Procter & Gamble targeted in actors’ ad dispute

Procter & Gamble products are the latest targets for US actors striking over a dispute about advertising royalties.

LONDON (Brand Republic) – Procter & Gamble products are the latest targets for US actors striking over a dispute about advertising royalties.

Striking actors said in September they would encourage consumers to stop buying certain products made by P&G if talks between their representatives and the advertisers broke down. Details of targeted brands are not yet known.

The move is the latest in the ongoing strike against the ad industry by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Actors appearing in ads say they are not getting the royalties due to them.

P&G has been earmarked for boycott not only because it spends the most on advertising -- $5bn-$6bn each year -- but also because it continues to make ads using non-union actors and has influence on the industry’s joint policy committee.

Stars lending their names to the boycott include Richard Dreyfus, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

The US consumer goods company said it offers actors who appear in its ads a “fair and lucrative” deal, and said business would continue as usual, including making ads with non-affiliated actors and those who chose to cross the picket line.