John Lewis has selected Saatchi & Saatchi as its new creative agency following a two-month review of its ad account.
The news comes months after London agency adam&eveDDB passed up the opportunity to repitch for the John Lewis creative account after 14 years of collaboration.
The final pitch process – which was managed by Oystercatchers – saw Saatchi & Saatchi London, Wonderhood and WPP pit up against each other to battle it out for the retailer’s account.
According to Campaign Live, Saatchi & Saatchi will officially begin working with John Lewis in the summer and will be tasked with developing campaigns for John Lewis Financial Services, Waitrose & Partners and John Lewis Partnership.
“Saatchi & Saatchi will develop and produce all of our brand campaigns, including our popular John Lewis Christmas TV ad,” John Lewis Partnership wrote in a statement to Campaign Live. “Saatchi will also support next year’s launch of the new JLP brand loyalty programme, which will see customers being rewarded more when they shop with John Lewis and Waitrose. The first campaign is expected to be for Waitrose in the autumn.”
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Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Franki Goodwin told Campaign Live that the win is “a testament to the creative talent and passion that fuels our mission to be the most influential creative company in modern Britain”.
“There are no two brands that represent more of what is good and great about the UK and we are honoured to be able to play a role in their future success,” Goodwin continued.
“We were pushed all the way by the standard set by our predecessors and by the two agencies alongside us in the process. There’s no bigger need or indeed, appetite for advertising than the success of John Lewis Partnership – these brands are important to the fabric of our nation and we can’t wait to get started.”
