• Adweek, Thursday, April 9, 2009 9:15 AM

Mars, in the wake of its $23 billion merger with Wrigley, is reviewing its domestic media chores. Mars' media spending in the U.S. last year was $530 million -- down 10% from '07, per Nielsen. Wrigley spent $250 million on ads last year, up 22% from '07.

MediaVest is the incumbent on the Mars business in the U.S., while Mindshare handles the Wrigley account. Sources say both agencies are defending, but it is unclear whether other agencies were being invited to participate. The review is part of a larger market-by-market appraisal process by Mars, covering various regions worldwide. The appraisal excludes China, where a separate review was recently conducted.

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