George Pitcher is right to ask the obvious question (MW February 26): when are supermarkets going to move into the white goods trade? But he fails to note more critical reasons why they might hold back. Beyond textbook hurdles of product distribution and stock management costs, there is the bigger barrier in the difference in […]
Bartle Bogle Hegarty is launching a print campaign for Van den Bergh Foods’ Olivio spread . It will highlight the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, which includes grilled fish, fresh fruit, vegetables and olive oil. Olivio is a vegetable fat spread made with olive oil, which is low in saturates and high in mono-saturates. The […]
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. And there must be someone at Publicis Paris who wishes its latest international new business brochure could be pulled. Publicis London is showcased in a double-page advertisement which reads “Rubber, chains and pain. You’ll love it.” The copy goes on to talk about a “no-nonsense” campaign which it says is […]
N W Ayer & Partners, the New-York based advertising agency network which is part of The MacManus Group, is courting a number of independent advertising agencies in the UK.
This week’s Barcelona TV conference, running from March 12 to 13, will be the last before the launch of digital TV. Conference organiser Liz Mackenzie, divisional director of Marketing Week conferences, says: “Last year the conference looked just at terrestrial TV. This year it is going to be about terrestrial, digital, cable and satellite. We […]
The onward march of the advertising medium is unstoppable, as we all know. Down toilets, on eggs, on satellites orbiting the globe, wherever there is a blank space, advertisers will find a message to fill it. The latest medium encountered by the Diary is pool-side advertising. At the Diary’s local Clapham swimming pool in, er, […]
The new face of Diet Pepsi is Saffron, lead singer of the band Republica.
McVitie’s has unveiled its latest campaign for Penguin, through Publicis.
Tony O’Reilly is about to achieve his long-cherished ambition to control The Independent. Can he save it? Is it worth saving? The Independent was that extraordinary thing, a successful Fleet Street newspaper launch. What’s more, one with a fairytale quality about it. Although born at a particularly propitious time – when new technology was battering […]
With the opening of the first rebranded Lloyds Pharmacy this Friday, parent Gehe, the German drugs giant, is revealing its battle plan for the UK pharmacy market. But with the abolition of resale price maintenance (rpm) in non-prescription drugs high on the Government’s agenda, the newly- revamped Lloyds Pharmacy may require more than a 70m […]
Procter & Gamble is to follow rival Lever Brothers’ lead and test laundry detergent tablets for its Ariel brand.
Forte hotels has shortlisted three agencies for a 10m advertising campaign to promote its core brands Le Méridien, Heritage and Posthouse. Publicis, WCRS and Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe have been briefed on the campaign, which will include TV advertising. The move is part of a new marketing strategy driven by worldwide marketing director Suki Kalirai. […]
Havas Advertising, the French group which owns the EURO RSCG network and WCRS in London, is in talks about merging with an “Anglo-American” agency to create a second international network. Sources believe it is keenly interested in doing a deal with a UK-based agency with a substantial US network. The company’s chief financial officer Alain […]
Having read Brian Powley’s column on how Website auditing is key to winning advertisers trust, feel unusually moved to respond, as I find myself both in whole-hearted agreement and violent disagreement with each of his main arguments. Auditing of Websites is, of course, going to be more and more vital as banner advertising grows. The […]
Chris Townsend, commercial director for home shopping service British Interactive Broadcasting, has been brought back to BSkyB by chief executive Mark Booth to ensure Sky launches into digital on time. Townsend was asked by Booth to come back to his old job as marketing director for digital services to help launch the broadcaster’s digital system […]