Adidas in hunt for global ad network.(Brief Article)

Adidas has begun talking to agency neworks about the future of its $100 million-plus international advertising arrangements.

The bulk of the sports giant's creative assignments are currently handled by Leagas Delaney and Amsterdam's 180. A number of other agencies are used to give the advertising a local touch, including Burrell in the US, SCPF in Spain, Harrison McCann in Japan and Clemenger BBDO in Australia.

Leagas Delaney and 180 will be retained on the business but they have been asked by Adidas to offer recommendations on how they would work with an international network and which network they propose. The move comes as Adidas seeks a more streamlined approach to give greater speed and coherence to its creative arrangements.

Neil Simpson, the head of global brand concepts and advertising at Adidas, said: "This is about bringing greater efficiency to our advertising arrangements. It is not a review driven by creative quality issues, nor is it driven by cost-saving, though having a network will be more cost efficient."

There is no pitchlist at this stage but a number of networks have been approached about the business, Simpson confirmed. "My intention is to retain Leagas and 180 but we need more international cohesion," he explained. "A network would help us to adapt and implement work and ...