Airwick unveils ‘deodorant-style’ air-freshener range
Reckitt Benckiser is to launch a line of click-spray household air fresheners in August under the Airwick brand.
The teardrop-shaped air fresheners will contain technology closer to deodorants than traditional domestic odour controlling products, with a one-press concentrated spray that promises instant freshness. Several new fragrances will also be added to the existing Airwick portfolio.
A &£2.5m advertising campaign for the brand will break in September, created by Reckitt Benckiser roster agency Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper. OMD Gemini handles media buying.
An industry source says: “It is a good-looking product and should do well. It has a few competitors in the household section but Reckitt Benckiser is obviously putting a lot of effort behind the Airwick brand name.”
Airwick is one of Reckitt Benckiser’s 15 “Power Brands”, from which the company hopes to derive 50 per cent of its revenue by 2005. The launch also marks the next stage of the staggered phasing out of Reckitt Benckiser’s Haze air-freshener range, which is only available in the UK, under the global Airwick brand.
The air-freshener market has witnessed a number of recent innovations, including a fan-driven version of SC Johnson’s Glade range called Circul-Air (MW December 12, 2002).
