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Procter & Gamble is to unveil an international ad campaign that

will reposition its Febreze brand less than three years after

launch.

Despite its initial fast growth, industry sources suggest that Febreze's

recent sales have not met the firm's expectations.

The problem is thought to be that consumers see Febreze as a product

that gets rid of fabric smells, rather than preventing them

occurring.

P&G is this week poised to launch a TV campaign for Febreze through Grey

Worldwide. The ad represents part of an international attempt by P&G to

reposition Febreze as a cleaning product that consumers should use as

part of their daily household routine.

The ad, one of several being trialled across Europe, is understood to

show Febreze being used alongside regular household cleaning products in

a variety of situations, including improving the smell of a favourite

jacket and hand-me-down baby clothes.

But P&G has been told by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre that

it cannot use the line 'Gets the smells out of fabrics for good' in its

marketing.

Grey has worked on the brand since its UK debut in January 1999. Its

last burst of TV advertising, in July 2000, used the strapline 'Fabrics

collect odours - Febreze cleans them away', and showed consumers

sniffing a car seat, bed and curtains.

When P&G launched Febreze, it was seen as creating a separate category

in the household goods market. In Marketing's 1999 Biggest Brands

survey, it emerged as the fastest-growing product of the year.

P&G posted a loss of $320m (£225m) for the fourth quarter

to June 30, 2001. Net sales in its fabric and homecare sector, where

Febreze sits, were down 1% to $11.66bn (£8.16bn). Unit

volume was down 2%, blamed primarily on performance in Western Europe.

Net earnings grew 13% to $1.64bn (£1.15bn).