Lowe MENA has won the creative advertising account for energy drink Red Bull across the Lower Gulf.
The win follows a two-month pitch involving a number of multinational agencies in the Middle East. The pitch was headed by Kastner & Partners, Red Bull’s official international agency network. The incumbent on the account was Saatchi & Saatchi, which was not involved in the pitch process.
Lowe will now handle Red Bull’s marketing requirements across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. JWT was awarded Red Bull’s creative account for Saudi Arabia in March last year following a shootout with Leo Burnett.
Mounir Harfouche, Lowe MENA’s CEO, said: “Our approach to all new business is the delivery of populist creativity that has the ability to transform a brand into a culture. A brand like Red Bull is perfectly equipped for this transition, as it’s an iconic brand that inspires a completely fresh approach to marketing. Red Bull has rewritten the rule book – something very few brands have enough conviction to do. A brave and ambitious brand like Red Bull deserves a partner agency that has the same creative ambition and positive, rebellious spirit that drives its proven success.”
Red Bull was created in 1987 by Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. Based on market share, it is the most popular energy drink in the world. Red Bull’s marketing is famous for its association with extreme sports, such as mountain biking, BMXing, motocross, windsurfing and snowboarding. It is also involved in Formula One via Red Bull Racing, one of two teams owned by Red Bull. The team won the 2010 Formula One Constructors’ Championship in only its sixth year of competing. Its events include the Red Bull Air Race.
Will Red Bull race F1 in (blood-soaked) Bahrain this year? That’ll be tricky for Lowe to message. That government has been killing and injuring “rebellious” people there. Let’s hope F1 pull out, and that Red Bull presses for them to do so.