Yakult seeks fresh ideas for 2m task

Yakult UK, maker of the Japanese health drink of the same name, has bypassed its incumbent to seek fresh ideas from other agencies for a new campaign.

The 2m account is held by Travis Sennett Sully Ross, an affiliate of Japanese advertising agency network Dentsu.

The agency launched the drink in the UK with a TV campaign featuring the endline: “Everyone is Talking Yakult.”

In September, the company put a further 1m behind an advertising push in the launch area of London and the South-east, which extended the campaign into the Meridian TV area.

A Yakult spokesman was not able to comment on whether the company had talked to other agencies but Travis Sennett Sully Ross says it is aware of the talks.

The agency says Yakult’s European head office has assured it that the account is not up for review and says it saw other agencies to gather fresh ideas after studying the sales performance of the brand.

Yakult was launched in the UK in March and the company claims it is the world’s most popular fermented milk drink, with daily global sales of 23 million bottles.