Saatchi & Saatchi to keep 5m UK Gillette

Saatchi & Saatchi has held on to the 5m UK Gillette account. Three months ago the US toiletries giant told the agency it was on a 90-day notice period following the disruption caused by its high-level staff departures.

Gillette’s UK marketing director Martin Williams was unavailable for comment but is understood to have issued the notice to the agency in January following the departure of Maurice Saatchi and the agency’s top executives.

Saatchi & Saatchi handles Right Guard and Natrel Plus for Gillette. Saatchi won the Right Guard business in 1984, and took on the Natrel business in 1988.

The rest of Gillette’s business in the UK is handled by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, which had been tipped to take over the business if Saatchi failed to hold on to it.

In a separate development, it is also understood that Saatchi has retained Harveys Bristol Cream, two months after it was revealed that Hiram Walker put the business up for review (MW March 3).

Hiram Walker and distributor JR Philips invited pitches for the 1.5m account from Saatchi, Cordiant sister agency CME.KHBB and J Walter Thompson. JWT was dropped from the pitch list and Saatchi and CME.KHBB presented creative work which went into research.

Saatchi is understood to have been informed that it had retained the business yesterday (Tuesday), although no one at the agency was available for comment.