Burkitt DDB wins £1m Tio Pepe ad business

First Drinks Brands has appointed Burkitt DDB to handle the &£1m advertising business for sherry brand Tio Pepe.

Burkitt DDB won a pitch against WCRS. The incumbent, Brandhouse WTS, did not repitch.

Media buying, which is handled by John Ayling and Associates, is unaffected by the review.

First Drinks Brands, which is the UK distributor for Gonzalez Byass – Tio Pepe’s parent company – is understood to want to revitalise the brand, which is currently aimed at women and couples in their 30s.

Last March the drinks company repositioned Tio Pepe, relaunching it with a &£6m, three-year advertising campaign. The revamp included a new bottle and a print and outdoor campaign through Brandhouse WTS.

First Drinks aimed to market the sherry more as a white wine than a spirit, using the strapline: “Always look on the dry side of life.”

The new work for the brand will aim to further associate Tio Pepe with modern eating and drinking.

Burkitt DDB chairman Hugh Burkitt says: “Tio Pepe is the best sherry on the market and desires some excellent advertising. It needs to establish a role in people’s drinking repertoire.”