Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt wins pan-Euro ad account for Sprite ahead of expected relaunch

Coca-Cola has appointed Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt to handle the pan-European advertising for Sprite ahead of an expected relaunch of the brand.

It beat Karmarama and M&C Saatchi Berlin. Lowe London was the last agency of record and did not repitch for the account. The pitch was run out of the drinks company’s Brussels office.

O&M will develop campaigns that will run across its key European markets, including the UK, Spain and France

Sprite’s main rival is PepsiCo’s 7UP brand, which grew its share in the UK lemon-and-lime carbonates category by 5.5% to 37.1% in the year to September 2007 (Nielsen). A number of new products are expected following the recent launch of a sugar-free variant.

In contrast, share for Sprite fell slightly from 59% to 58.5% in the same period, after Coca-Cola cut the brand’s advertising budget. 

Coca-Cola scrapped energy drink Sprite 3G last year, less than two years after it launched. It dropped the brand so it could focus on Relentless, a second energy drink brand with a younger audience (MW August 1).

Coke put a heavyweight £5m spend behind the Sprite 3G the launch, which was handled by Lowe London. It included television, outdoor and online. The brand was positioned as a nice-tasting energy drink but it failed to make an impact on market leader Red Bull.