CINCINNATI (AdAge.com) -- Procter & Gamble Co. has named Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., global creative advertising agency for Old Spice deodorant and, in a major departure, has selected the creative agency to manage communications planning and buying for the brand in North America.
| Old Spice has been stung by the success of Unilever's Axe brand. |
Saatchi was incumbent
The move comes despite years of market-share gains by Old Spice under incumbent Publicis Groupe?s Saatchi & Saatchi, making Old Spice the No. 1 men?s deodorant brand in the U.S. But Old Spice has had trouble matching the creative firepower of Unilever?s even-faster-growing Axe brand and has failed in several attempts to gain traction in the body-spray segment Axe dominates.
Wieden & Kennedy first joined the P&G roster in June, winning the Eukanuba pet-food account from Saatchi and a project in Canada for Ivory, which has no agency of record. But winning Old Spice, a brand with distribution in 30 countries, gives the newcomer a much larger presence with P&G. In the U.S. alone, P&G spends about $80 million on Old Spice.
Big idea lacking
Like some other P&G brands, Old Spice has struggled in recent years to develop an umbrella campaign behind a big advertising idea that can win management acceptance.
?We?re always seeking best-in-class agencies to bring expertise and creative energy to our brands,? Paolo de Cesare, president-global skin care, personal cleansing and deodorants for P&G, said in a statement. ?Wieden & Kennedy has an impressive brand-building track record, particularly with men.?
By giving Wieden sweeping duties on Old Spice even before its work on its other P&G assignments has hit market, P&G is throwing its traditional caution on agency matters to the wind. Mr. De Cesare, a rising management star who has in the past brought in non-roster agencies to ?consult? on brands, is taking a bigger risk by going with an agency still relatively untried by P&G.
A P&G spokeswoman cited Wieden?s track record on predominantly men?s brands such as Nike, ESPN and Coca-Cola Co.?s Powerade, as well as a desire to ?work with an agency that doesn?t know us so well,? as key factors behind the move.
Media-buying reversal
Those reasons, too, account for having Wieden handle communications planning and media buying in North America, the P&G spokeswoman said, characterizing it as a test. The move represents a sharp about-face from trends at P&G and the industry at large in recent years.
Less than two years ago, P&G adopted communications planning agencies of record -- including Starcom MediaVest Group, incumbent on Old Spice, and Aegis Group?s Carat -- severing the hold its creative agencies once had on media planning. Seven years ago, P&G made Starcom its media-buying agency across all U.S. brands, uncoupling buying from creative shops.
The P&G spokeswoman said the decision isn?t meant as the first step in a broader move away from unbundling communications and media buying from creative, noting that SMG will continue to work closely with Wieden on Old Spice.
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Lisa Sanders contributed to this report
