Godiva has said that it is significantly increasing the marketing budget, with reports that it will spend as much as £5m.
HHCL/Red Cell is to create a campaign that will position Godiva as a contemporary, designer chocolatier with the aim of becoming the definitive luxury chocolate brand on the market.
The company previously used Margeotes/Fertitta & Partner, a New York-based agency. It is understood to have approached a number of London agencies before appointing HHCL/Red Cell to the account.
Tom Daly, Godiva International's director of marketing and strategic planning, said: "Godiva needs to stand out from other luxury advertisers and re-examine the way it has communicated the brand in the past. The depth and breadth of the work presented to us in the pitch convinced us that HHCL/Red Cell can deliver the ground-breaking work needed to do that."
Godiva has a big presence in the US, where it began advertising in 1978, and has counted celebrities such as Andy Warhol among its fans. It has retained a more exclusive presence outside the US, with boutiques in cities including Paris, London, Rome and Tokyo.
Nick Howarth, managing director of HHCL/Red Cell, said: "It's satisfying to kick off the year with an international win and gives us the chance to produce work that is genuinely different in a luxury category."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .