After two years as agency of record for Duracell’s creative and digital account, MDC Partners shop Anomaly has declined to participate in a review of the battery company’s marketing agencies. The decision to put the account in review was made by Berkshire Hathaway in the spring of this year, shortly after the multinational conglomerate completed its acquisition of Duracell from P&G, according to Anomaly Global CEO and Founding Partner Carl Johnson.
"Following the departures of the previous Global CEO, and the General Manager of Duracell, North America, new owners, Berkshire Hathaway, decided to review all aspects of the business including their marketing agencies," Johnson said in a statement. "This is 100 percent their right. It is also 100 percent our right to choose not to participate in the process, which is what we decided to do in this instance."
Johnson said Anomaly no longer felt like it was on the same page as the leadership at Duracell. "One reason we have been successful is our focus on getting like-minded clients with shared ambition and shared values...and that was no longer the case. Our significant and sustained growth gives us the space to adhere to our principles strictly, so we did," he added, citing 40% revenue growth in the agency’s U.S. business in 2016.
The AOR relationship with Duracell ended in June, but the agency agreed to stay on the account until after it finished the Star Wars Holiday campaign, Johnson said. That work debuted this week. "We love the Duracell brand and are very proud of our work we made together over the years. We wish the new owners well and will be moving onto the many new opportunities in front of us."
Anomaly won the then-$50 million Duracell account in July 2014 in a review, taking the digital account from Saatchi & Saatchi New York. The creative account was previously handled by Acme Idea Co., which did not participate in the review.