BP Amoco, the world’s third-largest oil company, has appointed
Ogilvy & Mather to its dollars 200 million global advertising
account.
The move puts two of the world’s biggest oil companies into the WPP
network, as J. Walter Thompson handles the bulk of the global Shell
business.
The incumbent Doner network, which held BP globally, and Leo Burnett,
which held Amoco’s worldwide account, were informed of the oil giant’s
decision to appoint another agency earlier this week. The move follows
the pounds 30 billion merger of BP and Amoco at the end of last year and
the impetus for it was said to have come from Amoco, rather than BP.
BP Amoco is understood to have approached several agencies about the
global account in the past year, including both incumbents as well as
Bozell and St Luke’s. M&C Saatchi, which was hired in January to promote
BP Amoco as the world’s third-largest oil company, was also involved in
the review.
The company has been in senior-level talks with O&M for several months,
and the network is understood to have secured the business without a
formal pitch. Talks have focused on strategic rather than creative
ideas, and have involved the network’s New York and London offices.
According to insiders, the incumbent agencies were expecting to pitch
for the merged account and were surprised by the news that BP Amoco had
appointed O&M.
O&M resigned its remaining Shell business, the dollars 40 million US
account, at the beginning of the week, ending a 30-year
relationship.
The news is a blow for Doner’s London agency, Doner Cardwell Hawkins,
which recently created a campaign for BP’s cleaner fuels drive. The
advertising, which sought to position the company as a supplier of
cleaner fuels, introduced the endline: ’BP - for the journey ahead.’
BP represents a significant slice of Doner Cardwell’s billings, and is
the only global account the London agency handles. BP has spent pounds 4
million in the UK during the last 12 months.
BP Amoco is planning to rebrand all its petrol stations around the world
under the BP logo. It currently has three brands - BP, Amoco and Arco -
and together the merged chains own almost 35,000 petrol stations
globally, including 9,000 under the BP shield in Europe, and about
20,000 split between Amoco and Arco in the US.
The rebranding is expected to be the first task O&M will work on. It is
unclear whether the review will encompass media, held by MediaCom TMB in
the UK.
A spokesperson for BP Amoco said: ’Yes, our branding and advertising is
under review, but we are not prepared to say what may be the outcome of
that.’
No-one from O&M would comment on the win.
