Dive Brief:
- Interpublic Group's McCann has resigned from the Cuervo tequila account.
- Citing a “variety of factors,” with financial issues specifically named, in an internal memo, the agency ended a two and half year relationship.
- A move that might be unrelated to McCann’s decision was Cuervo’s distributor, Proximo, recently informing McCann it would not get its Bushmills business, according to Ad Age.
Dive Insight:
After winning the contract two and half years ago, McCann is cutting ties with Proximo’s Cuervo tequila brand.
In an internal memo that found its way into the media, McCann, New York President Chris Macdonald, said, "Today we notified our Jose Cuervo client that we have decided to end our relationship.” The memo also included a paragraph citing the reasoning behind the move: "There are a variety of factors, including financial, that led to our decision and this has not been taken lightly. We want to thank Cuervo for the opportunities they have given us over the past two and a half years and wish them well in the future."
Proximo Spirits CMO Scott Green told Ad Age, "we will be conducting a search for a new partner to continue growing our Cuervo business." Ad Age notes Green joined the company in recent months, and that he declined to comment on whether the tequila brand's decision to not give McCann its Bushmills business had a any tie to the agency's departure.
Agency Spy reports the break up had nothing to do with the client/agency relationship.
Cuervo's market share in the U.S. has slipped in recent years, though it is still the world's most popular tequila. And Macdonald noted in his memo that in the past two years the tequila brand's marketing spend and sales have inched up.
The most recent campaign from McCann for Cuervo was the Rolling Stones 1972 “Tequila Sunrise” tour inspired TV spots that featured a song from the band, but none of the members.