Fage Yogurt Taps Mullen for U.S. Chores

Interpublic Group’s Mullen has picked up U.S. advertising chores for the Fage Greek yogurt brand, succeeding WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather, which worked on the account for three years.

Fage spent almost $4 million on ads during the first two-thirds of 2010, almost as much as it spent in all of last year, per Nielsen.

Boston-based Mullen will handle traditional and digital chores including creative development, media planning and buying and social media outreach.

All told, domestic yogurt sales tallied $4.97 billion in the 52-week period ended Oct. 2, a 7.6 percent increase vs. the same time frame in 2009, Nielsen said. So the win gets the agency into a growing category.

Ogilvy two months ago launched a major push for Fage online. One ad showed a woman’s necklace pressed into a bed of “ridiculously thick yogurt.” The tag: “Fashionably low in fat.” Three blueberries—dangling as pendants—added a splash of color to the creamy white background.

The brand called that effort one of its largest ad pushes ever, but the Ogilvy relationship apparently soured. The first fruit of its association with Mullen appears early next year.