McCann scoops 20m Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has shifted the estimated 20m worldwide advertising for its contact lens brand Acuvue into McCann-Erickson.

Acuvue, manufactured by the J&J subsidiary Vistakon, spent over 3m on advertising in the UK last year (ACNielsen-MEAL).

The account, co-ordinated from New York, has been handled by Ammirati Puris Lintas for the past ten years. But it ran into problems in the US earlier this month when Vistakon was forced to withdraw both press and broadcast ads for Acuvue with UV-Blocker after the Food & Drink Administration (FDA) accused it of improperly promoting the product.

“We had a review of the account and decided, based on the proposals, to hand the account to McCann,” says J&J spokesman John McKeegan. “We are always looking for new and better ways of doing our business and keep an eye on how things are changing. McCann came across with some good ideas.”

It is understood that a third J&J roster agency Saatchi & Saatchi also pitched for the business.