Yesterday, AdAge reported that DDB Chicago was “poised to get back in the beer business as lead digital and social agency for Miller Lite,” a big win for the shop which handled advertising for A-B InBev for some 20 years and created iconic campaigns for Budweiser and Bud Light in the process.
AdAge wrote that “DDB and MillerCoors both declined comment, likely because the agreement has not been finalized,” but it also may be premature to declare that DDB has definitively picked up the account.
We reached out to a MillerCoors spokesperson who confirmed that DDB has “not won the business nor has any final decision been made.”
One source with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke to us on condition of anonymity also stressed that no changes will occur while MillerCoors’ chief marketing officer David Kroll is still out of the picture. (He announced in January that he would be taking leave to have open heart surgery.)
While multiple parties confirmed that DDB’s Chicago office has aggressively pursued the Miller Lite business, the agency has thus far not responded to our request for comment.
The informal review appears to be limited to the brand’s digital/social account, which has been handled by DigitasLBi for years.
180LA has served as lead creative agency for the American light lager brand since winning the account from Omnicom sister shop TBWA\Chiat\Day without a review a year ago. A recent campaign from 180LA generated some controversy for the tagline it apparently shares with a campaign Fold7 launched for Irish hard cider brand Magners last June.