D'Arcy has been reappointed to the £5 million Tetley Tea
account after a final shootout against HHCL & Partners.
Partners BDDH and TBWA/London also pitched for the account, but left the
running last week. The review was conducted by Agency Assessments
International and overseen by Tetley's marketing director, Nigel
Holland.
D'Arcy has held the Tetley account for more than 21 years - it won the
business as D'Arcy-MacManus Masius in 1979.
The review was called after Tetley decided that it needed a change in
its brand strategy as the tea market comes under pressure from growth
sectors such as fashionable coffee brands and the chocolate and malted
drinks sector.
It has been reported that Tetley will drop the iconic Tetley Teafolk in
favour of a more contemporary strategy. The Teafolk cartoon characters
have promoted Tetley since 1973. One possibility is advertising that
promotes the healthy benefits of tea.
Nigel Holland, the marketing director of Tetley, said: "I'm very
pleased. D'Arcy came up with a great idea."
Barry Cook, the managing director of D'Arcy, said: "Keeping Tetley was
immensely important to us. We knew it was going to be hard given the
quality of the list. That makes this victory all the sweeter."
Neither Cook nor Holland would confirm any plans to ditch the Teafolk,
however.
The creative review did not affect MediaVest, which handles media
planning and buying for Tetley.
Tetley Tea was acquired last year by Tata Tea, India's largest tea
producer, for £271 million. It established Tata-Tetley as the
world's second largest tea company.
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