The largest television advertising account in the State has moved from Dublin-based Initiative agency to rival Mindshare, it has emerged.

The media buying/planning account of Unilever is believed to be worth about €18 million a year at rate-card values. Unilever, which owns brands such as Bird's Eye, Dove, Domestos and Surf, was the biggest advertiser on RTÉ television in 2003.

There has been considerable controversy this week about the awarding of the contract - which was done on a European-wide basis.

According to British press reports, some local Unilever managers were overruled in their choice of agency by Unilever's global executives.

Mr Dave Harland, managing director of Initiative Ireland, said there would be no redundancies at the agency despite the loss of the business.

He said that while Unilever once represented a large part of the agency's revenues, it was now relatively modest. He said the company could now concentrate on its other accounts, including Diageo, Musgrave, Johnson & Johnson, Dixons, Johnston Mooney and O'Brien, and Tourism Ireland.

"To date, Unilever Ireland has been very passionate about their territory and, like Initiative, has fully believed in the integrity of partnership. We wish them all the best in facing their latest challenges," said Mr Harland.

While the loss of the account is a significant blow to the agency, it will allow Initiative a chance to compete for business from Unilever's various rivals.

The Unilever account is among a group of high-profile multinational accounts sought after by agencies, particularly those with international links.

While margins are often very low on such accounts, their high-profile makes them attractive.

Last year, RTÉ ended up in a row with another large multinational company, Proctor & Gamble.

It is not clear if Mindshare will now seek to drive costs down and force RTÉ into greater discounts. If this happens, small stations such as TV3, Sky and E4 might be set to benefit.