M&C Saatchi outguns rival trio for Coke work

<p>SINGAPORE: F&N Coca-Cola has appointed M&C Saatchi to create the </p><p>next Coca Cola brand campaign for Singapore but downplayed the </p><p>announcement because the account is internationally aligned to </p><p>McCann-Erickson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Rather than move the account from McCanns, the beverage company opted to </p><p>put the major project out to pitch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>June Kong, external affairs & communications manager at F&N Coca Cola, </p><p>said: "The M&C Saatchi special project assignment on brand Coca Cola in </p><p>no way impacts on the fact McCann-Erickson Singapore is Coca Cola's </p><p>agency of record". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>M&C Saatchi, which handles most of the firm's non-aligned brands, </p><p>pitched against McCann, Lowe Lintas & Partners and Saatchi & </p><p>Saatchi. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The decision follows news reports that McCanns' 'Life tastes good' </p><p>campaign failed to meet the beverage company's expectations. M&C's win </p><p>also comes in the wake of Coca-Cola adding new agencies to its roster at </p><p>the expense of McCanns. For instance, it recently appointed Ogilvy & </p><p>Mather across 11 Asian markets for Sprite and Fanta. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This widens our creative resource base ... we will continue to use all </p><p>the resources available to us to market our brands in Singapore," said </p><p>Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>