Carlsberg calls ad pitch

The brewer has issued an RFI directly to creative networks from its headquarters in Copenhagen.

The approach relates to an international advertising pro­ject to "iconise" the main Carlsberg brand. It is unclear how the agency search will impact on Fold7, the global incumbent on the Carlsberg business.

LBi, which was hired in May to handle Carlsberg’s global digital account, is thought to be unaffected by the pitch.

Fold7, which was appointed as the lead global agency for the brand’s relaunch campaign in 2010, introduced the line "That calls for a Carlsberg" in April last year. Carlsberg dropped its famous "Probably the best lager in the world" tagline, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, in favour of the new positioning.

Fold7 has since created a patriotic TV campaign for Carlsberg starring Sir Bobby Charlton, Stuart Pearce, Ian Wright and Des Lynam to promote the brand’s sponsorship of the Uefa Euro 2012 football tournament. One ad, "fan academy", showed England fans being physically and mentally put through their paces.

The brand’s most recent campaign, also by Fold7, was called "the crate escape". It showed a group of Carlsberg-drinking males attempting to escape an oppressive female-centric spa.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk