10799: Draftfcb Tossing Its Cookies.

Advertising Age reported Draftfcb lost even more Oreo business, as U.S. creative duties shifted to The Martin Agency. The move is actually an example of Cookie Corporate Cultural Collusion, as the new agency and Draftfcb are IPG sisters. According to Ad Age, Draftfcb will deal with the brand globally—which means the shop can put its cross-cultural expertise to work. Can’t wait to see what the joint does in China and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Wieden + Kennedy and The Martin Agency will handle the plum assignments. Hey, if the client now hires a fresh Black agency, they can form a reverse Oreo.

Martin Agency Tasked to Handle New U.S. Creative Ideas for Oreo

Move Follows Wieden & Kennedy Getting Super Bowl Work

By E.J. Schultz

Oreo has picked The Martin Agency to work on U.S. creative duties, Ad Age has learned. The move comes as part of the cookie brand’s new multi-agency model within Interpublic Group.

As Ad Age reported on Tuesday, parent company Mondelez International has decided to tap a range of agencies within IPG, rather than rely solely on incumbent shop DraftFCB, while handing a coveted Super Bowl ad assignment to independent shop Wieden & Kennedy.

Mondelez spokeswoman Laurie Guzzinati on Wednesday said The Martin Agency being chosen to work on Oreo advertising means the shop is part of a “broader range of IPG resources as we look to source new and exciting creative direction and ideas for the brand.” She declined to elaborate, and Martin declined to comment on the matter. But other industry executives said the move meant that going forward, Martin will be tasked to come up with creative ideas for the cookie’s marketing in the U.S. while DraftFCB will be responsible for the brand globally.

John Campbell, DraftFCB’s global account director for Oreo, will be leading the overall effort.

Oreo spent $40.5 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2011, according to Kantar Media. The cookie is a star in the portfolio of Mondelez, which houses cookie, candy and snack brands formerly owned by Kraft Foods Inc., which split in two earlier this year. The cookie brand is now a $2 billion franchise globally, which is double the size it was five years ago, Mondelez recently told analysts.

A longtime U.S. cookie powerhouse, Mondelez is putting major resources behind the brand internationally, including launching it in India last year. The company has also introduced Oreo in several European countries including Germany, France and the U.K.

In China, Oreo is the largest cookie brand, with average annual growth of 68% over the past couple years, the company has told analysts. All told, Oreo is No. 1 in the global “sweet biscuit” category, with 4.3% share, followed by an Indian brand named Parle, which has 1.6%, according to Euromonitor International.