Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos president Mike Sheehan and newly hired broadcast producer Bryan Sweeney's previous work at DDB Chicago led to Anheuser-Busch's decision to hire the agency on a project basis. The shop's first assignment: creating a Super Bowl spot.
It is the first time the St. Louis brewery has solicited work from the Boston agency. The spot, should it make the final cut, will feature thecompany's Clydesdale horses, said Bob Lachky, A-B's vice president of brand management and director of global brand creative.
The Sheehan and Sweeney ten-ures at A-B lead agency DDB sealed the new assignment for Hill, Holliday, Lachky said.
Sheehan was a group creative director at DDB in the late 1990s. He returned to Hill, Holliday 18 months ago and was named U.S. president in December.
Sweeney spent a decade in various producer-level positions at DDB and worked mainly on the Bud Light account. He was hired by Sheehan earlier this month as senior vice president and director of broadcast.
"We tend to follow these guys and, being so highly regulated and scrutinized, we like to go with people who know us and our process," Lachky said.
Sheehan had approached An-heuser-Busch about doing work, Lachky said.
The brewery typically uses Omnicom Group agencies DDB and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, for the bulk of itscommercials.