• by Steve McClellan , June 15, 2015

Heineken and Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) said today they are parting ways, terminating their global advertising contracts the flagship Heineken and Desperados brands.

W+K was Heineken’s lead agency for five years. The decision to part ways comes as the brewer is about to honored at the Cannes Festival of Creativity as Marketer of the Year.

The brewing giant’s Chief Commercial Officer Jan Derck van Karnebeek said: “After five years this is a good time to go our separate ways. We have enjoyed a strong and effective partnership. Now it is time to move on for both W+K and Heineken."

The split comes about three months after Heineken made a number of organizational changes including combining the CMO and chief sales officer roles into one position and naming van Kamebeek to it. CMO Alexis Nasard is set to leave the company at the end of this month.

The company also regrouped around four regions, versus the previous five.

Dave Luhr, President of Wieden+Kennedy, said: "We are very proud of the creative body of work we developed for the Heineken, Heineken Light and Desperados brands. But in this business change is more of the norm than the exception and it is time that we each go our own directions.  We leave with great respect and admiration for Heineken and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors."