Needham Makes Cut In Drackett Review By Jim Kir

RACINE, WIS. - DDB Needham Chicago, which handles a number of Clorox Co. products, was unexpectedly able to sneak into the review for S.C. Johnson's $20-million Drac

Along with Needham; BBDO/Chicago; and J. Walter Thompson/Chicago are finalists in the review.
None of the agencies would comment last week.
But Needham’s inclusion is the most curious, given that the agency’s Clorox business could be seen as a conflict with some of the Drackett brands.
Needham handles Liquid-Plumr, Kingsford charcoal and Soft Scrub, among other products. Drackett’s brands include Windex, Vanish and Drano. S.C.
Johnson agency Foote, Cone & Belding/Chicago was not considered a contender for the Drackett business because the agency’s San Francisco office handles competing Clorox brand Formula 409, a Windex competitor.
But sources now indicate that the Drano brand, which would be in direct conflict with Needham, may not be one of the products up for grabs.
S.C. Johnson bought Drackett for roughly $1.15 billion late last year from Bristol Myers Squibb. The products had been handled by a handful of New York shops.
However, S.C. Johnson wants its own Chicago-area agency handling the brands by this spring.
Separately, the company sold its two furniture polish products it received in the Drackett deal to Sara Lee Corp. late last week. S.C. Johnson, which produces Pledge, sold the brands – Endust and Behold – to avoid antitrust trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.
FCB’s Philadelphia office handles Sara Lee’s household products, but is not likely to be a contender for the furniture-polish brands.
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