Petron calls advertising pitch in the Philippines

MANILA - Petron Corporation, the Philippine oil refining giant, has called for an advertising pitch, with incumbents Saatchi & Saatchi and J. Romero & Associates among the agencies vying for the account.

Starcom is contesting the media portion of the account, although it is unclear which other agencies are in contention.

Petron is among the top twenty advertisers in the Philippines and its creative account is split between three agencies: Leo Burnett, Lowe and Saatchi and Saatchi.

The oil firm recently announced a drop in profits, despite increasing sales volume. Petron saw net first quarter net profits fall by 31 per cent, gaining only Pesos 658 million (US$15 million) compared with Pesos 953 million (US$22 million) in the same period last year.