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Nestlé Lyons Maid this week launches an ice cream version of Kit Kat, the UK’s leading confectionery brand. It will be supported by a national poster advertising campaign across 2,800 sites, starting in June. This will be followed by TV ads in September. All the advertising is through J Walter Thompson.

Benetton has won a civil case brought against a German retailer who claimed he had lost business as a result of the company’s controversial ad campaign. The company’s court victory could end a series of similar cases brought by Benetton retailers.

Skoda, the Volkswagen-owned car maker, is executing a 5m launch campaign for its new Felicia, the small family car designed to relaunch the company in the UK. The car is the first to come out of the Skoda stable since the Volkswagen Audi Group took a majority stake last year. The press and poster advertising breaks on May 13 – there are no plans for a TV campaign. The push will be the last work from GGK London, which lost the 8m UK account to Grey Communications in March.

Abbey National is launching a 24-hour telephone banking service and converting its current and high-interest cheque accounts into a new higher interest account, called Abbey National Bank Account, this week. It will be supported by direct mail and above-the-line advertising which breaks in July.

Scottish & Newcastle is to launch its Gillespies Scottish Malt Stout nationally. An advertising campaign through Collett Dickenson Pearce breaks this autumn with a budget of more than 2m.

Tropicana Europe has confirmed the sudden departure of vice president and managing director Yves Dumont – the man who established the Tropicana fruit juice brand.

HMV is launching a home-shopping service called HMV Direct. It will provide direct telephone and Internet access to 200,000 records.

Perrier, the mineral water supplier, has made compensation payments of as much as 150,000 following claims that consumers have been injured by flying glass from exploding Perrier bottles.

BT has issued a writ to stop Mercury’s latest advertising campaign, which claims Mercury’s new tariffs are the cheapest. The ads do not take BT special discounts into account.