Unilever plans £5m Persil detergent gel tablets debut

Unilever is gearing up for the £5m launch of a new product under its Persil brand in a bid to shake up the UK’s stagnant detergents market.

Unilever is gearing up for the &£5m launch of a new product under its Persil brand in a bid to shake up the UK’s stagnant detergents market.

The consumer goods giant is planning to launch Persil Gel tablets next year, positioning the launch as the “next generation” of “solid” detergent tablets.

The product, which will be backed by major television, press and outdoor campaign, combines a solid detergent tablet with a plastic sac of stain remover.

According to industry sources, consumers will be able to tear off the plastic sac and use it as a pre-wash stain treatment or use the whole tablet in the washing machine as they would normally.

The launch will be the first from Unilever under the Persil brand following its decision to hand the &£135m global advertising account for its Omo detergent range (which is known as Persil only in the UK) to Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in October.

The move saw the WPP Group’s JWT lose the &£25m UK business, and Interpublic’s Lowe (which continues to handle the brand in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and parts of Latin America) lose the North American business.

BBH now has global “creative stewardship” of the brand, but is expected to continue with the “Dirt is Good” strategy in the immediate future, which was originally developed by Lowe Brazil.