M&C Saatchi poised to beat WCRS to 1.5m GSK Macleans account

M&C Saatchi is tipped to win the £1.5m advertising account for Macleans, the GlaxoSmithKline-owned toothpaste brand, following a two-way pitch against WCRS.

The incumbent on the account, Ogilvy Advertising, declined to repitch for the business. It has handled the business for the past three years.

WCRS and M&C Saatchi, both existing roster agencies for GSK, were invited to pitch for the business last month. In the UK, the bulk of its business is already handled by M&C Saatchi alongside Grey. WCRS handles the NiQuitin CQ brand.

A spokeswoman for the company confirms there “has been a pitch process” but says that it has yet to appoint an agency to the account.

GSK, which also owns the Aquafresh and Sensodyne brands, launched a major promotional drive for the brand in May 2005. The “Start something beautiful with Macleans” campaign aimed to position its product range as an integral part of the daily beauty regime featuring a heavyweight print, radio and in-store advertising campaign.

Ogilvy, then known as Ogilvy & Mather, also produced a series of films for the toothpaste brand in August 2005.

The review of its Macleans advertising comes as the pharmaceutical giant undertakes a global, region-by-region, review of its estimated £500m annual media spend. GSK has already reviewed its £30m business in Central and Eastern Europe, where it appointed Starcom. It is undertaking a pitch in the Middle East with Western Europe and North America likely to follow. Its local creative agencies are not affected by the review.