Haagen-Dazs awards global creative to Forsman & Bodenfors

General Mills ice-cream brand Häagen-Dazs has picked Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors to handle its global creative account after a competitive pitch.

The review, which was run directly by General Mills, was unusual in that it featured requests from the client for ownership of ideas presented and for agencies to demonstrate a commitment to gender inclusion.

BETC and Anomaly also made the final round. According to Anne-Laure Brunner, BETC Paris deputy managing director, the agency agreed to the client’s "ownership of all ideas presented", which "was far from ideal but it was a condition to entering the pitch".

Brunner added that the client "probably appreciated" BETC’s record of having women in more than 50% of its leadership roles. 

Forsman & Bodenfors directed enquiries to General Mills, which did not return requests for comment.

Saatchi & Saatchi won the business in 2015 but, according to General Mills in April, did not take part in this process.