M&C Saatchi takes bulk of £35m Direct Line from CHI

M&C Saatchi has won a major slice of insurance brand Direct Line’s &£35m creative account from incumbent Clemmow Hornby Inge (CHI) just a year after it won the account.

The business covers Direct Line’s brand work, estimated to be worth up to &£25m, with CHI continuing to work on the brand’s mortgage and loans business.

Both agencies are roster agencies of Royal Bank of Scotland, owner of Direct Line. CHI will continue to work on Mint, The One Account, Lombard Direct and First Active for the financial services giant.

The review was overseen by new marketing director Mike Tildesley, who was poached from rival More Than earlier this autumn. He replaced Jim Wallace, who retired earlier this year (MW January 27).

CHI won the Direct Line account last November, triumphing against M&C Saatchi in a final pitch. The then incumbent, Mortimer Whittaker O’Sullivan, had been knocked out at an earlier stage, along with Ogilvy & Mather, WCRS and Burkitt DDB.

However, M&C did pick up the &£25m account for sister insurance brand Privilege later that month.

Direct Line was the first telephone-based insurance company to be launched in the UK – in 1985 – by Peter Wood, who now owns rival eSure.

The two brands are involved in a legal wrangle after eSure attempted to copyright a “computer mouse on wheels”. The attempt is being disputed by RBS.