GSK appoints Grey London for global brand task

By Jeremy Lee, campaignlive.co.uk, Tuesday, 04 December 2012 05:28PM

Grey London has been handed a global advertising brief from GlaxoSmithKline to create a corporate "masterbrand" campaign for the pharmaceuticals and FMCG giant following a shoot-out against TBWA\London.

GSK appoints Grey London

Grey will work alongside sister WPP design agency Brand Union on the business. WPP’S Team GSK, headed by the chief executive John Rudaizky, will oversee the delivery of the campaign.

The shops will create the second consumer-facing corporate campaign from GSK. Its first, through TBWA\London, ran ahead of this year’s London Olympic Games and showcased its anti-doping operations.

The TV and outdoor campaign was called "the crowd is my only drug" and featured athletes including Philips Idowu, Beth Tweddle and David Weir. It promoted GSK’s role as official laboratory provider for London 2012.

GSK is aping rival FMCG behemoths Unilever and Procter & Gamble, both of which have increased the prominence of their corporate branding in their communication.

During the Games, GSK’s anti-doping operation, in partnership with King’s College London, had a laboratory open 24 hours a day and with a workforce of more than 1,000 people. It tested up to 400 samples a day, each of which for more than 240 prohibited substances.

Grey London already has a place on the GSK roster and works on brands including Lucozade, Beechams and McCleans.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk