Mattel Inc., the El Segundo-based toy manufacturer, said Wednesday that it was switching its $100 million-plus contract for advertising to MediaVest’s Los Angeles operation from MindShare, Los Angeles and The Media Edge, Irvine.

In a statement, Mattel did not express dissatisfaction with MindShare and The Media Edge but cited MediaVest’s expertise in “holistic media planning and core consumer research.”

MediaVest’s Los Angeles office will handle the Mattel account. The company is a subsidiary of Starcom MediaVest Group which itself is part of Publicis Groupe, a French conglomerate.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to partner with a market leader and look forward to working with Mattel to develop strategic and innovative media programs that will truly engage with their consumers,” said Jill Kelly, a MediaVest spokeswoman.

MindShare declined to comment.

Mattel said it has been reviewing its advertising contract for several months before deciding to switch to MediaVest. The toy company will continue to use MindShare, a unit of the WPP Group, for children’s television buying and Mediaedge:cia for adult TV buying.

Mattel declined to answer detailed questions about the reasons for the switch, which takes effect immediately.