I read with interest Stephanie Bentley’s media analysis regarding recent concerns expressed by John Hooper, director general of ISBA, and others about the low level of media literacy among clients (MW March 26). As an advertiser who much values its long-established working relationships with its media buying agencies, CIA Medianetwork and Mediacom, I would totally […]
To stand on the McArthur Causeway in Miami, Florida, on a Saturday evening is to witness an extraordinary procession. Motoring slowly alongside the cars on the causeway is a long line of huge cruise ships (usually about eight, but it could be any number up to 14) making their way down the deep-water channel and […]
So, the BBC is up in arms about the possibility of losing its god-given right to broadcast cricket test matches in the UK. Big deal. But how many marketing directors have spotted the real bombshells contained in the recent recommendations to government on listed sports events? Assuming culture minister Chris Smith accepts the proposals from […]
The sudden departure of managing director Chris Onslow from Asda’s George Davies Partnership last week could signal a shift in the supermarket’s clothing strategy. Asda says he left for unspecified “personal reasons” (MW March 26). But his departure comes as the chain struggles to keep the George range in line with its own mass-market appeal. […]
In a little over four weeks Schweppes will become a member of a growing band of advertisers – those exploring the world of broadcasting. The vehicle it has chosen is the staging of the second Schweppes Euro BaSchhh – an alternative Eurovision song contest to be broadcast on Channel 4 on May 2. Broadcast after […]
Orange, which has in previous years swept the board at the annual Mobile News awards, was obviously disappointed at not picking up a single prize at last week’s bash at the Hilton Hotel. All, that is, with the exception of marketing director Robert Fallow. In the pre-awards raffle the canny Scot won himself two tickets […]
Bates Europe will be hired to create an estimated 13m pan-European account for Hyundai, despite picking up the 100m pan-European account for rival Seat Cars. A spokesman for the Korean car company’s European operations says: “We are reading the situation closely. We have discussed it with Bates Europe and it will find a solution to […]
Ford has acted against a legal threat from a German publisher by starting its own proceedings in a Cologne court to establish its right to use the Focus name in Germany. The row in the German courts threatens to disrupt the launch of the car maker’s Focus model scheduled for October (MW March 26). The […]
Walt Disney World (Florida) has moved its 5.3m full-service account from Saatchi & Saatchi and TMD Carat to Leo Burnett without a pitch. Burnett has handled the account in the US for four years and has recently picked up the business in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Canada. The UK moves are part of a consolidation […]
A new cereal that can be drunk on the go, called Wake Up!, is being launched in the UK by Dutch manufacturer Honig. The product, made from a blend of barley, rice and wheat with added vitamins and iron, comes in packs of five sachets. Stirred with milk, the product is then drinkable. The launch […]
Ridley Scott, the director of Blade Runner and Alien, is returning to his advertising roots with a new spectacular for mobile phone operator Orange. The ads, created by WCRS, will break before summer and are ex-pected to support a period of product, rather than brand, advertising and promotion. The commercial will be Scott’s first for […]
IPC Magazines is planning to launch a unisex lifestyle magazine as one of four new titles to be launched by the end of the year. It is thought the new magazine will cover general interest, fashion and lifestyle for both men and women, and is a development on IPC’s presence in the gender specific market […]
The chances of walking into a newsagent to buy a copy of a current affairs magazine and walking out with an 11,000 car are remote. But potential confusion sits at the centre of a European legal row over whether Ford has the right to use the name “Focus” to launch its replacement Escort in the […]
The sedate world of book publishing is being turned on its head. Not just in terms of the $1.4bn (864m) deal struck last week by the German group Bertelsmann to buy Random House but also on the retail side. Mergers, takeovers and new US entrants are changing the UK market. Some observers describe it as […]
IBM is understood to have hired Sony’s head of European advertising, Brenda Jones, as the computer giant’s UK director of marketing. It is thought that Jones’ role will be to bring a unified voice to the company whose products include networked computers, consultancy services, consumer PCs and computer games. An IBM spokesman says: “We will […]