GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to launch an electric toothbrush called Whitening Power. The company will claim the brush whitens teeth as its cleans them. The brush, launched next month, will have a “pulsating oscillating action” to more effectively remove stains. The launch will be supported by a &£1.3m TV campaign by Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). The […]
Free entry into museums and galleries has increased visitor numbers but, with a variety of pursuits to choose from, there is more to leisure than price
Tesco has signed an exclusive national distribution deal on a range of grooming products for men produced by London model agency So Dam Tuff, which specialises in placing male and Afro Caribbean and Asian models. The move comes shortly after Tesco struck its first major exclusive distribution deal for health and beauty products by signing […]
The proposed takeover of Bcom3 will catapult Publicis into a global player
Safeway is planning to launch a line of standalone sandwich and “food-on-the-go” outlets selling its new own-label range Eat Street, to compete head on with fast-food sandwich chains such as Pret A Manger. Eat Street will target the lunchtime and food-on the-go markets, and will be introduced to Safeway stores in July. The range will […]
Chupa Chups is planning to open 5,000 branded retail outlets worldwide over the next three years. The venture will boost the confectioner’s image and create “Chupa Chups spaces”, according to the company. The shops will sell Chupa Chups’ confectionery, such as lollipops and Smint mints. It will also stock licensed products including Chupa Chups’ forthcoming […]
The news that the BBC is cherry-picking advertising sites (MW February 21) is a refreshing change to the &£6bn waste industry currently in existence in the UK each year – using Viscount Leverhulme’s adage: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Focusing on clearly […]
Global move announced as part of a reduction in company’s dependence on TV and press exposure
The BBC is set to become the UK’s biggest outdoor advertiser having negotiated a deal that will give it £20m worth of exposure on poster sites around the country. BT, excluding BT Cellnet, was the UK’s biggest outdoor advertiser in 2000, spending £8.6m on posters (AC Nielsen/MMS). The BBC was due to strike a deal […]
Gillette is moving its entire central European marketing team out of the UK to Geneva in Switzerland, as part of its business restructure to focus on its retail business. The European Gillette team is led by the European president Ed Shirley and the group business development director David Bashaw, who is the top marketer across […]
AMP, the Australian financial services group, is looking for a direct marketing (DM) agency to work on a high-profile, brand-building campaign later this year. The company is talking to the agencies it uses across its main brands – AMP London Life, AMP National Provident Institution and AMP Pearl – along with external agencies. WWAV Rapp […]
Microsoft’s much-hyped Xbox finally hits UK shelves this week, supported by a TV and cinema campaign, which breaks on Thursday 14 March 2002. Using the strapline ‘Play More’, the commercial – called Mosquito – has been viewable online since Monday, via Playmore.com. Designed to air across Europe, the ad was created by BBH. Xbox European […]
Apparently agency types get a bit stressed at times. Yes, the Diary couldn’t believe it either. But employees at Ogilvy & Mather’s production arm, DiVA, get so stressed they need executive relief from a massager. Before you all call in for the telephone number, we feel we should explain that the massager is the Shiatsu […]
Teamtalk 252 may be on the right track with its ‘advertiser-led’ programming, but it will struggle to keep up with rivals 5 Live and TalkSport
So it’s goodbye to Paul Simons for the moment. The Diary is sure the old scoundrel will be back sooner or later. For now we would like to point out the remarkable resemblance between Simons and Fast Show hero Swiss Tony (with, of course, the addition of a false moustache). The Diary also understands the […]