Month: February 1997

Travel opportunities are the most popular non-cash rewards despite their high cost. Team building using physical challenges remains the most common objective.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s latest Levi’s ad ‘Mermaids’ will break on February 15, the day before a number of new jeans brands are launched at Olympia’s 40 Degrees show. It features the rescue of a drowning fisherman by a group of mermaids. The ad focuses on Levi’s Original Shrink-to-fit 501 jeans with the mermaids becoming frustrated […]

The Independent newspaper is giving advertising away free on its relaunched education supplement and not declaring the giveaways to Media Monitoring Services. The same classified policy is likely to be used in The Independent’s new media section, to be launched on Monday, February 17. According to a leaked letter and contract between The Independent and […]

Whitbread is planning to scuttle cheap French beer by bottling its Heineken lager in “stubbies”, the smaller, foreign-style bottles. Industry experts say there is an increasing trend towards sales of multipacks of French lagers, such as Bière de St Omer. Tesco’s top-selling beers during the Christmas period were the 24-bottle cases of Bière d’Or, sold […]

The Daily Record is looking for an agency to work on what would be its first brand-building campaign in three years. Its last campaign – dubbed “Eyes Peeled” – was created by Edinburgh agency The Leith. Since then, the Record has used only tactical advertising, handled by Glasgow-based Riley Advertising. Now the Mirror Group paper, […]

Guinness plc has appointed Ivan Menezes, former vice-president of marketing for electronics giant Whirlpool Europe, to the role of business development director. Menezes, who joins the global brewing and distilling company this week, will report to Guinness plc chairman Tony Greener and be based at Guinness’ London headquarters in Portman Square. A company spokesman says: […]

The operator of the controversial NHS Loto has been given three weeks to secure the 50m funding it promised to raise or it will be axed. The ultimatum was delivered by Sir Adrian Blennerhassett, chairman of the National Hospital Trust, the charity behind the lottery. The move follows the collapse of a deal to raise […]

Classic motorbike manufacturer Harley-Davidson has drawn up a shortlist of three UK agencies to pitch for its pan-European business. The company is looking for a single agency, with European offices, to handle a press campaign with a single creative theme for 1998. In the UK, advertising has mostly appeared in specialist motorcycle magazines and has […]

Guinness is one of the many brewers now tapping the potential of the Asian drinks market. It is assisting the development of Irish themed pubs and proving that nowhere is immune to the charm of the Irish.

London club splits with sponsor after Scottish Courage refuses to double shirt deal to 10m

CDP has picked up the advertising account for the UK launch of Japanese energy drink Lipovitan. The launch is believed to have a marketing budget of about 5m over three years, and it will be supported by a TV, press and poster campaign. Lipovitan is produced by Japan’s largest over-the-counter pharmaceutical company, Taisho Pharmaceuticals, and […]

The joint Internet venture between News International and BT has been forced to change its name because a company already uses it. The service, which was to be named Springboard, will now be called LineOne. Directors say that there was no legal action over the mix-up and the new name was chosen more than four […]

Business is finally waking up to the importance of point of purchase, but is still in the dark when it comes to identifying the key variables that affect customer purchases. Richard West reports

Successful global companies have become adept at assimilating their positive national characteristics into a universal international brand identity. By John Shannon. John Shannon is president of Grey International

Letter of the month prize. Every month the editor will award this de luxe fountain pen to the writer of the best letter. The chrome and 22ct gold pen, made by AT Cross, is worth 85. The editor’s judgment will be final.