Abbot Mead Vickers vs. JWT: let's get ready to rumble...

The Brand Republic story on Sainsbury's negotiations with Jamie Oliver also contained this paragraph:

Sainsbury's has shortlisted incumbent Abbott Mead Vickers and JWT for its creative campaign.

DDB London, McCann Erickson, TBWA\London and Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners have all been eliminated from the review process, which is being handled by the Haystack Group.

So it's ABM vs. JWT. Not knowing much about either of them, I quickly visited their websites. First impression: Abbot Mead Vickers' site feels too self-referential and it takes ages to load (Grrr! Flash! Stop wasting my time!). Yes, ABM has done striking work - Jonathan Glazer's Guiness surfers ad for one - but it's the kind of stuff that I look at and say "that's a good ad, shall I put the kettle on?" not "that's a good product; let's go shopping."

JWT stands out, if only because of this simple statement:

We passionately believe advertising has a future but only if we stop interrupting what people are interested in and BE what people are interested in.

Time is the new currency and the audience is the new client.  We need to create work that people chose to spend time with.

Of course, this could be a lot of hot air, but from the little I saw on their website, JWT are least heading in the right direction. Elsewhere, JWT says:

End of Monologue; Age of Dialogue: Historically, JWT and the industry at large, has propagated a model of “message as roadblock” and we’ve taken that model to all new media, growing bigger and more unwieldy as we go. It’s now up to us to engage the consumer rather than block the consumer.

In a straight contest, then, between Abbot Mead Vickers and JWT, I would like Sainsbury's to go with JWT.

Then we'll find out if Sainsbury's really is interested in engaging its customers, instead of merely taking our money.

NB: Thanks Mark Pinkerton - I picked up the Brand Republic article from one of Mark's thoughtful comments.