The London-based Uncommon Creative Studio has picked up the global creative account for Aer Lingus following a pitch process that involved a number of Irish creative shops.
Uncommon, which is 51% owned by the French marketing communications company Havas, also handles the global creative for British Airways. Both airlines are owned by the international airline group IAG.
Uncommon’s other accounts include the likes of Ocado Retail, Monzo, Hiscock, Sirius XM and more recently it picked up the creative account for Guinness in the USA, although AMV BBDO still handles the creative for Guinness in the UK and Ireland.
The incumbent on the account was Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song. Last year the agency rolled out a new brand platform for the airline called “You’re Very Welcome”. However, this time around, the agency did not re-pitch for the account.
This is not the first time Aer Lingus has awarded the creative account to a non-Irish agency, a fact that has raised some eyebrows in adland this week. In 2015 it awarded the account to the Amsterdam-based KesselsKramer following a three-way pitch at the time between the London-based Krow Communications and the now defunct DDFH&B. Rothco, (now Droga5 Dublin) later won the account in 2018.
“It is worrying trend that Irish agencies are losing business to agencies overseas,” says one agency CEO, who declined to be named. “In the past few years, big accounts like Bank of Ireland, Vodafone and more recently Tourism Ireland and now Aer Lingus, have gone to London-based agencies. The industry needs to work harder to keep these accounts in Ireland and with Irish agencies.”
