Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R scoops $160m global Bacardi account

LONDON – WPP Group's Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R has landed the $160m (£90m) global creative Bacardi Martini account following a five-way pitch that lasted nearly six months.

Bacardi has requested that the work be handled from the UK. It is unconfirmed as to whether Bacardi will continue to work with its local agencies, including Fallon, which won the £10m above-the-line ad account in March.

Agencies battling it out for the global account included Wieden & Kennedy, Publicis Groupe's Fallon in London and Minneapolis, and US independent agency Davidandgoliath, which handles Bacardi business in the US, and Interpublic Group's McCann Erickson in London.

Bacardi cut its ties with McCann Erickson last year, ending a 10-year relationship, after the agency failed to come up with an alternative strategy to its "Welcome to the Latin Quarter" idea.

McCann's most recent work for Bacardi starred Raoul Bova partying at a train station. Before that, Vinnie Jones starred in a number of ads until he was dropped following an air-rage incident in 2003. 

The brief called for a campaign that will "increase the level of affinity consumers feel towards the brand". Rainey Kelly will launch its work in 2006.

It has not been confirmed what Bacardi's exact brief will be, however, the troubled drinks manufacturer, which saw its net profits fall by 21% to $331m (£172m), will have to follow Ofcom's guidelines that state that ads should not link sexual activity with alcohol.

The review was called by Bacardi Martini's US head office in Miami and managed by AAR Partners in New York.

Media planning and buying will remain unaffected by the review.

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