LONDON (Brand Republic) – Burger King has dropped incumbent agency Lowe Lintas from the shortlist for its $400m US advertising account.
The agency, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, has held the Burger King account for six years and estimates the account contributed £93m in billings each year to the agency.
The review did not include the London office of Lowe Lintas, which handles the £11.3m Burger King business in the UK. The burger chain said it called the review because Lowe Lintas’s advertising failed to drive sales or enhance the brand.
The remaining three agencies in the running for the account are: Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis; Grey Worldwide and McCann-Erickson, both out of New York. Lowes will continue to work on Burger King account until a new agency is selected.
A spokesman for Lowe Lintas said jobs at the US shop may go as a result of the account’s loss. Around 50 staff work on the account, but the company said jobs cuts would be minimal.
Others eliminated from the shortlist were Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, and Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco.