In an interview with the Times, managing director Rob Marijnen said that it was becoming tougher to reach the core market of 18- to 26-year-olds in an effective way through television.
"The enormously cluttered environment in TV ads makes it difficult to make standout ads. It's also very expensive and it's questionable as to its effectiveness," he told the newspaper.
However, he did not rule out a return in future. "We will look at it again, but for the time being we need to look at other avenues, in particular by creating more visibility for the brand at the point of purchase," Marijnen said.
Heineken retains Clemmow Hornby Inge in the UK, and will continue to do print advertising during 2006. The agency's most recent television work for Heineken was a campaign featuring 'Goodfellas' actor Ray Liotta. The brand has been advertising on UK television for some 30 years and is famous for its strapline "refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach".
Although main brand advertising will disappear from UK screens for now, it will still have a television presence via its sponsorship of the Uefa Champions League.
The company dropped the Amstel brand from the Champions League earlier this year, replacing it with Heineken and appointing StrawberryFrog to create an ad campaign in support of the sponsorship, to include break bumpers when matches are broadcast.
StrawberryFrog also handles Heineken's £70m global advertising account, which it won in August this year after a pitch against McCann Erickson.
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