Lintas To Be Renamed Lowe

The Rs 1,000 crore Lowe Lintas & Partners, a part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), will be rechristened 'Lowe Worldwide' in India in January. The decision comes in the wake of the name change of the advertising agency affected globally.

Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide is the world's fifth largest global advertising agency with over $12 billion worth billings.

Interpublic, New York, said the renaming was in honour of the founder of the agency Sir Frank Lowe. While a formal announcement has not yet been made in India, sources in Lintas confirmed that the new name will come into effect by January. According to sources, Lintas, as a brand, should change completely as it needed a new image.

A senior official at Lintas said: "Internationally, Lowe has an equity of being highly creative.

But, Lintas does not enjoy the same reputation. Instead, Lintas is looked at as an agency with strong equity of size and longevity. Therefore, there was a dire need that the culture of Lowe should get across." Lowe holds 60 per cent equity in Lintas in India.

Commenting on the move, John J Dooner Jr, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Interpublic, said: "Frank Lowe is one of the legendary creative leaders in our business and the global stature of the agency is a testament to that. We are pleased to introduce Lowe as the new name. And are also equally pleased that Frank wants to turn more of his vision and energy towards Lowe."

However, in India there are other things too which are likely to undergo change with the renaming. Sources said: "We would focus more on creativity and new missions in India. The single objective of evaluation would be creativity."

The other two advertising agencies that belong to IPG are McCann-Erickson WorldGroup and FCB Group.