazil's largest satellite provider, Sky, is testing a way for subscribers to record shows via Twitter.
The technology, which was developed by Sky's digital agency in Brazil, AgenciaClick Isobar, generates a Twitter hashtag that works like a record button. According to the agency, the concept is a response to noticing that consumers were turning to Twitter and other sources for information about TV shows rather the schedule of programming on Sky's website.
Sky, which is majority owned by DirecTV, is rolling out the service to subscribers starting today.
]]>Coca-Cola's long experimented with its vending machines, trying to make them more technologically advanced than the average soda-spitter-outer.
In the past, they've been known to give you a beverage only if you give them a hug, or if you dance or sing in front of them. Now, the beverage giant is attempting a much loftier goal: world peace.
Along with agency Leo Burnett, Coke created "Small World Machines", two vending machines, one placed in India, and the other in Pakistan, that turned into communication portals. The idea was to let citizens of both countries -- long embroiled in a bitter political and religious battle -- see and interact with each other, even complete shared tasks. Once those tasks were accomplished, the machines dispensed a Coke.
]]>Amazon has selected Interpublic Group of Cos' Initiative following a fast-paced global media agency review that began earlier this year.
WPP's Mindshare handles the e-tail giant's offline media work and sibling agency MEC supports digital media. Digital media was not part of the review, according to people familiar with the matter.
Consulting firm Accenture managed the review process.
]]>Bacardi USA's answer to Captain Morgan is Colonel Roosevelt.
The marketer's flagship rum brand on Monday plans to introduce a TV commercial evoking the history of the "Cuba Libre," better known as the rum and Coke cocktail, which Bacardi says was created in Cuba in 1900 as then-Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders helped fight for the nation's independence from Spain.
Directed by Jake Scott, the spot is the first in a series of ads that will emphasize the historical events that shaped the 151 year-old brand, which has links to the creation of other rum cocktails such as the Daiquiri and Mojito. Global parent Bacardi Limited began looking back last year, with a global campaign celebrating the brand's 150-year anniversary. The new campaign -- called "Vivimos! ("We live!") -- was created for the U.S., although elements might be expanded globally. It is the first work overseen by boutique agency OW, which Bacardi USA recently brought on board to oversee brand and creative strategy.
]]>Advertising Age brought its Women to Watch franchise to a third continent this week, celebrating the inaugural class of Women to Watch Turkey, in a partnership with local licensing partner MediaCat, part of Kapital Media.
The evening event, held in Istanbul's Swissotel on the European banks of the Bosphorus, honored 14 women in Turkey's advertising and marketing industry. Women to Watch, which has been celebrated for 16 years in the U.S. and was inaugurated in China last fall, acknowledges women who have already accomplished significant milestones--but are poised for even more achievement ahead.
"Receiving an award motivates a person to do a little bit better and it's a great recognition not only for myself but my whole team," said Galya Molinas, region president of Coca-Cola Turkey, Caucasia and Middle Asia. "And if we're able to inspire other people, particularly young people with this, there wouldn't be a happier person than myself."
]]>A 24-year-old Ogilvy PR employee in Beijing has died after suffering a heart attack while at his desk. Ogilvy China confirmed the young man, Gabriel Li, passed away suddenly, but local media reports that followed -- saying his death was caused by overwork -- have not been substantiated.
According to a Beijing Times newspaper's account, Mr. Li let out a yell and collapsed while working in the office Monday evening. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Mr. Li was a junior staffer at the WPP-owned agency, part of a team that serviced a technology client.
]]>Aussie airline Qantas is asking consumers to ditch their Kindles and curl up with a good book -- one that's been specially curated by the airline so that flyers will manage to finish just as their plane touches down.
Droga5 Sydney, which won the client's business last year, teamed with publishing house Hachette to create a push geared toward Qantas' most traveled passengers. It's called "Stories for Every Journey," and is a collection of bespoke books, each of which promises to last only for the duration of one of the airline's routes.
Stephanie Tully, CMO Qantas Loyalty, said the tactile experience and custom-created books are meant to reflect the sophistication of the brand. It's a trait that's Qantas is focusing on more than ever thanks to its recent partnership with luxury airline Emirates, which makes Dubai a key travel hub and opens the airline up to 65 destinations. The effort is aimed at the brand's high-frequency travelers but is "just one of many conversations we're developing with our members, from Bronze to Platinum One," she said.
]]>Dentsu Inc. has unveiled a plan to significantly boost business from markets outside of Japan, part of a new five-year strategy that comes on the heels of its recently completed acquisition of UK-based Aegis Group.
The company also announced on Tuesday earnings for the financial year ended March 31. Revenue rose 3.9% in yen while net income was up 22 .9%. Converted to U.S. dollars, revenue for the year slipped slightly -- less than 1% -- to $4.2 billion. Net income in dollars rose 17.3% to $439.7 million.
The Tokyo-based company said it was helped domestically by the positive effects of Japan's gradual recovery from the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami, along with government eco-car subsidies. The rapid weakening of the yen was also cause for optimism.
]]>After a media agency review, Seoul, Korea-based LG is keeping Mindshare in North America but moving the bulk of its international account to Havas Media, executives familiar with the matter say.
LG's decision to divide its global media account between the two ad holding companies comes more than five years after the electronics giant consolidated its entire $400 million account with WPP's Mindshare. It also comes during the U.S. Upfront negotiations in which media agencies and their clients commit millions of dollars to network and cable buys throughout the year.
LG, Mindshare and Havas didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
]]>First came the cola. Now comes the beer.
Heineken announced today it will re-enter Myanmar after a 17-year absence, following similar moves by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Global marketers are eyeing new growth in the southeast Asian nation as it ends authoritarian policies that had led to sanctions from western countries.
Heineken N.V. will operate in Myanmar through a joint partnership with locally-owned Alliance Brewery Co. Ltd, which is majority owned by businessman Aung Moe Kyaw. The plan is to build a $60 million brewery near the capital city of Yangon that will begin making and selling beer brands including Heineken by the end of 2014.
]]>To promote Mercedes Smart cars to Russians (who like driving big cars), BBDO Russia actively proved to potential customers the benefits of having a smaller vehicle.
Many Russians get towed on weekend shopping trips for parking illegally; and the traffic is also notoriously bad in the city. So in March Smart offered free rides to those stranded by having their vehicles towed -- getting them to take a test drive without requesting one, and see what a difference having a small car makes when parking is scarce and traffic heavy.
623 car-less drivers were rescued during three days. The agency encouraged people to thank the Smart brand on social media, while blogs and news portals picked up on the stories and test drives increased 10 fold. Sales increased by 300% in the two weeks following the event.
]]>Deadline has been extended to May 14. This is the final extension we are granting and no entries will be accepted after this ate
A tip from Ad Age: Please don't wait until the final hours to submit your cover, in case you run into any technical glitches and need a bit of help from our support team.
———————————————————————————
]]>Facebook's user base could approach 1.8 billion in 2017, fueled by new users in populous emerging markets.
While Facebook's user growth is tailing off in the U.S., U.K., Canada and western Europe, there's plenty of room to grow in population centers such as Brazil, Russia and India, according to new estimates by eMarketer.
The Facebook user base in North America is expected to grow by only 3.6% this year, compared to 34.4% in the Asia-Pacific region, 29.5% in Latin America, 31.8% in the Middle East and Africa and 29.3% in central and eastern Europe. The explosive growth in places like Brazil, which is expected to grow its 69 million users this year to 103.9 million in 2017, explains why Facebook has been accelerating its business development efforts there.
]]>TBWA/G1 Paris promotes Nissan's "self-healing paint," a technology pioneered by the automotive brand that makes the car essentially scratch-proof, with this inventive iPad ad that appeared in The Economist.
The ad uses the natural side-swiping motion of tablet users to make its point. When it appears amidst the pages of the magazine, swipes create "scratches" on the body of the car, which then heal themselves.
For more exciting ideas in brand creativity, check out Creativity-Online.com, follow @creativitymag on Twitter or sign up for the Creativity newsletter.
]]>