UPDATED: NTUC confirms McCann's resignation

Singapore - NTUC FairPrice's creative review will not involve incumbent McCann WorldGroup following the agency's decision to resign the account last Thursday.

"We had a finite two year contract that ended in February when NTUC requested for us to extend our partnership for an additional six months, since it had to have a mandatory new pitch but it was not ready to start the process then, which we agreed to till we made our decision last week," Marc Ingrouille, McCann Worldgroup, CEO, Singapore and Thailand region director, SE Asia, said.

The agency had been considering if it wanted to continue the relationship based on various factors but eventually decided to drop the account.

A NTUC spokesperson confirmed the agency will no longer be working with the retail chain saying that McCann's resignation was due to the call for a pitch. NTUC declined further comment on details of the pitch.

"It has been a fantastic two and a half years working with NTUC on their regular ads and festive campaigns," Vishal Mehta, regional business director VP APAC for McCann WorldGroup, said.

Mehta also said it is likely the agency will continue to work on the account for another three to four months until a new creative agency appointment was made.