M&C Saatchi wins 25m Hyundai i10 Euro launch

Hyundai Motor Europe has added M&C Saatchi to its roster after awarding the agency the £25m pan-European launch of the company’s i10 model.

Mother was initially app­ointed to handle the launch but parted company with the Korean marque after just two weeks, saying it was “unable to agree satisfactory or reasonable contractual terms” (MW January 24).

It is not known whether M&C pitched to win the business. The agency has created a television campaign to run across major European markets, including the UK.

M&C lost out on a project for Hyundai’s sister marque Kia earlier this year. Lowe France was handed the launch of Kia’s C’eed model in February, following a pitch against a mixture of roster and non-roster agencies (MW February 14).

HME advertising manager Dirk Scherer confirms the appointment of M&C, but stresses that it does not affect Hyundai Motor UK’s relationship with Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest, which was not involved in the i10 pitch.

Mother beat German agency WOB, Spanish incumbent Revolution and UK agency The Bank to win the i10 launch. It was the first time a non-roster agency had been appointed to handle a project for Hyundai.

The marque began asking incumbent agencies to pitch for pan-European advertising projects at the start of 2007. It picked WOB to handle the launch of its i30 model in April last year following a pitch that included VCCP.

HME appointed former Volkswagen and BMW marketer Allan Rushforth as vice-president of sales and marketing in September in a bid to improve its brand image and market share.

M&C was not available for comment as Marketing Week went to press.