Merger Challenge: Unite Toothbrush, Toothpaste†

P&G and Gillette Find Creating Synergy Can Be Harder Than It Looks

Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2007 — Among all the products brought together in Procter & Gamble Co.'s 2005 acquisition of Gillette, two carried particularly high expectations because of their natural fit: the world's No. 1 toothbrush and the world's No. 2 toothpaste. But putting together Gillette's Oral-B and P&G's Crest turned out to be more complicated than it looked.

Procter and Gillette Learn From Each Other’s Marketing Ways

New York Times, April 12, 2007 — WHEN their corporate marriage took place in the fall of 2005, Gillette was from Mars and its new owner, Procter & Gamble, was from Venus. Gillette, the maker of razors, Duracell batteries and Oral-B toothbrushes, knew how to talk to men. And Procter & Gamble, which makes Pampers, Cover Girl cosmetics, Tide and Charmin, spoke with a very female voice. Nearly two years later, marketing executives from both sides say they have learned from each other’s methods.

Marketers create their own shows

USA Today, April 10, 2007 — Problem: TV watchers don't want their shows interrupted by ads. Solution: Make the show the ad. That's one approach being used by marketers as they try to keep consumers' attention. Gillette is producing an ABC prime-time reality series starring the group of NASCAR drivers — dubbed the "Young Guns" — who are featured in its TV ads and online.

Deal Can Only Raise the Level of Competition, From the Boardroom to Aisle 5

New York Times, January 29, 2005 — Procter & Gamble has long been the 800-pound gorilla in household products. So will it be more formidable with the added muscle of Gillette?