UK supermarket Asda is reviewing its creative and media accounts, with the process expected to follow the guidelines set out in the Pitch Positive Pledge.
The retailer has been working with Havas London on its creative account for the last three years, with the agency producing the past two Christmas campaigns. The filming for the 2024 seasonal ad is currently underway.
Havas has confirmed it will be looking to retain the creative account.
“We’re incredibly proud of the large body of work we’ve produced for Asda since being appointed its retained creative agency in 2021, including its past two blockbuster Christmas campaigns (with Christmas 2024 deep in development) and long-term brand platform, ‘That’s more like it’, which launched this year.” a spokesperson for Havas told Campaign.
“We respect Asda’s decision to call a review of its suppliers, which we will be participating in.”
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Spark Foundry is Asda’s current media partner, but has not yet confirmed whether it will be repitching for the account.
The supermarket said the agency review was being conducted in direct response to the needs of its customers, which “continue to evolve and change”.
“As is best practice, Asda regularly reviews its supplier and agency relationships to ensure we have the right partners to support our objectives to offer uncompromising value to our customers”.
Ingenuity will be assisting the supermarket in the pitch positive process. This means both Asda and the agencies pitching for the account will be amending traditional pitching practices in a bid to “improve mental health, cause less wastage and reduce costs”.
Asda also recently named Born Social as its newest social media agency, following a competitive pitch process.
Earlier this year the supermarket giant revealed a new brand identity in its summer ad. Created by agency of record Havas, the new look was supplemented by a set of sports-day themed tongue-in-cheek spots.
