Lloyds has joined the list of big British banks hunting for a new ad agency. Barclays and Nat West are currently reviewing and now Lloyds has said its long-term relationship with adam&eveDDB is no more. The infamous black horses seem to have been put out to grass. Presumably sister brand Halifax will follow.
Lloyds says: “As we evolve our marketing programmes, we are re-evaluating our approach to agency partners. As such our relationship with Adam & Eve/DDB will come to a close. We’re grateful to Adam & Eve/DDB’s dedication and commitment to crafting outstanding advertising for us over the years.”
A&E CEO Miranda Hipwell, who’s walked into a bit of a nightmare since taking over with longstanding clients including John Lewis/Waitrose and the National Lottery leaving for different reasons, says: “We are proud of all we’ve achieved during our 10-year partnership with Lloyds Banking Group. Our wide-ranging work for its stable of brands has delivered sustained commercial growth and helped shape culture – both through sector-defining creative excellence and by raising important issues such as mental health and the women’s pension gap – all underpinned by proven effectiveness. We wish Lloyds well as the business moves into a new phase.”
Lloyds also uses Ogilvy One for CRM work and it won’t have escaped many people’s attention that James Murphy and David Golding, A&E co-founders who have a long relationship with Lloyds, now sit atop Ogilvy Group UK since their NCA start-up was sold to WPP. Former A&E joint CEO Tammy Einav has also recently joined them.
Lloyds’ newish marketing line-up is embarked on the dreaded digital transformation so it may be that Lloyds (and Halifax) will no longer be the big above-the-line spenders they used to be. Online is now the overriding focus for big UK banks. But sooner or later they’ll need A&E-type skills and Lloyds is still a juicy prize for someone. Ogilvy, already on the marketing roster, must surely be in the frame.
As for A&E it’s garnered a lot of multinational business since getting a bigger international role at DDB (Disney, Puma and a new global campaign for Mars’ Twix) but losing these big domestic accounts must be a worry.
