P&G shifts Gillette media-buying account

Procter & Gamble Co. is reportedly moving its $800 million Gillette media-buying and planning account from WPP Group PLC’s Mindshare agency. P&G is awarding the U.S. portion of the account, worth about $400 million, to Chicago’s Starcom MediaVest Group, which is owned by Publicis Groupe SA of France. The overseas business will be split between two Publicis Groupe agencies and MediaCom, like Mindshare a unit of London’s WPP. New York’s BBDO Worldwide retains its Gillette work, which includes Gillette’s Mach3 and Fusion razors. The agency is a subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc., also based in New York. The Federal Trade Commission approved P&G’s $57 billion acquisition of Gillette last week, but is requiring the Cincinnati company to divest a few product lines.