J&J, which removed five global assignments from McCann’s care this week, awarded its sweetener brand Splenda to Omnicom agency BBDO without a pitch.
The brand, which spends US$35 million on advertising in the US, is relatively inactive in Asia-Pacific, with a presence limited to Australia. Lowe Hunt handles the Splenda Australia business, estimated at around $1 million. In the US, Lowe subsidiary Alchemy is the incumbent.
Splenda is looking to overhaul its image in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a rival sweetener company, Mersiant, which accused J&J of false claims in this year’s “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar” global Splenda campaign. Splenda is available in 79 countries, commanding almost half of the US sweetener market, with a 12 per cent share of the market in Europe and Asia.
