So far so good for adam&eveDDB as it adds Aviva to impressive list of account gains

Adam&eveDDB, the agency of the year by anyone’s standards in 2014, has kicked off 2015 by landing another big one, UK insurance company Aviva’s ‘global’ account.

Global in inverted commas because Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, would like to be seen as a global business but it isn’t really. It’s sold its US business, still the marker for global businesses, and is present in Europe and Asia Pacific, although not on a scale to worry the giants of the insurance business like Prudential, Allianz and AIG.

But it’s another one in the pot for A&E. The fact that the business moves from Omnicom sibling AMV BBDO won’t help to calm down the ferocious rivalry between the two agencies.

AMV BBDO has been running a campaign featuring comedian Paul Whitehouse for years (above) in the UK and this had undoubtedly run its course. But it’s very hard for any insurance company to escape the morass of price comparison websites these days. Direct Line recently switched from M&C Saatchi to Saathci & Saatchi (ouch!) to try to do this. But do you buy a brand or a price in the insurance market?

So it’s another challenge for A&E, which so far it’s risen to with sound but unremarkable campaigns for the likes of McCain and Mulberry which it won among 14 successful pitches last year.

A bigger challenge will be when the A&E founders achieve their earn-out from the agency DDB bought in 2010. That’s something that even Omnicom boss John Wren might have to turn his attention to.