Comfort and Lenor ranges to be boosted

The battle between Lever Fabergé’s Comfort and Procter & Gamble’s Lenor in the fabric conditioner market is to step up a gear with the launch of a raft of brand extensions this summer.

P&G is bringing out Lenor Sensitive, which is expected to appear on the shelves on June 9. Lever Fabergé is understood to be planning to launch Comfort Fast Dry at around the same time. Comfort Fast Dry claims to hasten the drying process, while Lenor Sensitive will be sold as a conditioner for delicate clothes.

Industry sources say that both brand extensions will be supported by &£5m TV and print campaigns.

P&G is also launching Lenor Easy Iron, as it tries to erode Comfort’s dominance of the fabric conditioner market. The extension will also be backed by a multi-million pound advertising campaign.

Ogilvy & Mather handles creative advertising for Comfort, while media buying and planning are through Initiative Media. Lenor’s advertising is created by Grey Worldwide London, with media planning and buying through Zenith Optimedia, which won the account following P&G’s decision to strip Mediacom of its media planning business (MW April 10).