Energy BBDO Gets Wrigley Extra

Wrigley has consolidated its Extra chewing gum business at BBDO, awarding the Omnicom agency’s Energy BBDO unit U.S. creative responsibilities on the brand it already handles outside the states.

Corporate sibling DDB was the U.S. incumbent on Extra, and the two agencies recently pitched creative to Wrigley execs as they competed for the stateside business.

In the first 11 months of 2009, the Mars unit spent $18 million on ads supporting Extra in the U.S., while in all of ’08 it spent $30 million, per Nielsen. Those amounts do not include online spending.

“BBDO has worked on a number of Wrigley brands through the years and they have continued to demonstrate a true understanding of our culture and brands. BBDO is a trusted creative partner and we are excited to engage them in the creative process for Extra gum,” said Jennifer Jackson-Luth, the client’s senior manager of marketing communications.

Like many marketers, Mars, which acquired Wrigley in October ’08, has been seeking greater cost efficiencies through consolidation over the past year. In September, it consolidated creative duties for Mars’ snack foods at BBDO, with the agency regaining the U.S. Snickers duties that it lost to sister shop TBWA\Chiat\Day in 2006. BBDO also added overseas duties for the Mars bar, which it handles elsewhere, including in the U.S., where it is marketed as Milky Way. In May, Mars consolidated its domestic media buying and planning business at Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest, which added the lion’s share of about $250 million.
 
In August 2007, after a four-month review, Wrigley consolidated its global advertising duties, adding DDB to work alongside BBDO.