Initiative takes $120m Revlon US media account from Carat

Carat has held the account since March 2006 and is believed to have retained the digital media account for the cosmetics firm, which it currently handles through its digital specialist Carat Fusion.

In April last year, Revlon pooled its £10m UK media and planning and buying account into Publicis Groupe's Starcom.

The haircare and cosmetics manufacturer called the pitch in January 2006 as part of a decision to consolidate its business into a single agency network.

Revlon's brands include the Almay make-up and skincare range, Mitchum deodorant brand and Charlie perfume.

'Monster's Ball' and 'Catwoman' star Halle Berry has been under contract as a face of Revlon for 10 years. However, the company has recently used "normal" women as brand ambassadors to emulate the success Unilever's Dove brand had when using non-models.

In 2005, Revlon launched a competition for a "real" woman to front its Age Defying make-up range.

Two weeks ago, Initiative was awarded the consolidated $400m media planning and buying account for Bayer's consumer care division. Initiative was the incumbent on the planning business, but took the buying aspect from incumbent OMD.

Neither Initiative nor Carat were available for comment.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com