Foster's calls UK ad pitch

The review is being handled by the AAR, which is currently in the process of putting together a longlist, with a decision expected by the end of March. M&C Saatchi will repitch for the account.

The agency picked up the business - which had billings of £12 million at the time - in 1996, a year after its launch. The brand's spend has since dropped to around £7 million.

The review will not affect M&C's hold on the Kronenbourg account.
In its 14-year relationship, the agency has been notable for creating a number of well-received ads, including "robot", in which a man orders a robot to clean his house and returns from work to find it in bed with the vacuum cleaner. The ad ended with the robot drinking Foster's and the strapline: "Drink Australian, think Australian."

However, it is thought that the agency's more recent work for the brand has been less successful.

Based around the line "get some Australian in you", the ads, which launched last year, show people with Australian ancestry acting in a stereotypical Australian manner.

Before that, Foster's ran a series of campaigns based around "stealing shadows" to keep the beer cool.

Foster's is now owned by Heineken following a joint takeover deal with Carlsberg in 2008.