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HHCL & Partners has been given an ultimatum by Britvic's marketing

boss, Andrew Marsden, to come up with a new campaign for its flagship

Tango brand or lose the £5 million account.

The account has been held by HHCL for ten years, but Marsden has already

formed a shortlist of agencies to pitch for the business, in case HHCL

fails to come up with a viable creative solution. Agency Insight is

assisting with the shortlist.

Britvic's Robinsons account, also held by HHCL, is not under review.

Marsden is thought to have approached agencies some weeks ago with the

intention of relaunching the brand as it shows signs of flagging in the

competitive soft drinks market. HHCL has been working on ideas for two

weeks.

During its tenure of the account, HHCL is widely credited with some of

the most memorable ads in the FMCG sector. The agency helped relaunch

Orange Tango in the early 90s with the strapline: "You know when you've

been Tango'd."

The ads featured a surreal orange man wreaking havoc on the general

public, and the creative premise was extended for the launch of three

new flavours, apple, lemon and blackcurrant, for which the "St George"

spot was another creative highlight.

Britvic's dissatisfaction has come as a blow to HHCL, which has lost

several accounts. It lost the Egg account to Mother last month and lost

its founding account, the AA, in the summer. Last week, HHCL lost its

place on the St Ivel roster, with its Shape account moving to Abbott

Mead Vickers BBDO.

Marsden said: "HHCL has produced some outstanding work for Tango but,

given the increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace in which we

operate, our business strategy dictates that we should always evaluate

alternative approaches."

HHCL's chief executive, Robin Azis, said: "We have a very open

relationship with Britvic and we are working hard together to develop

outstanding Tango work for 2002. In the event that we can't crack it, we

would, of course, respect Britvic's decision to review the position."