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Lowe Lintas has been appointed to handle the pan-European launch of

Nestea, Coca-Cola's iced tea brand.

A spokeswoman said: "The intention of the company is to build a strong

business for ready-to-drink tea and coffees for Europe as a whole."

Coca-Cola, which signed a 100-year distribution licence for the Nestea

brand in 1994, was close to launching the brand in the UK in 1995, but

abandoned the plans at the last minute. The company was in advance

stages of producing a campaign through Bartle Bogle Hegarty when the

project was pulled.

The appointment marks a further strengthening of Lowe's parent company

Interpublic's grip on the Coke roster. In a re-allocation of advertising

briefs in October, Lowe was handed the Diet Coke brand globally from

Wieden & Kennedy. IPG's FCB network is expected to pick up the global

Powerade account, also from Wieden & Kennedy. IPG's McCann-Erickson

network handles Coca-Cola on a global basis.

The realignment of agencies also saw Ogilvy & Mather pick up the global

accounts for Fanta and Sprite. The re-allocation of assignments appeared

to reverse the company's much-vaunted "think local, act local" strategy

and appeared to be motivated by cost savings.

Coca-Cola will be hoping to win Europeans over to the idea of chilled

tea. In the US, 85 per cent of tea is served with ice.

Nestea is now part of Beverage Partners Worldwide, the new name for

Coca-Cola Nestle Refreshments. The business operates in more than 24

countries around the world, marketing a range of ready-to-drink chilled

teas and coffees.