- Andrew McMains and Noreen O'Leary, Adweek

The Chicago offices of Omnicom agencies Energy BBDO and DDB are presenting creative to Wrigley execs today as they compete for the marketer's Extra brand in the U.S., sources said. A decision is expected quickly.
 
DDB is the incumbent on the business, while BBDO handles the chewing-gum brand outside the states. Through November '09, the Mars unit spent $18 million on ads supporting Extra in the U.S., while in all of 2008 it spent $30 million, per Nielsen. Those amounts do not include online spending.

Like many marketers, Mars, which acquired Wrigley in October 2008, has been seeking greater cost efficiencies through consolidation over the past year. In September, it consolidated creative duties for Mars' snack foods at BBDO, with the agency regaining the U.S. Snickers duties that it lost to sister shop TBWA\Chiat\Day in '06. BBDO also added overseas duties for the Mars bar, which it handles elsewhere, including in the U.S., where it is marketed as Milky Way. Earlier, in May, Mars consolidated its domestic media buying and planning business at Publicis Groupe's MediaVest, which added the lion's share of about $250 million.
 
In August 2007, after a four-month review, Wrigley consolidated its global advertising duties, adding DDB to work alongside its long-standing agency, BBDO.
 
DDB and BBDO reps declined comment on the Extra review and referred calls to the company.
 
Jennifer Jackson-Luth, the client's senior manager, marketing communications, responded: "Wrigley maintains relationships with a number of best-in-class creative partners and as a general practice we do not comment on our creative process."