K’nex hunts agency for TV push

K’nex International is searching for an agency to handle its K’nex construction toy range. Sources say the multimillion pound account will cover the world outside the US.

J Walter Thompson has worked with K’nex in the UK in the past. Earlier this year JWT was asked to pitch for the Danish toy giant Lego – later won by BMP DDB – but declined to pitch because of its relationship with K’nex, says the toy manufacturer.

K’nex, a joint venture with Hasbro, wants an agency to develop a new TV campaign, which could be on air before Christmas. The company is understood to be on the verge of an appointment.

The construction range, a cross between Meccano and Lego, was one of the best-selling toys in the US soon after its launch and is thriving internationally.

The toy was the brainchild of an American plastic moulding manufacturer in the early Nineties, and comprises colour-coded components of rods and connectors, pulleys, cogs and tyres that snap together to make models.

K’nex head of international marketing Robert Williamson refuses to disclose which agencies are on the shortlist.