O&M fights off BBDO to retain $30m K-C brief

Ogilvy & Mather has received a welcome boost by retaining the $30m (18m) global account for Kimberly-Clark’s feminine care business, after a head-on pitch with BBDO Worldwide’s New York agency.

Ogilvy & Mather has received a welcome boost by retaining the $30m (18m) global account for Kimberly-Clark’s feminine care business, after a head-on pitch with BBDO Worldwide’s New York agency.

K-C began the review last October, shortlisting incumbent Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, BBDO, Foote Cone & Belding and Temerlin McClain for the pitch. The account includes Kotex sanitary napkins and New Freedom tampons.

A spokeswoman for K-C comments: “Ogilvy & Mather had the best understanding of the feminine care category and K-C’s strategy. O&M has worked on the account since 1978.”

He adds: “It continues to be the agency of record on Huggies, Kleenex Cotonelle and Viva and Pull-Ups training pants and Job Squad towels.”

In April, MindShare, the media agency owned by O&M parent WPP, won the entire $100m (62.5m) centralised planning and buying account for K-C’s European business.

The reappointment of O&M comes after the agency lost an estimated 65m of Ford business across Europe to Young & Rubicam (MW 16 July), shortly after the car company handed Y&R the launch account for the new Ford Focus.