AdAge reports that Anheuser-Busch InBev is in talks with agencies about creative for its faux-craft Shock Top brand. The brand clarifies that it is not launching a creative review, as it has not had an agency of record in recent years, and is looking to continue to work outside the AOR model.
According to Kantar Media, A-B InBev spent around $21.6 million in measured media on the brand in the first six months of 2016, a sharp increase from the $2.5 million it spent during all of last year.
“What we’re doing right now is simply having a few conversations with leading creative agencies,” Shock Top vice president Jake Kirsch told AdAge in a statement today. “This isn’t a review, as we haven’t had a creative AOR for some time. As we plan for 2017, and beyond, we’re having these conversations as part of our normal course of business. Shock Top is always open to new ideas and discussions with the best and brightest creative minds in the industry.”
Most recently, Anomaly Toronto had handled creative for the brand. Notably, the agency created the brand’s first Super Bowl spot, starring T.J. Miller and Martin Montana, as part of its “Live Life Unfiltered” campaign. Shock Top has previously worked with 72andSunny and independent St. Louis agency Group 360.
Neither Anomaly or Anheuser-Busch InBev have responded to our requests for comment on this development.