• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 30, 2015

Paint company Valspar has selected Publicis Groupe’s Spark for media AOR duties after a formal review, the companies have confirmed.

Valspar spends an estimated $50 million annually on ads. Havas Media previously had handled media duties for the company.

The agency, part of Publicis Groupe’s SMG network, will handle media planning and buying for the client for both online and offline as well media strategy for all consumer products in North America. The scope of work also includes retail partnership promotions.

Commenting on the decision, Heidi Petz, VP of Marketing for Valspar said, “Spark brings Valspar a fresh, innovative approach and the strategic thinking we need to take our brand to the next level.  We look forward to a long-lasting partnership.”

Spark CEO Chris Boothe said, “Valspar has been connecting people to the ‘power of color’ for over 200 years, and we could not be more excited to extend that connection to the masses through the power of media.”

Earlier this year Valspar launched its “Color For All” video campaign, where it teamed with optical lab EnChroma to develop special glasses enabling the colorblind to see the full spectrum of color, and recorded their reactions.

The glasses, placed in paint aisles, allowed the colorblind, for the first time, to pick out paint for their homes. The campaign, which was developed with creative ad agency FCB was one of YouTube’s Top 10 Most Watched Videos for March. This month it won an OMMA Award for Best Video, Single Execution.