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Haagen Dazs' pan-European incumbent, Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, withdrew from the pitch in late January.

The TBWA pitch was led from the network's London agency by the chairman of TBWA Northern Europe, Paul Bainsfair, and the TBWA\London vice-chairman, Dick Butler. The win gives TBWA the Haagen Dazs business across Latin America and

Europe. JWT retains the business in Japan. Media planning and buying was not included in the review. Carat currently handles media across all Pillsbury brands.

Haagen Dazs' UK business moves to TBWA immediately, despite indications that it was to be decentralised from the main European account. Euro RSCG's satirical,

new-age ads with the tagline "path to joy" ran exclusively in the UK, unlike the agency's

previous "100 per cent perfect" campaign.

Teething problems with the "path to joy" work are understood to have triggered initial meetings between Häagen Dazs and rival agencies in September last year. The review was put on hold while the campaign rolled out but was reactivated as a worldwide consolidation after General Mills completed its acquisition of Haagen Dazs' parent, Pillsbury, from Diageo.

General Mills was also

understood to be concerned over conflict with its rival Ben & Jerry's, which is handled by Euro RSCG's San Francisco agency, Black Rocket.

Euro RSCG took over the account from Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1998.

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