Henkel secures product placement in Big Brother bathroom

By Maisie McCabe, mediaweek.co.uk, Wednesday, 06 June 2012 04:25PM

Right Guard deodorant and Theramed toothpaste will be among the first physical branded items to be found in the 'Big Brother' house as part of a product-placement deal.

Big Brother: Henkel brand products will be placed in the BB house

The product placements, which include got2b styling products and Gliss Shampoo, are part of a wider £2m partnership between the brands' parent group Henkel and Channel 5.

Henkel's Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL hair dye is the headline sponsor of 'Big Brother', 'Celebrity Big Brother' and 'Big Brother's Bit on the Side' and packets of the hair dye will also be available to the housemates.

The branded products will be placed in the bathroom of the 'Big Brother' house for the housemates to use and additional supplies will be available in the larder.

Ben Haxworth, head of marketing at Schwarzkopf & Henkel, said that placing Live Color XXL hair dye in the 'Big Brother' bathroom for the housemates to use is a "natural extension of this highly innovative sponsorship deal".

The deal was negotiated with Channel 5 and producer Endemol by MEC Access on Henkel's behalf.

Chantal Rickards, head of programming and branded content at MEC Access, said: "This partnership has allowed us to get the best out of sponsorship, product placement and product integration in a major TV series.

"It has been a collaborative and symbiotic process with all parties really wanting to make it work for each other. This initiative puts the Schwarzkopf and Henkel brands directly in front of the perfect target audience in the right environment."

Channel 5 has previously shown two films in the 'Big Brother' house (Touchstone Pictures' 'Fright Night' and Paramount Pictures' 'Paranormal Activity 3'), but this is the first time a brand has paid for a physical product to appear in the show.

Nick Bampton, commercial sales director at Channel 5, said: "This innovative product placement deal is the next step in the evolution of the show and demonstrates the speed, enterprise and ingenuity of Channel 5 when delivering these bespoke partnerships."

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This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk