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Procter & Gamble is increasing the fruit juice content of its

controversial Sunny Delight drink and introducing four sugar-free

flavours, in a bid to cast off its 'unhealthy' tag.

At the same time P&G has revamped the packaging of the soft drink to

make it look less like a fruit juice following media criticism that it

misled consumers.

The makeover is the basis of a £12m relaunch for the brand

(Marketing, January 31. It claimed sales of £150m in 1999 but has

now slumped to £70m.

"This is the big fix," said Jon Lear, brand manager for Sunny

Delight.

"It shows P&G is serious about its beverage business and we're being

really transparent."

On March 18 P&G will raise the juice content on all Sunny Delight

variants from 5% to 15% and launch Orange Outburst, Tropical Tornado,

Blackcurrant Blast and Apple and Kiwi Kick flavours.

P&G will back the relaunch with a £5m ad campaign through Saatchi

& Saatchi in April and £7m on direct marketing, sales promotion

and sponsorship.

Although P&G now claims Sunny Delight is healthier than competing fruit

juice drinks such as Robinsons and Ribena, the company says it will not

actively promote this. "It's a case of once bitten, twice shy," said a

spokeswoman.

The relaunch campaign follows a family theme, showing kids playing and

refreshing themselves on Sunny Delight. The strapline will be 'Sunny

Delight makes the moment'.