Pepsi to Switch Ad Firms

This has to sting a little. After 48 years, Pepsi is switching creative firms for branding and communications.

NEW YORK PepsiCo is shifting lead U.S. creative duties on its flagship cola brand as well as Diet Pepsi from BBDO to TBWAChiatDay, Pepsi said today.

Major media spending on the Pepsi and Diet Pepsi brands exceeded $90 million last year, including about $60 million on Pepsi alone, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

The shift came after a review involving two Omnicom Group shops: TBWACD in Playa del Rey, Calif., and BBDO here, which has handled the Pepsi brand since 1960, said sources. TBWACD is also a Pepsi roster shop, handling creative duties on Gatorade.

I wonder if it has anything to do with this.

(I know Chris the prognosticator will have thoughts.)