Likes shavers so much, Kiam does test spot By Cathy Taylor and Michael McCarth

NEW YORK--The finalists in the review for the $11-million Remington Products account have an interesting obstacle between them and the

According to sources familiar with the review, longtime Remington ceo Kiam has entered at least one spot written and produced by him into a copy test against those by outside finalists: Ally & Gargano, Grey Advertising and Towne, Silverstein, Rotter, all New York, and The Atlas Group in San Francisco, a recently formed shop started by Jeff Atlas, a former principal in Atlas, Citron & Bedecarre (ADWEEK, April 12).
The Bridgeport, Conn.-based client did not respond to repeated phone calls.
Bizarre? Sure. But Kiam’s role in his company’s advertising has never exactly been hands-off. The much maligned, but memorable, “Shaves as close as a blade, or your money back” campaign was also written by Kiam, who served as its bathrobeclad star and became a much parodied endorser.
In those ads, Kiam boasted that he liked the Remington Microscreen shaver “so much that I bought the company.”
However, if the ceo’s participation in the new pitch would seem to tilt it to the direction of staying in-house, other factors would indicate otherwise.
The review was called at the behest of Isaac Perimutter, the Florida-based investor who along with other financiers invested $100 million in additional capital in the struggling shaving products company in September.
At that time, company officials said that they would as much as double the marketing support for Remington brands, which include electric shavers, home haircut kits and men’s and women’s grooming products.
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