Mattel hands Carat 250m media business

Mattel has appointed Carat to manage its £250m global media planning and buying business following a two-way pitch against incumbent Mindshare. ZenthOptimedia was knocked out at an earlier stage.

The appointment follows a 10-month pitch after the toy company called the review in February. The £26m UK account is expected to move from Mindshare to Carat as a result of the decision.

The agency has faced a turbulent time over the last year after being forced to recall nearly 21 million Chinese-manufactured potentially harmful toys across the globe. It was also forced to apologise to China for damaging its reputation last month.

The toy brand also made a U-turn and launched a print campaign to reassure UK consumers over the recall crisis, after insisting that such a campaign was unnecessary.