This morning we learned that a rep for Anheuser-Busch InBev has confirmed a tip we received yesterday: the company officially ended its relationship with Translation by sending the creative work for its “Made in America” music festival to Anomaly.
We’ve yet to receive confirmation from the agency, but the A-B PR said this:
The move was about “synergy” rather than any performance issues on the Translation side.
“We have an ongoing, global relationship with Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter. It will continue.”
You may recall that this is the latest in a series of agency shifts for Bud; after Translation won “a huge portion of” the business in December 2011, the client also assigned its Made in America brand to Steve Stoute’s agency in August 2012. In 2013/14, however, Energy BBDO won both the Bud Light and Bud Light Lime accounts — and this move marks the final shift of A-B’s business away from Translation.
Since Anomaly has been one of Budweiser’s lead agencies since 2010 (its “Puppy Love” spot topped February’s “top Super Bowl ads” list), no formal review was needed.