NTL, the US-owned cable and communications giant, has won a five-way battle for the sponsorship rights of Carlton TV’s hit quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Carlton claims that “no sponsor has been confirmed,” and refuses to say which companies are taking part in the bidding. But sources say that a deal has […]
Jo-Anne Flack captured it brilliantly in her article “Dot-compilers” (MW last week) when she wrote: “Good content is hard to come by.” She echoed the words of Zad Rogers in the new media section of the Monday Guardian, who said: “New media is experiencing a phenomenon best described as a content gap; technology has run […]
Have you ever won a goldfish at a fair, bought a bowl for it to live in, complete with plastic pirate ship and gravel (stolen from the neighbours driveway), only to discover it is the most boring pet ever, it’s bowl is tedious to clean out, you always forget to feed it, so you flushed […]
New online tour operator HolidayExtra has appointed Grey Advertising to its £5m launch campaign. HolidayExtra, which launches next month, will allow customers to create and book holidays online.
Railtrack, one of the biggest commercial landlords in the country, is considering selling its 4,000-site poster estate directly to clients and media agencies in a move that would be a huge blow to its existing sales agents, Maiden and Mills & Allen (M&A). Yan Huybrechts, Railtrack commercial advertising manager, has hired Kevin Shute, former CIA […]
The Millennium Dome has provided us with an endless list of wise men and women who are keen to knock it. Interestingly it seems a high proportion of these are members of the media who have never set foot inside the Dome. Should they not apply the consumer test and visit the Dome before they […]
M&S’ sale of some of its property underlines the threat of online retailing to the high street. Its new ‘change tsar’ will have the issue high on his agenda.
Embattled retailer Boots has relaunched its Website and taken its biggest step yet into e-commerce. After eight months’ development, the site is now fully operational. It features 2,500 Boots product lines, including some big-ticket items – such as baby prams, cots and high chairs – that are not available elsewhere. Boots plans to increase its […]
The Football Association (FA) has drafted in a strategic media partner to advise on broadcast and interactive rights negotiations for the FA Cup and England internationals – worth up to £350m. The appointment of sit-up.com has been initiated by FA chief executive Adam Crozier, as the former Saatchi & Saatchi boss tightens his grip on […]
Carat Interactive has poached Robert Horler, the commercial director of EMAP Online, to be a managing partner in the business. Horler will work with fellow managing partner Richard Whea-ton. He will be supported by a team of more than 20 specialists in the task of building Carat’s online planning and buying credentials. Carat chief executive […]
In an ad-packed world, brand owners go to great lengths to achieve that all-important “stand out”, slapping their name on everything from Chinese takeaway cartons to the bottom of pint glasses. But poster contractor Maiden Outdoor’s advertising for the Evening Standard’s new recruitment Website Big Blue Dog (bigbluedog.com) at London’s Victoria station, caused concern among […]
If dot-coms are paying a premium for their ad slots, they deserve not only a better service from the media owners, but solus placings too, says Ian Clark.
Vodafone is to launch Manchester United-branded phones at the start of next season as part of its &£30m, four-year sponsorship deal with the club. The phones will offer Man Utd fans special services – such as club news, goal updates and player information – through the Internet. Vodafone commercial and marketing director Paul Donovan says: […]
Former Advantage International managing director John Perera, who left last autumn just before it rebranded as Octagon Worldwide, has set up his own consultancy, Matrix. Former head of consultancy at Alan Pascoe International (API), Perera became managing director of Advantage after the two agencies were bought and later merged by Octagon in 1998. Alan Pascoe, […]
The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) is stepping up its campaign to have “wealth warnings” axed from all financial advertisements on TV and radio, following the removal of requirements to carry them on mortgage ads. From March 1 radio, TV and cinema ads for mortgages will no longer be legally required to carry warnings […]