As you may have read/heard, Volvo has announced that its launched its global creative review, but here’s a quick follow-up to the initial report. First off, here’s a statement from Robert LePlae, Arnold global CEO who assumed his post at the agency last summer and whose agency has been invited to defend, regarding the automaker’s move: “There’s new global leadership at Volvo who are rightly coming in and looking at all aspects of the business, specifically the centrally created advertising in Amsterdam. I’m new too at Arnold and we’ve done our own assessment. This leaves us eager and confident for the opportunity to show Volvo what we can do.”
Sources familiar with the matter add that while Adage reported that it was a global review, they say that Volvo’s move affects the centrally created advertising in Amsterdam only (which serves as central contact on the account for Arnold). The North American work out of Boston, and other local markets around the world, meanwhile, is not under review.