Diageo-owned whiskey brand Jonnie Walker is in the early stages of a review for its global advertising account, having just sent out requests for information to agencies, BrandRepublic reports.
Incumbent agency BBH, who has held the account since 1999, was among the agencies invited to participate in the review and vowed to “vigorously defend” the business. BBH recently appointed Joakim Borgström as creative director on the Johnnie Walker account, following his arrival from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.
“The brand’s relationship with BBH has been hugely successful, with the agency producing award-winning work of outstanding creativity,” said Guy Escolme, the global brand director at Johnnie Walker, adding, “As the market leader, Johnnie Walker feels the time is right to invite selected agencies, including BBH, to look at how we take the brand forward into the future.”
Johnnie Walker has worked with agencies other than BBH, including Anomaly New York for the recent 6-minute long digital ad “The Gentleman’s Wager,” starring Jude Law. There is no word yet on which agencies, aside from BBH, were invited to participate in the review.