Initiative beats off two to secure Gossard task

Initiative has won the media planning and buying account for lingerie brand Gossard following a three-way pitch against undisclosed agencies.

It is not clear if there was an incumbent agency as the brand has reduced advertising spend in recent years after being sold several times.

It was bought back by Court­aulds, who sold it to Sara Lee in 2000, last year. It was acquired by private equity company, Sun Capital Partners, in 2005 after Sara Lee sold off its branded apparel division.

The appointment is expected to lead to an in­crease in advertising support for its brands. It is not clear how much the account is worth but in the past it has spent about £5m a year.

Previously, Gossard has run a series of high-profile campaigns, particularly to support the Wonderbra range, which it made under licence until 1994.

The brand relaunched in 2004 in an effort to move away from its Wonderbra heritage and give it a more sophisticated appeal (MW July 15, 2004). It launched Super Smooth, a range of moulded bras with no seams or stitching, as it key product to coincide with the changes.

A relaunch campaign was created by TBWA/London. The agency has been reappointed to the business after losing it in 2001 when Trevor Beattie, then chairman and creative director at the agency, fell out with the marketing director Shaeren MacKenzie.

Gossard also has the Superboost range, launched in 1999 and relaunched last year. It claims the range gives women “the ultimate cleavage”.

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