Harley-Davidson to put the brake on UK ad campaigns

Harley-Davidson has suspended all its UK advertising, sources have claimed. The creative account, worth around £500,000 in the UK (Nielsen MEAL), is held by Partners BDDH.

It is believed that the suspension may eventually lead to a review of the company’s advertising arrangements. Media is handled by CIA in the UK.

Partners BDDH, which has held the Harley-Davidson account for more than four years, also handles the direct marketing and design accounts for the company.

The last campaign by Partners BDDH for Harley-Davidson broke almost a year ago, when the agency used the strapline “Life is too short to keep putting things off” and targeted people who still had licences but had not driven motorbikes for a long time. The ad was accompanied by images of older men ruing the day they did not buy a Harley.

Partners BDDH made no comment. Harley-Davidson denies it has suspended advertising. A spokesman for the company adds: “We have definitely not suspended advertising, since we’re looking at an aggressive growth plan from Europe.”

Last week Partners BDDH was allocated the £3m Bounty account from the household goods giant Procter&Gamble. The agency is an Arnold Worldwide subsidiary.