7672: BBDO Adds Black Executive To Roster.

Adweek reported that BBDO picked up the Uncle Ben’s account. Look for the agency to count the acquisition toward its diversity quotas.

Uncle Ben’s Moves to BBDO
The shift is part of an ongoing agency realignment by Mars

—Adweek Staff

BBDO has added its third Mars assignment in recent months, picking up global creative chores for Uncle Ben’s.

Media spending on the brand in the U.S. alone has been in the $20 million range in recent years, sans digital, per Nielsen. TBWA was the domestic incumbent.

The move comes as part of Mars’ ongoing reorganization of its brand assignments among its primary partners such as BBDO, TBWA and DDB, all part of Omnicom, and SapientNitro, an independent shop.

Energy BBDO added Wrigley Extra in February, while the main agency pulled in Snickers late last year. Various other shifts have also taken place; for example, BBDO lost some of its Whiskas business to TBWA, which in turn ceded Dove chores to SapientNitro.

“As one of our billion dollar brands, Uncle Ben’s has obviously done well under current agency management, and with this consolidation, we are very optimistic about its future performance,” said Bruce McColl, client CMO, in a statement.