Bates faces £64m Wella loss as P&G takes over

Bates’ grip on Wella’s $100m (&£63.8m) advertising account is in doubt following Proctor & Gamble’s acquisition of the German haircare company for $5.5bn (&£3.5bn) earlier this week.

The decision will be a blow to the Bates network, which only picked up the business a year ago. The account moved out of BBDO Worldwide after Wella appointed Select Communications, based in Koblenz, Germany, to create its ads. Select has no international affiliations and Bates was appointed to adapt and implement the advertising campaigns.

The business is worth &£6m in the UK and is handled by Bates UK. Media is handled by PHD.

When P&G acquired the Clairol franchise from BMS in May 2001 it axed incumbents Banks Hoggins O’Shea/FCB and MediaVest in favour of roster agencies Grey Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Grey also handles P&G’s Pantene account, while Saatchi & Saatchi is used for the Head & Shoulders brand.

In November last year, P&G axed its Vidal Sassoon brand in the UK to focus on its key global brands Pantene and Herbal Essences.

P&G is reviewing all of its UK media planning accounts – worth &£144m. Insiders say it is likely to consolidate its roster, which includes MediaCom, Starcom Motive, MediaVest and Zenith Optimedia. Last year, the company split its other European business between MediaCom and Starcom.

No announcement has been made regarding Wella’s UK marketing department, based in Basingstoke.