It is believed that J&J club agencies McCann Erickson and Lowe, along with JWT, Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA, have lined up for the pitch.
A first round of presentations was held at press-time in New York, with a second elimination stage set for mid-April in Shanghai. New York-based global advertising and marketing communications VP Joe McCarthy, who joined J&J three months ago after stints at Nike and was most recently StrawberryFrog's New York MD, is leading the pitch.
A first round of presentations was held at press-time in New York, with a second elimination stage set for mid-April in Shanghai. New York-based global advertising and marketing communications VP Joe McCarthy, who joined J&J three months ago after stints at Nike and was most recently StrawberryFrog's New York MD, is leading the pitch.
"This has nothing to do with product categories, but (J&J wants) a corporate China vision that embraces the Olympics but isn't limited to the Games," said a source.
A budget has yet to be finalised, and sources said it was too early at this stage to say if the brief will be extended to other markets. Another source, however, believes the project could have global application at a later stage, and that the budget to support the extension could hit US$100 million. "J&J has incredible equity in China and the trust in the brand is phenomenal," said the source. "J&J wants to create a more holistic image on a global scale."
The Torino winter Games marked J&J's first-ever involvement with the Olympics as the healthcare products sponsor. For the China Games, J&J has set up an Olympics team, headed by Mike Hsu, the former manager of its consumer franchise, to leverage its sponsorship investment.
J&J's global creative business is split among DDB on skincare brands such as Neutrogena; McCann on Band-Aid, Acuvue and feminine care; and Lowe on babycare.
Early this year, J&J shifted media duties for its consumer brands in China out of Universal to OMD after a three-way pitch.
