EC Green Paper strikes balance

Austria’s 50 new private radio stations have been given the go-ahead to start broadcasting on April 1, following a decision by the country’s constitutional court to postpone the hearing of protests by unsuccessful bidders.

Onlae, Spain’s national lottery authority, will see ten agencies in a first-round pitch for its advertising account.

Umbro has cut short its sponsorship of Lazio, the Italian football team currently second in Serie A. The deal, worth L2.5bn (830,000) a year, was originally scheduled to run until 1999.

European consumers will benefit from a standard two-year after-sales guarantee period, under a proposal presented to the European Parliament. Forms of compensation, such as refunds and repairs, are also covered by the document.

Pinault Printemps Redoute has announced plans to open a new sportswear retail chain in France, named Made In Sport. About 50 outlets are planned, the first two being in Paris and Toulouse.

AEA, the Spanish advertisers association, is calling on the country’s TV channels to respect rules on ad minutage. According to a study by media agency Media Planning, the number of ads broadcast grew by 20 per cent in 1997.

Weber Hodel Schmid, the Swiss ad agency that handles advertising for the Smart car, is to open offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Dsseldorf to service the account.

Aprilia, the Italian manufacturer of motor scooters, is to market a version of its ‘Sonic’ model linked to the Spice Girls (right), with whom it has a contract until May next year.

McCann Relationship Marketing (MRM) has taken a stake in Medialog, a Danish direct marketing agency whose clients include IBM.

Deutsche Telekom has put its corporate advertising in Germany up for pitch. Ogilvy & Mather, Jung von Matt and BBDO will compete for the DM30m (10m) account. Media remains with Carat.

Mercedes is running a German ad campaign for its

A-Class model featuring Boris Becker alongside lines such as: ‘I have often learned more from defeat than success.’ The campaign is by Springer & Jacoby, Hamburg.

Publicis has reported record profits and billings of 30 per cent to Ff232m (23.2m) and 20 per cent to Ff26.3bn (2.6bn).