Hair care mogul Vidal Sassoon has filed a lawsuit against Procter & Gamble, accusing the CPG of breach of contract and fraud in its dealings with the Sassoon-branded product line. Sassoon charges that Procter & Gamble treated the brand, which it acquired in 1985, with “neglect and subversion.” While the suit does not name a specific dollar figure, reports indicate that Sassoon could be seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing royalties. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, released a statement saying it is “disappointed” with the lawsuit and that, “We have consistently supported this business and we don’t believe this case has merit.”
While the Sassoon brand remains a best seller in Asia, Procter & Gamble announced in January that it was pulling the line in North America and Europe. Representatives for Sassoon said he has unsuccessfully tried to buy the brand back.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Procter & Gamble is making a push in the health and beauty sector, including the $5.7 billion acquisition of German hair care manufacturer Wella.
Loyalty marketing program UPromise lost one of its cornerstone members when Toys “R” Us let its contract run out in March. Two-year-old UPromise channels rebates into a college-savings account. Other cornerstone members — General Motors, America Online, AT&T, Citibank, Coca-Cola and Exxon Mobil — continue with the program. Del Monte, Beech Nut, Fuji, Cargill and Reckitt Benckiser joined in February, with two more CPGs coming aboard in March. KB Toys, eToys, Hearthsong and Childcraft continue; UPromise also pitches partners Wal-Mart, Disney Store, JC Penney and Kmart for toys.
As it enters its second season, Urban Challenge, an “urban adventure sport series,” announced its first two national sponsors: Naked Food-Juice, a developer of natural food juices, and the American Public Transportation Association. The Urban Challenge will be hosted in 23 U.S. cities this year, featuring up to 300 two-person teams navigating their way to locations around town via a series of clues and technologies such as cell phones and PDAs.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola will take a $15 million equity stake in a marketing partnership with College Sports Television (CSTV), a new TV network devoted exclusively to college sports. Coca-Cola will put up a $10 million equity stake and devote another $5 million to marketing and promotional activities that include special events, advertising, and consumer and retail promotions. Chuck Fruit, senior VP-worldwide media and alliances at Coca-Cola, will sit on New York City-based CSTV’s Board of Directors. The deal will build off of Coca-Cola’s new 11-year sponsorship of the NCAA and existing Coca-Cola promotions such as Footballtown USA and Copa Coca-Cola.
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