BBH defeats two to win 4m British Gas Services

British Gas Services, the central heating and services arm of Centrica, has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty to its 4m ad account.

BBH won the business after pitching against incumbent TBWA Simons Palmer and Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe. The pitch was called at the beginning of August.

The account had been handled by TBWA before its merger with Simons Palmer Clemmow John son. TBWA handled a 4m camp aign for the Celsia central heating brand. BGS has now axed the brand.

The pitch was complicated by the departure of marketing director Kevin Mahoney in the middle of the review. He left in early September to take up the post of managing director of ISS, a Danish catering, cleaning and security services company. Mahoney had joined BGS last November.

He is being replaced by Roy Gayton, who worked as British Gas Trading’s interim marketing director before the appointment of Jon Kinsey to the position.

In a separate move, British Gas has dropped the Mrs Merton character from its advertising after an 18-month run, which is understood to have netted the actress playing the part, Caroline Aherne, over 100,000.

The gas giant first used Mrs Merton in a campaign through BMP DDB in March 1996, timed to coincide with the phasing out of its monopoly and the introduction of competition to the gas supply market.

But a British Gas spokesman says Aherne’s contract has ended. He adds that the ads were for specific products, such as British Gas Home Energy, Energy Efficiency Advice and British Gas Services. “There are no plans to advertise specific products at the moment,” says the spokesman.