Li Ning tipped to hand creative to Soho Square, media to OMD post-pitch

To address client conflict, Soho Square is serving the Li Ning creative business on behalf of Ogilvy & Mather. The reason being O&M is also responsible for 361 Degrees, another major Chinese sports brand, which counts Li Ning as one of its main competitors alongside China Dongxiang, Xstep and Anta.

The creative incumbent was Leo Burnett, which had a decade-long run with Li Ning before the brand called the integrated pitch in February due to a management reshuffle. The agency has produced and delivered all creative deliverables for Li Ning's London Olympic Games campaign in advance.

OMD won the media business, taking over from Starcom. Ruder Finn also confirmed that it does not hold the PR account of Li Ning anymore, which has gone to Fleishman-Hillard, according to another source.

In addition to its core Li Ning brand, the group markets outdoor sports products in China under the French brand Aigle, table tennis equipment under the Double Happiness brand, sports fashion under the Italian brand Lotto, and badminton equipment under the Kason brand.