Publicis wins UK battle for P&G tissue brands

LONDON - Publicis has won the £10m UK Procter & Gamble tissues business in the UK as the consumer goods giant continues its agency shakeout, leaving Havas again as the loser.

The Havas-owned agency Partners BDDH, part of the Arnold Worldwide network, is the biggest loser as it parts company with its £5m Bounty business.

The loss for BDDH is a knock-on from last week's realignment in the US, which saw P&G dump Arnold from its advertising agency roster and split the majority of its brands between Grey Global Group and Publicis Groupe.

As well as the Bounty business, Publicis picks up the Charmin and Tempo brands, which had been held by D'Arcy. P&G has restructured its agency roster after Publicis Groupe announced it was closing the D'Arcy advertising network, following its merger with Bcom3.

However, there is a question of client conflict. Publicis already handles SCA Hygiene's Velvet tissue business. Publicis says it is now in talks with SCA to resolve the issue.

The move was not unexpected -- last week, Publicis picked up the same brands in the US.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .