Leith plays down Carling review
The Leith Agency has played down Carling’s dramatic decision to review its £7 million advertising account.
The brewer has asked the AAR to approach a number of unnamed agencies to pitch for the account.
Leith London handles the Carling account, but the review has prompted speculation that if that brand leaves Leith, sister brands Grolsch, Reef and Coors could follow.
John Denholm, chairman of The Leith Agency, said that as far as the agency was concerned it was ‘business as usual’.
“Leith London is currently working on a number of projects and has a lot of work currently in production,” he told The Drum. “It’s simply that Carling talks to a number of agencies from time to time as they’re free to do. If a full review goes on, we’ll be working very hard to retain it. We’d be pretty confident, as we’ve got many years of heritage on the brand. Leith London has quite a number of substantial accounts but it would still be a loss.”
The Leith Agency has worked on Carling for five years. The agency won the brand – which was then owned by Bass - in 2000 through its relationship with Tennent’s Lager, which was also then owned by Bass. When Bass was acquired by Intebrew in 2001, Carling – under competition rules – was put up for sale, and was purchased by Coors in 2002. As both brands were to go head to head when Carling launched in Scotland, The Leith Agency was forced to resign one. It chose to resign Tennent’s, which was worth £1.5 million in comparison to the £7 million Carling. A breakaway group from Leith set up Newhaven and won the account shortly after the resignation.