Today AdAge reports that Heineken USA has handed the U.S. creative assignment for its Tecate Mexican lager brand from Saatchi & Saatchi New York to Nómades, the agency launched by DDB Argentina veteran Pablo Batlle in Mexico and Argentina back in 2013.
Nómades already handled creative for the brand in Mexico. The switch appears to have occurred without a review.
Saatchi & Saatchi has handled the U.S. account since 2014, when it took over for Inspire. The agency’s recent work for the brand included the politically-inspired “Tecate Beer Wall,” which arrived ahead of a presidential debate back in September. Back in April, it launched the first national campaign for the brand with a pair of 30-second broadcast ads featuring Mexican boxing star Canelo Alvarez and soccer referee Felipe Ramos Rizo.
The move comes on the heels of Heineken’s selecting Omnicom’s Red Urban as its lead digital and social marketing agency last week.
For Saatchi & Saatchi, it follows executive creative directors Luca Pannese and Luca Lorenzini leaving for Publicis New York and Robert Senior announcing his decision to step down as global CEO back in January.