Drugstore.com May Begin Account Review

Drugstore.com reportedly is contacting mid-size and large West Coast shops about participating in a review for its estimated $30 million account.

Adweek quoted Erik Moris, senior director of communications for the online drugstore, as saying he was holding informal talks.

“I just [want to] know who the players are. Will I go into review by the end of the year? Probably.”

McCann-Erickson currently has the off-line account, and recently launched a national campaign pitching the benefits of shopping for personal items in the privacy of one’s home, versus the risk of encountering embarrassing situations at a real drugstore.

Unfortunately for McCann, Adweek quoted sources as saying that Drugstore.com’s new investors, Rite Aid Corp. and General Nutrition Centers, don’t like the “anti-real store” concept due to the nature of their own operations. Sources said the two companies are encouraging Drugstore.com to explore other ad messages.

Left Field Advertising handles online work for Drugstore.com and at one time it handled the entire account. But the client abruptly handed over traditional duties to McCann just before Left Field went into production on broadcast work, which also took an anti-bricks-and-mortar approach, Adweek said.