Wrangler Jeans, Timberland Pro Boots and North Face Parkas Find New Shop for Media

Wrangler jeans, Timberland Pro boots and The North Face parkas have found a new home for their media business.

Publicis Groupe's Starcom is taking on media planning and buying for five brands owned by VF Corp., VF has confirmed. Beyond Wrangler, Timberland Pro and The North Face, Starcom will handle Lee and Nautica. Collectively, the brands spent nearly $100 million in media last year, including $30 million on Wrangler and more than $27 million on Lee, according to Kantar Media. 

The shift came after a pitch against three other finalists, which sources identified as WPP Group's MEC, MDC Partners' Assembly and Dentsu's Vizeum. MEC was the incumbent on Wrangler and Lee, and Factory Design Labs, on The North Face. VF handled planning and buying for the other brands internally.

VF's last big media review, in 2005, resulted in MEC landing most of its business. 

A VF representative confirmed the shift to Starcom but declined to answer questions about the search. The agency's Chicago office is expected to lead management the account, with help from colleagues in Los Angeles. VF is based in Greensboro, N.C.