After an exhaustive review process launched this summer and supported by Joanne Davis Consulting, General Mills has selected “72andSunny with Redscout” as its primary creative agency in the U.S. The client will select agency partners for project-based work in a second, still-ongoing round of the same review.
The combined MDC Partners pair beat out McCann New York, Deutsch, Mother New York and a Publicis unit headed by Fallon to win the business of a client that spent $700 million on paid media in the U.S. last year, according to Kantar Media.
In late August we learned that General Mills also issued a series of diversity requirements for agency creative departments as part of the review, requiring its future agencies to be staffed with at least 50 percent women and 20 percent people of color. (These totals would appear to be closer to friendly suggestions than strict quotas.) Saatchi & Saatchi and McCann had served as General Mills’ primary agency partners prior to the review, but the former did not participate in this review. 72andSunny, along with another review participant, Fallon, was initially added to General Mills agency roster in May of 2015.
“We’ve been lucky to have Saatchi and McCann as excellent partners for many years,” General Mills vice president and CCO Michael Fanuele said in a statement. “They are incredible people who have done amazing work for our brands. They’ve been everything good partners and good friends should be, and we thank them for their great work.”
“72andsunny with Redscout impressed us for so many reasons: a generous passion for our consumers; creative chops that have culture-shaping power; experience helping brands change their fortunes; and an inspiring commitment to diversity among their creative team,” he added. “But what swayed us most was a distinct ability to collaborate, with us and our other partners. This feels like a genuine, productive relationship, the kind in which we will make each other better.”
72andSunny and Redscout will work with GM’s media agency Mindshare, which was selected following a media review launched in May of 2015.
“We have been blown away by the bravery, smarts and determination of every person we’ve met at General Mills,” said 72andSunny founder and CCO Glenn Cole. “We’re humbled that they have asked 72andSunny and Redscout to be their partners and help write the next chapter of the story of some of the most iconic brands in the world.”
“In a world of changing food values, this is a dream opportunity,” added Redscout founder and CEO Jonah Disend. “I have been so inspired by the General Mills team’s clear commitment to serving people in such an honest way.”