Just what persuaded Nestlé to run an ad boasting of its achievements in the already controversial infant formula market remains an enigma. As does its choice of medium, an obscure student rag in Oxford.
It’s self-evident that consumer electronics markets don’t know that intermediate technology is intermediate until the new stuff comes along. But there are contemporary technologies you can reasonably safely assume are intermediate. This is partly to do with the speed at which digital technology develops. Delivery formats aren’t like buses – if we miss a format, […]
The developers of the 1.2bn Bluewater retail complex, which opens on March 16, insist that it is not a shopping centre. The new ad campaign supporting the launch of Europe’s largest retail development breaks next week with the catchline: “It is as far from being a shopping centre as it is possible to be.” Even […]
Saatchi & Saatchi’s former vice-chairman Hamish Pringle has been forced to change the name of his consultancy, Brand Soul, three weeks after setting it up because a rival company already has rights to the name.
Integrated advertising agency Osprey London and MBS Media have formed a new media planning and buying shop with billings of at least 17m. The 50/50 joint venture called Halo has been brokered by the AAR Group. It will be resourced and staffed by MBS but will handle Osprey’s existing media business that is not already […]
Culture secretary Chris Smith has put the future of the National Lottery in the hands of a feminist, a former Conservative MP, a consultant and two do-gooders. Smith last week named the five members of the new National Lottery Commission which will take over from the discredited regulator Oflot on April 1 (MW February 4). […]
The idea of creating a service that could alienate two of your biggest advertisers is not the sort of thing that usually gets off the drawing board. But Mirror Group will next month launch Mirror Online, a free Internet service to its readers. It’s a direct rival to Dixons, one of Mirror Group’s key advertisers […]
Over the last week, distress has been caused by comments attributed to Nationwide marketing director Mike Lazenby, the new sponsors of the England national football team, concerning the relative value of sponsorship over spot advertising. What Mr Lazenby told our reporter was: “All I am saying is that you and I were born with a […]
Branded sponsorship of the Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas lights is in jeopardy following the public outcry which greeted last year’s Birds Eye and Tango-sponsored displays. Westminster City Council has asked both streets’ associations to seek alternative methods of funding after critics of the 1998 displays accused them of being overtly commercial. The Oxford […]
The family that gave the world Lamborghini cars is to license its name across a range of products in the UK. Copyright Promotions Licensing Group has won an exclusive contract to build a merchandising programme for the Tonino Lamborghini trademark in the UK. The company plans to launch a selection of leisurewear, gifts, publishing and […]
DMB&B has scooped the 7m Blackthorn cider account and with it the rest of Matthew Clark’s cider portfolio including Diamond White, K and Gaymer’s Olde English ciders. The company won in a four-way pitch against the Leagas Delaney Group, Ogilvy & Mather and Lansdown Conquest after Matthew Clark’s four-year relationship with Grey Advertising ended acrimoniously […]
Telecoms industry watchdog Icstis is for the first time investigating the placing of sex advertisements in glossy men’s lifestyle magazines, including Loaded, FHM, Front and Maxim. The increasingly explicit sexual content of mainstream “middle-shelf” magazines has been blamed for the rise in the number of advertisers of sexual services targeting these titles. Other titles investigated […]
In the article on field marketing “In Full Swing” (MW February 2) Gail Tunesi of PMI is reported to have said that it is more difficult to motivate part-time staff than full-time staff: “It is difficult to switch them on and get the most out of them.” This is not the case. Tunesi rightly states […]
Adidas challenges Nike this week with the launch of a global branding campaign and the introduction of “Forever Sport” as its brand motto. This is the first campaign for Adidas from Wieden & Kennedy breakaway agency 180. Alex Melvin and Chris Mendola formed 180 last October after W&K, Nike’s agency, fired them for allegedly working […]
Tea producer Tetley is looking for a partner to help with its new business development plans and is understood to have approached advertising agencies. The company, which opened a cafe called Gaffer’s in Manchester’s Royal Exchange shopping centre last July, is looking at both the possibility of rolling out the themed restaurant as a chain, […]