UK advertising agencies have been heavily criticised by some of the UK’s biggest advertisers for being out of touch with the concerns of advertisers. During a debate at The Solus Club, which was chaired by Toyota commercial director Mike Moran, Carol Fisher, the former chief executive of COI Communications claimed agencies lacked “flexibility”, had no […]
Online sales more than double year on year as Britons splash out on clothes, food and alcohol
Contract publishers have experienced a boom in customer titles, but many big advertisers remain reluctant to test the waters and establish their own promotional magazines. By Sonoo Singh
Cobra Beer and environmental charity WWF-UK have had appeals to earlier adjudications by the Advertising Standards Authority quashed by the ASA’s independent reviewer. The advertising watchdog ruled against Cobra Beer’s “misleading” press ads in April, following complaints from industry rivals. The ads, created by McCann-Erickson, used the tagline: “The beer with less bubbles could make […]
The Australian Wine Bureau (AWB) is to boost its marketing spend in the UK and Europe, creating an umbrella “wine brand Australia” campaign. The move will coincide with the retirement of chief executive Hazel Murphy, who set up the AWB in Europe in 1986. Her role will be split: the UK operations will be run […]
Catalogue giant GUS may not be the obvious candidate to buy Homebase, but its subsidiary Argos’s move upmarket into home furnishings, makes this acquisition more canny than it appears. By Amanda Wilkinson
Microsoft’s seven-year relationship with EHS Brann is under threat after the US software company decided to review its estimated &£10m direct marketing business held by the agency. The company is lining up agencies to pitch for the account. Microsoft says it wants a direct marketing agency that can offer an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) […]
Ditching long-term contracts for flexible partnerships is opening up sponsorship to new brands and revitalising its role as a key marketing tool, says Nigel Currie
When marketers move from a traditional corporation to a non-profit or co-operative body, the transition is often difficult. Gemma Charles reports
Anti-smoking groups are demanding that the Government make it a criminal offence for tobacco marketers to mislead retailers about point of purchase (PoP) advertising, after the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill comes into force next year. Judith Watt of lobby group Smoke-Free London says that when Australia passed a similar ad ban ten years ago, […]
Hasbro, the toy manufacturer behind Action Man and Monopoly, has moved its £35m pan-European advertising account out of Burkitt DDB into sister agency BMP DDB without a pitch. According to Hasbro head of European marketing and development Foye Pascoe, Omnicom-owned DDB decided to bring Hasbro’s account team closer to its media business, managed by OMD […]
The UK’s three major British political parties – Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats – between them spent almost &£10m on advertising during the 2001 General Election, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission. The Labour Party spent &£5.02m on advertising during the election, 45.9 per cent of its entire campaign spending for […]
The Department of Transport (DoT) has once again defied COI Communications by plotting to launch its own vehicle-crime prevention campaign, even though a similar, high-profile campaign is already run by the Home Office through the COI. The DoT’s defiance is likely to prove incoming COI chief executive Alan Bishop’s first major challenge when he takes […]
Cadbury Trebor Bassett is to challenge the dominance of Wrigley and move into the UK gum market with its launch of Trebor 24-7, a mint and gum range aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds. Trebor 24-7, which will be available in the spring, is a range consisting of three mints: Mighty Mint, Lemon Lift and Airsurge; […]
NTL Home’s director of marketing Jeremy Davies is to leave the company at the end of the year as his role has been axed. A review of the struggling cable company’s marketing structure has resulted in the decision to axe the central marketing function at NTL Home, the consumer division of the cable operator. Davies, […]