Clean Shave: Grey Wins Gillette's Global Ad Business

WPP ad shop Grey has been awarded lead global creative advertising responsibilities for P&G’s iconic Gillette brand after a nearly eight-month review, the client and agency confirmed Monday.

The incumbent was Omnicom Group’s BBDO, which defended. Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi was also a finalist in the review. Weiden+Kennedy participated, but was eliminated earlier. All of those shops remain on the P&G roster.

Globally, the Gillette brand is believed to spend hundreds of millions annually on ads. In the U.S., Gillette spends about $145 million on ads, according to agency estimates. A worldwide spending figure wasn’t immediately available.

Gillette confirmed that Grey will serve as the agency of record for the men’s Gillette franchise, which includes Blades & Razor and Personal Care divisions. The company also said that Grey will assume responsibility for global advertising and digital communications and will serve as the global brand agency Leader (BAL) overseeing the integrated agency teams on the account.

In a statement, Gillette indicated that the company was “highly impressed by the caliber of work across all of the agencies so this was not an easy decision. However, Grey’s work was inspiring and it best delivered against our key criteria.”  

Those criteria included the “power of the ideas to be heart- and mind-opening in presenting our brand.” Also, the company cited Grey's shop as demonstrating an “ability to bring meaningful ways to both reach (and talk to) men in the evolving media environment.”

In a Monday memo to staffers, Grey Group chairman and CEO Jim Heekin wrote: “We received the sensational news that Grey is the winner of the global Gillette account, one of P&G’s crown jewels, and its premiere men’s line… It was one of the most high-stakes, most-watched competitions of the year, and this vote of confidence in Grey from our longtime partner, P&G, will resonate around the world."

Heekin added: “This truly global effort was led out of New York and brought together dozens of our best and brightest from around the world.”

BBDO declined to comment. Going forward, the agency will continue to handle creative duties on Gillette brands Braun and Gillette Venus and The Art of Shaving.

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