Saatchi & Saatchi has won the dollars 30 million global DuPont
Lycra business from Young & Rubicam.
The agency was appointed to handle the account after a three-way pitch
against the incumbent and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. It will begin work on
the assignment next year.
The win reunites the network with the brand after a five-year gap.
Saatchis originally launched the revolutionary stretch fabric on to the
global market in 1989 before losing it in a review, four years later, to
Y&R.
Saatchis’ new brief is to extend the fabric’s appeal away from women and
towards teenagers and men. The material is most commonly used in female
clothing such as lingerie, hosiery and swimwear to enhance fit and
comfort.
Saatchis won the business after a pitch led by staff from the London,
New York and Swiss offices as well as its sister PR agency, the Rowland
Company, which handles Lycra’s PR in the US.
Creative work is being kept under wraps but will be produced centrally,
with local countries allowed to adapt work to their own needs. Each
market will be supplied with a selection of television, print, cinema
and below-the-line work to choose from.
Derek Bowden, Saatchis’ chairman of Europe, said that he was delighted
to win the business back. He added: ’When we launched Lycra as an
ingredient brand, it was the first time that such a product from any
sector had promoted itself like that. Now it’s quite a common thing -
Intel being a recent example.’
Saatchis is also currently pitching for the dollars 50 million DuPont
global corporate advertising account against BBDO, Y&R, J. Walter
Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather. It handles the business in North America.
