McCann-Erickson picks up £2.5m Glenfiddich business

William Grant & Sons has pulled the £2.5m UK creative advertising account for its Glenfiddich whisky brand out of BMP DDB and handing the business back to McCann-Erickson (McCann).

McCann handled the UK account until June 1999, when BMP was appointed following a pitch against Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and Partners BDDH. At the time it was understood that the win could pave the way for BMP to work on Glenfiddich’s work overseas (MW July 1, 1999).

But McCann, which still handles the worldwide account for Glenfiddich, created a press and poster campaign launched last month, which aimed to attract younger drinkers to the malt whisky brand. Universal McCann handles media planning and buying.

William Grant had been working with BMP and First Drinks Brands, which it co-owns with Bacardi-Martini, on the strategic development of Glenfiddich.

The decision to part company with BMP follows the appointment earlier this year of John Grieveson, a former Unilever marketer, as marketing director for First Drinks. He replaced drinks industry veteran Tony Scouller, who had come out of retirement to take the job temporarily. Scouller spearheaded the repositioning of Glenfiddich as a more up-to-date brand (MW October 25), and initiated an ad campaign through BMP, which ran in men’s magazines and broadsheets at the end of last year.