Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps will take a starring role in the London celebrations for the official handover of the Olympic Games. Phelps will be on stage during the Visa 2012 party in The Mall on Sunday (24 August). Phelps, who won a historic eight gold medals in Beijing, beating Mark Spitz’s record of seven […]
Sainsbury’s is targetting students with a new pre-paid voucher card that can be topped by parents and used to buy groceries and homewares. The Meal Ticket will be launched next month. Parents will be able to take the Meal Ticket to a checkout, credit the card with the initial desired amount, from £1 to £750, […]
Coca-Cola has appointed former AT&T marketer Wendy Clark as senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities. She will take over the role on September 15.
The Kwik Fit fitter is being revived after an eight-year absence in a new campaign that aims to show the automotive retailer does more than just fit tyres. The new ads break tonight (August 18). The campaign, created by DDB London, want to drive awareness that today’s Kwik Fit fitter has an increased technical expertise […]
General Motors (GM) is planning to launch the Chevrolet Volt electric car in the UK under its Vauxhall marque. The US version of the plug-in vehicle is set to go into production in late 2010. The Chevrolet Volt is central to GM’s plans for recovery and the company has promoted the car’s development since a […]
Retail sales at airports will grow by 11% to $30m (16.1m) despite the slowing economy over this year, according to a report by Verdict Research. The surge will make it the fastest growing retail channel after the internet.
Beleagured retailer Woolworths has rejected a bid from Malcolm Walker, founder and chief executive of frozen food chain Iceland, because the offer “undervalued the retail assets and the potential profits of the business.” The bid, thought to be around £50m, was made for its 815 stores just days after Woolworths announced the appointment of Steve […]
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic, has accused British Airways of creating a “monster monopoly” through its alliance with American Airlines. The two airlines signed a deal yesterday (August 14). The joint venture will create a giant transatlantic multi-route business if it gets the green light from regulators. It will also involve Spanish Airline […]
Diageo is rolling out an autumn campaign to drive spirit sales by highlighting how they can be used as mixers. It will focus on “autumn” drinks such as Pimm’s with apple juice and Morgan’s Spiced with cola. The campaign, which has been created by Arc, will include press and sampling. It will also support Bell’s […]
LoveFilm, the online entertainment company, has signed a deal with the Sci Fi channel to sponsor the second series of hit US drama Heroes. It is the online rental service’s first TV sponsorship. It will launch tonight (August 15) and will combine ten-second idents with five-second bumpers between each ad break. The idents, which have […]
It was with some interest, and a little surprise, that I recently discovered total commercial broadcast television impacts had actually risen, and by a whole 6% too, in the first half of this year. Let me explain my excitement at this discovery. A commercial impact records one person watching one advertisement at normal speed (ie, […]
Lowe London has resigned the 20m global advertising account for Stella Artois. It brings to an end a 27-year relationship and will see the business go up for review.
Orange is launching the Blackberry Bold handset, billed as a major rival to the iPhone, this weekend. It will be available in stores and on Orange contracts from tomorrow (August 16). The mobile operator, which is giving the phone away free to consumers on contracts of over £40, will sell the handset exclusively for the […]
Asda, the Wal-Mart-owned supermarket chain, is benefiting from affluent shoppers seeking cheaper food deals as the credit crunch continues to bite. The boost helped the chain grow its share of the grocery market by 0.2% to 16.9% over the 12 weeks to July 13 (TNS). It has also reported a 6% rise in underlying growth […]
Travelex Global Business Payments has promoted Debbie Brown to global vice president of marketing. She was previously marketing director for its UK business.