The car manufacturer has also tapped TBWA-Santiago Mangada Puno to handle its product launches. TBWA scooped the account after a five agency pitch.
However, incumbent agency AB Communications will continue to handle products and advertising and Magnum will service its below-the-line requirements.
The developments follow a spectacular revival of the Japanese car giant under the stewardship of president and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn, who was tasked by major shareholder, France's Renault group to revive the ailing manufacturer Last month, when announcing record operating profits for the 2002 financial year of more than US$6 billion, Ghosn said: "Three years ago, our business was in accelerated decline. Today, we're not only back in the global race, we're among the pacesetters."
In the Philippines, Nissan was the segment leader between 1998 and 2000, before its sales started declining in the face of more aggressive marketing and pricing strategies adopted by current leaders Toyota and Honda.
"Although Nissan is aggressive globally, in the Philippines the market still sees Honda and Toyota as standard vehicles. In the US, Nissan is more popular," said TBWA managing partner Melvin Mangada. Nissan will launch new products in the second half of the year, supported by a new TV commercial. The campaign will run until the end of the year.