US marketing services company Lighthouse has acquired Fitch, the quoted global product, corporate identity and retail specialist, for 26m. The deal was brokered by independent investment bank Granville Markets and announced to the stock exchange yesterday (Tuesday). Nick Harvey, Granville Markets chairman of investment banking, says: “Nothing at Fitch will change, except that Lighthouse chief […]
Boots the Chemist has slashed the prices of its suncream ranges the day after Asda claimed its prices would be up to 5.90 cheaper than those of the chemist chain. Asda announced this week it will sell major brands such as Nivea, Pizbuin and Ambre Solaire more cheaply than Boots, after launching a campaign called […]
Besnier, Bongrain and Fromageries Bel are expected to bid for the cheese interests of Italy’s Yomo dairy group, which include brands such as Pettinicchio di Latina mozzarella, Belgioioso and Monferrina. Yomo intends to focus on its yogurt activities. Expresso, the Portuguese weekly newspaper, is to launch a new magazine, nica, in June. The title, which […]
Cadbury Schweppes is to drop drag queen Lily Savage from advertising of its fruit drink brand Oasis, with the aim of creating a cooler image. The “open, pour, be yourself once more” campaign will be replaced next month with ads which feature the catchline “chill with a still”. The new brand spokesmen will be “the […]
Georges Aoun moved from France to the US to work for Bertelsmann’s new online bookstore, BOL.com, less than a year ago. But within a few months he found himself re-locating to London as the managing director of BOL.com in the UK. In a nimble about-face, Bertelsmann decided there was not enough room in the US […]
BMP4’s position as agency of choice for Marks & Spencer is under threat following the retailer’s wide-ranging strategic review after it announced plans to double its marketing spend this year.
Mediapolis in the UK could soon change its name after a merger between the media interests of its parent Havas Advertising and the biggest media agency in Spain. Mediapolis, which is wholly owned by Havas, will become part of a new group following the merger with Spanish independent Media Planning. The UK agency’s ownership will […]
The Royal Mail has launched its first electronic communication product, in a break from its 350-year “hard copy” tradition. Available on CD-Rom for use with Windows 95, 98 and NT, Viacode is an e-commerce security tool providing instant encryption for messages and digital certification of users. Users prove their identity by showing a passport or […]
So the pendulum has swung again, with a vengeance. ITV is not merely in the ascendant, but rampant. The removal of News at Ten has sliced open the evening schedule even more effectively than the network hoped and its rivals feared. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has an aura of impregnability not seen since […]
Kia Cars UK is reviewing its advertising in preparation for a relaunch of the brand this summer. The review is part of an overhaul of all aspects of the car brand’s UK business after its Korean parent company, Kia Motors Corp, was bought by Hyundai Motors last year. Kia has three models on the UK […]
Many observers have been noting the effect of Internet initiatives on a company’s share price. Dixons’ stunning and deserved success with Freeserve is the most quoted example. It’s a great story, and testimony to the speed with which the Internet is being accepted. Yet this is not an excuse to rush at Net initiatives purely […]
By the time PowerGen rebrands its East Midlands Electricity business with a 4m ad campaign this summer, it could be too late. Its competitors may have already poached its customers. That is the concern of some observers after PowerGen revealed its rebranding plans last week (MW March 18). The company wants to replace East Midlands […]
The film Shakespeare In Love shows the great bard grappling with “Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter”, eventually whittling down the name for this bloody failure of a corporate merger to the more catchy Romeo and Juliet. But some of the unwieldy identities spawned by mergers and acquisitions in the past decade suggest that, given […]
Swedish Match has unveiled a new advertising theme for its Swan range of accessories in anticipation of the forthcoming tobacco advertising ban. A white swan representing the recently relaunched brand (MW January 7) will be used in all future advertising. It will first appear on items which will not be banned, such as matches, to […]
J Sainsbury DIY chain Homebase has signed up Men Behaving Badly couple Leslie Ash and Neil Morrissey for its national TV campaign which launches this week. In the series of ten and 30-second ads, created by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, Ash and Morrissey are shown shopping in Homebase and drawing attention to special offers. The offers […]