Sony Ericsson global head of marketing Dee Dutta said the split was sparked by BBH's unwillingness to implement a new strategy devised by the phone company. He said the strategy, which he would not elaborate upon, would be used in an ad campaign in about three months.
Dutta added that he was now looking for another agency that would work with the strategy.
The mobile phone giant, which spends £8m on UK advertising alone, appointed BBH as its global creative agency in 2001. This followed its creation as a joint venture between Sweden's Ericsson and Japan's Sony in August of that year. In a statement BBH said: 'The decision is based on differences of opinion regarding the creative direction of the brand. The decision remains amicable.'
Sony Ericsson's media account is handled globally by WPP's Mediaedge:cia and is not affected by the change.
BBH's most recent campaign for the brand featured tennis stars Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic for the K800i Cybershot phone (Marketing, 5 July). It used the tagline 'Never miss a shot'.
In line with moves by other mobile phone companies, Sony Ericsson recently extended its music interests by signing a deal with Orange for a tie-up with Christina Aguilera (Marketing, 19 July). The singer appeared at concerts that were made available as a download to owners of Sony Ericsson phones on the Orange network.
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