Saatchi wins $30m global DuPont Lycra business

- Saatchi & Saatchi has won the $30m global DuPont Lycra business from Young & Rubicam.

The agency was appointed to handle the account after a three-way pitch against the incumbent and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. It will begin work on the assignment early next year.

The win reunites the network with the brand after five years. Saatchis originally launched the revolutionary stretch fabric onto the global market in 1989 before loosing it in a review four years later to Y&R.

The network's new brief is to broaden the fabric's appeal away from women towards teens and men. The material is most commonly used in female clothing such as lingerie, hosiery and swimwear to enhance fit and comfort.

Saatchis won the business after a pitch led by staff from the New York and Swiss offices as well as sister PR agency, The Rowland Company, which handles Lycra's PR in the US.

Saatchi London was not involved and the European account will be run from Saatchi Geneva.

Creative work is being kept under wraps but will be created centrally, with local countries allowed to adapt work to their own needs. Each market will be supplied with a selection of television, print, cinema and below-the-line work to chose from.

Derek Bowden, Saatchi's chairman of Europe, said that he was delighted to win back the business. He added: "When we launched Lycra as an ingredient brand, it was the first time that such a product from any sector had promoted itself like that . Now it's quite a common thing, with Intel being the most recent example."

Saatchis is also currently pitching for the $50 million DuPont global corporate advertising account against BBDO, Y&R, J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather. It handles the business in North America.

As one of DuPont's roster agencies, it handles a number of other brands in the US, Europe and Asia including brand assignments for Teflon, Antron carpet fibres and Corian surfaces.

This article was first published on Campaign