Labour plumps for Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi has scooped the brief to handle the Labour Party’s ad account ahead of the forthcoming election. The agency is believed to have beaten a shortlist of Albion, Beattie McGuinness Bungay and Profero.

It is thought its range of creative ideas and big agency status proved crucial to its appointment. The pitch was headed up by SSF chief executive Robert Senior and Saatchi’s creative director Kate Stanners.

While a date for the election has yet to be set, some experts believe it could come as early as this year as Prime Minister Gordon Brown looks to take advantage of favourable opinion polls.

However, it could be called as late as summer 2010 under election rules. Saatchi & Saatchi has been synonymous with the Conservative Party for many years because of its 1979 “Labour isn’t working” ad, although it resigned the account in 1987.