Pladis, the owner of biscuit brand McVitie’s, has hired TBWA\London as its new creative agency and Manning Gottlieb OMD for media planning and buying.
The snack company made the appointments after a closed review. The Omnicom agencies will work across all McVitie’s products, including Digestives, Hobnobs, Jaffa Cakes and Rich Tea, in addition to other Pladis brands, such as Jacob’s, Carr’s and Go Ahead.
Grey London previously handled McVitie’s and Jacob’s in the UK, while fellow WPP agency The & Partnership London worked on McVitie’s international advertising and Jaffa Cakes. The shops were not invited to repitch.
TBWA and MG OMD, both based at Bankside in London, will closely collaborate on building a new creative platform for Pladis’ existing products and future launches. Their first campaign will debut next year to promote McVitie’s sponsorship of Team GB for the 2020 Olympic Games.
Sam Mitchell, general manager of McVitie’s at Pladis UK and Ireland, said: “McVitie’s has been one of the nation’s most-loved brands for 180 years, bought by over 80% of households in the UK, and our ambition is to ensure it upholds its mass appeal for centuries to come and, together with this new partnership, we’ll make that happen.”
Dmitry Ivanov, former chief marketing officer at Bacardi, joined Pladis as chief commercial officer last year, overseeing the global marketing, digital and R&D teams.
Pladis was formed in 2016 when McVitie’s owner United Biscuits and several other snack brands were brought together under one company by their parent, Yildiz Holding.
This article was originally published in Campaign.