Lowe wins Beck's £25m global ad account

LONDON - InBev has consolidated its 拢25m Beck's global advertising account, including the UK business, into Lowe Worldwide.

The move is a blow to Leo Burnett, which handled the brand in the UK.

Leo Burnett won the estimated £5m UK Beck's brief in 2002, while Ground Zero has handled the global business for less than a year.

The company called a pitch last month, just 11 months after appointing the independent New York creative agency Ground Zero to the global business.

Ground Zero declined to repitch, but at least two of InBev's roster agency networks and a German shop, said to be McCann Erickson Germany, was believed to be involved in the pitch.

Ground Zero won the global Beck's account in August 2006 after wining a two-way battle with Lowe Worldwide.

Earlier this year, InBev appointed Meme, the digital arm of WCRS, to handle all UK online marketing activity for Beck's.

A spokeswoman for Inbev was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.