UPDATE 1-PepsiCo shifts advertising work for key brands
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - PepsiCo (PEP.N) has moved the high-profile advertising duties for Pepsi and Diet Pepsi to TBWA\Chiat\Day, an agency owned by Omnicom Group (OMC.N), as it looks to reinvigorate sales of its best-known soft drinks.
PepsiCo's decision, announced on Monday, is a setback for a second Omnicom agency, BBDO, which had handled the creative advertising work for Pepsi and Diet Pepsi for more than four decades.
During that time, BBDO created some of the industry's most recognized work for PepsiCo, including advertisements featuring Michael Jackson, Ray Charles and Britney Spears.
As recently as this year, one of the top rated Super Bowl commercials was a BBDO advertisement for Pepsi starring Justin Timberlake. BBDO will continue to work on other PepsiCo accounts, including Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, and AMP Energy.
But PepsiCo decided to shift duties for its best-known brands to TBWA\Chiat\Day as it looks to jumpstart drink sales. Last quarter, overall sales volumes for its soft drinks declined, and analysts have warned that it faces an uphill battle with the housing slump, credit crunch and job losses crimping consumer spending.
"The enduring success of this 110-year-old brand is grounded in its ability to always remain at the core of popular culture," Dave Burwick, Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo North America Beverages, said in a statement. "We decided to appoint TBWA\Chiat\Day to refresh Pepsi's communications... and to reinvigorate Pepsi's legacy of leading-edge advertising."
PepsiCo picked Arnell, a third Omnicom company, as its design agency for brand identity and packaging innovation.
Creative work on the PepsiCo account will be led from TBWA\Chiat\Day's offices in Los Angeles. Other TBWA\Chiat\Day clients include Gatorade, another Pepsi brand, as well as McDonald's Corp (MCD.N), Visa Inc. (V.N), and Apple Inc (AAPL.O).
The agency is led by Lee Clow, a prominent figure in advertising known for his work on Apple campaigns like "1984" and "Think Different." (Reporting by Paul Thomasch; Editing by Derek Caney)
