…MacLaren McCann will be back on the Molson Canadian brand for the fall/winter campaign and that when it comes back, it will have a new tagline to replace the one that just rolled out last month.

While ‘Patio’ – Canadian’s new television spot from Encore Encore Strategic Marketing – is considered a pleasant, though uninspired, departure from the much-maligned MacLaren ‘Monkey’ campaign, the new theme line is seen as a dead end.

‘This is where we get Canadian’ may work for summer promotional purposes, but agency types say it has no legs and they don’t expect it to be around for the long haul – or even for the rest of this year.

One agency principal looking back to earlier see-saw battles between the Molson and Labatt flagship brands, points out that it wasn’t so long ago that the Blue team didn’t know what to do about Canadian and its hold on the 19- to 24-year-old volume drinker. Now, however, the tables have turned, thanks largely to Labatt’s ‘Out of the Blue’ campaign, which, proffers the agency mucky-muck, ‘hijacked’ the spontaneity that had to that point been attributed to Canadian and its drinkers.

…Initiative Media, J. Walter Thompson, Starcom (the brand spanking new media division of incumbent Leo Burnett), Media Buying Services and Optimum Media Direction are the agencies vying for Kellogg Canada’s $28-million media buying business. The line up isn’t confirmed, however, as Kellogg is trying to keep the review tightly under wraps.

It seems that hush-hush or by-invitation-only reviews are becoming all the rage these days as clients leave the prospecting and organization of the process to consultants. Meanwhile, the ICA’s Agency Source search service is said to be playing a much bigger role in new business opportunities than ever before.

Agency execs say clients not only want to ensure a well-run review but also avoid the fall-out and bad press suffered by Bell Canada coming out of last year’s high-profile review, which many saw as a fiasco.

…On a similar note, a consultant has been trying to line up a list of Toronto shops for an undisclosed client. While no one will confirm, indications are that it’s for one of the big five banks.

Of course, all of the banks have denied that they have any business under review, but Peter Case, vice-president of advertising for the Royal Bank, has let on that one of the Royal’s business divisions could have a project on the go.

There’s also speculation that a nice piece of business may soon be up for grabs from a big U.S. bank. Top of the list is Bank One International Credit Card, which recently named Gary Heatherington, former senior vice-president and general manager of MasterCard International’s Canada Region, its Canadian CEO.

…Cossette Communication-Marketing will be using at least some of the funds from its IPO to shore up its position in Vancouver, probably through an acquisition. The agency had risen to number two status in the market behind Palmer Jarvis DDB but slipped with its resignation of BC TEL (now BCT.Telus) and, more recently, with its loss of the Consumersfirst business to TBWA Chiat/Day.

…With two of the Bay’s top executives – chief executive officer Ira Pickell and VP marketing Barry Agnew – now out the door, Canada’s oldest retailer is on the hunt for a new agency to replace its current AOR, Toronto-based Padulo Integrated. Padulo is behind the recently launched ‘Then and Now’ campaign, which highlights the retailer’s Canadian heritage. Bay spokesperson Shawna Rossi denies there are any plans to hold an account review.

…Phillip Crawley, president and COO of The Globe and Mail, has underestimated the reaction of the media buying community to his refusal to rejoin the Audit Bureau of Circulations. He’s said to be meeting with most of the media directors individually or in small groups before he decides to put his foot in his mouth again. Crawley lambasted the ABC at both the Advertising Club of Toronto’s ‘Newspaper Day’ in January and then again last month at the Canadian Media Directors Council conference.u

With files from staff.