Mars, Incorporated to Consolidate Global Creative with BBDO and DDB

MCLEAN, Va., June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Mars, Incorporated announced a plan to consolidate its agency partners in support of its global brand strategy.  Under the plan, Mars will concentrate distribution of brand assignments between existing partners, BBDO and DDB.  TBWA and SapientNitro will conclude their advertising work on Mars brands by September, 2011, but SapientNitro will continue to work on digital strategy and support of the Mars corporate website.

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Under the structure, BBDO will continue to have global accountability for MARS®, SNICKERS®, M&M'S®, CESAR®, SHEBA®, FIVE®, ORBIT® , EXTRA®, DOLMIO®, UNCLE BEN'S® , MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® , SUZI WAN® and ROYCO® brands.  They will add DOVE®, TWIX®, PEDIGREE® and WHISKAS® to the portfolio they manage.

DDB will continue to manage AIRWAVES® globally and take on additional global management of Wrigley's STARBURST® and SKITTLES®.  In addition they will add key regional Mars Chocolate brands including, MILKY WAY® in the US, COMBOS® and BALISTO®.  For Mars Petcare, DDB will take on global management of KITEKAT®, CHAPPI®, CATSAN®, FROLIC®, SCHMACKOS®, and TEMPTATIONS®/DREAMIES®.

Mars and its agencies will work out a plan to transition the brands over the coming months, and expect all work to be redistributed by the end of September.

"We are committed to making these transitions smoothly and in keeping with the respect we have for all of our agency partners," said Bruce McColl, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Mars. "We are grateful for the contributions that SapientNitro and TBWA have made to the growth of our brands over the years.  This was a tough decision, but we are very confident that consolidating our brands with DDB and BBDO will help us continue to build our connection with consumers all over the world," added McColl.

About Mars, Incorporated 

In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar.  In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of  building a business based on the philosophy of a "mutuality of benefits" for all stakeholders – this vision serves as the foundation of the Mars, Incorporated we are today.  Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience.  More than 65,000 Associates worldwide are putting our Mars Principles in action every day to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance.

Mars brands include: Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR® and ROYAL CANIN®; Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA CO.™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience –SERAMIS®, CIRKU™ and COCOAVIA™.

For more information, please visit www.mars.com.

SOURCE Mars Incorporated