BBH beats JWT to £2m Bisto brief

Centura Foods has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty to its £2m Bisto advertising business. The agency beat J Walter Thompson to the business after a two-way shoot-out.

Incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi, which has handled the business since 1999, was invited to repitch but did not make it to the final list of two. The review was handled by Agency Insight.

Agencies were asked to look at the positioning of the Bisto brand and to pitch ideas that would make it more relevant to modern life. Centura Food brands director Sue Knight says the brand needs to be redefined to suit the constantly changing family environment (MW March 20).

The brand has struggled to recapture the success of the Bisto Kids, who were dumped in the mid-Nineties, although the strapline, “Ahh Bisto”, was reintroduced by Saatchi & Saatchi. BBH will start work on a new campaign, scheduled for the autumn, immediately. The campaign will be supported by trade promotions.

The review does not affect any other Centura brands, or those of its parent company RHM. Centura Foods’ brands include Sharwoods, Robertsons and Paxo. RHM also owns Manor Bakeries, which makes Mr Kipling and Cadbury’s cakes, and British Bakeries. BBJ will continue to handle Bisto’s media planning and buying.