Belvedere Vodka said it selected BBDO in New York to handle a new creative project for the upscale spirit.
The Omnicom agency won the business after a review which also included 72andsunny. The MDC affiliate declined to comment.
According to Nielsen, in 2011 Bevedere spent $10.4 million in U.S. measured media, an amount that does not include digital spending.
The Arnell Group has been Belvedere’s lead agency since 2009 when it won the business from Berlin Cameron. Execs at Arnell could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year Belvedere caused a lot of controversy after an ad appeared on its Twitter page showing a woman struggling to break away from a man’s grasp. The headline read “Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly.” Charles Gibb, Belvedere’s president, issued a public apology at the time and said as an expression of regret the company made a donation to Rainn, America’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.
At the time, Arnell CEO Sara Arnell acknowledged her agency was the brand’s lead ad partner but said it did not create that ad.
 |  |