- Kamau High

NEW YORK MDC's Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners has been awarded creative and media planning duties on Mega Brands, maker of Mega Bloks and Rose Art, following a review, per sources. Mega Brands previous agency, independent StrawberryFrog, parted ways with the client last February, per sources, and did not participate in the review. Both agencies are based in New York.

In 2006 -- the last full year for which ad spending numbers were available -- the company spent almost $12 million in measured media, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, excluding online ads, which sources pegged at close to $10 million annually. (Traditional ad spending was $6 million in the first 11 months of 2007, per Nielsen.)
 
Beacon Media Group, New York, will continue media purchasing. The other participants in the review could not be determined.
 
StrawberryFrog's last campaign for the Canadian toy maker debuted about a year ago. The viral effort was dubbed "Creativity to the Rescue." The work featured two precocious children traveling around Washington, D.C., asking people questions such as, "Would you let a homeless person sleep in your house?"
 
Kirshenbaum's first work for the brand is expected to debut later this year, in time for the back-to-school shopping season.

Kirshenbaum could not be reached for comment.

Mega Brands, after confirming that it had parted ways with StrawberryFrog, declined comment. Execs at StrawberryFrog could not be reached for comment.

Kirshenbaum has been on a winning streak of late, adding significant billings from Wendy's and Avon since the year began.