Labatt Blue's Quebec advertising will likely be sporting a new look next spring, following La Brasserie Labatt's announcement last week that it would keep its Blue and Blue Dry brands with agency of record PNMD Communications. The decision followed a review-style process in which the brewer asked three of its roster shops to submit a "strategic vision" for its flagship Blue brand.

"We're extremely happy and relieved," says Raymond Boucher, president and CEO of PNMD, which has worked on Blue since 1983, when the agency was then known as Scali McCabe Sloves. "At the end of the day, they really felt that we basically were still the team they were most comfortable working with."

Boucher would not comment directly on why the brewer invited agencies to submit their visions for the brand, but admitted Blue would likely undergo a shift in its positioning.

"I think the answer has to be yes [but] to what degree and when I don't know," he says. "This whole thing came about in terms of timing for the reorientation of the brand's communications for the longer term. [Labatt has only had] two basic campaigns in 16 years. They're a client that really looks for campaigns that have legs and can last a long time."

Montreal-based Bos, which handles the Sol brand for Labatt, and Palm Publicité Marketing, agency of record for Bud and Wildcat, also met with the brewer to discuss the future director of Blue in Quebec.