Bertolli for Mother as Unilever adds creative talent

Mother has taken an interesting step forward in its bid to become a credible agency for global accounts (although it only has offices in London and New York) by being awarded Unilever’s worldwide Bertolli account.

It’s not clear exactly what Mother will be handling and what stays with New York start-up Barton F Graf 9000 and McCann, which also works on the account. But Unilever seems intent on giving Bertolli (originally olive oil) a big boost; maybe to see if it’s worth persevering with in the long terms. The consumer goods giant is currently getting rid of under-performing brands as it finds itself under margin pressure, particularly in emerging markets.

It’s also another example of one of the big consumer goods companies (others include Kraft, Mondelez and Coca-Cola) adding creative talent to their rosters. The downside of this for agencies is that, in effect, they are faced with pitching for projects – which is particularly bad news for the likes of McCann, big traditional global agencies that once exercised an iron grip on their major clients.