Bluebird Toys, the British toy industry’s success story of re-cent years, is understood to be in line for a takeover by US giant Mattel. The timescale of the deal is unknown but Mattel is favoured suitor because it is in an aggressive acquisitive mood. Since 1993, it has bought toy companies Fisher-Price, Kransco and, most […]

Charles Peebler, chief executive officer of Bozell Jacobs Kenyon & Eckhardt, has denied speculation that the Bozell network is up for sale.

Mercury Communications has been rebuked by the Advertising Standards Authority for not revealing that its 25 per cent discount Bonuscall scheme is only applicable to business users spending more than £20,000 a month on calls. Mercury claims the calls ceiling is made clear to users before they make a commitment to the scheme. But the […]

Sex in advertising is turning women off, according to research conducted for CIA Media Labs. Women are more than twice as likely than men to agree with the statement “ads make too much use of sex to sell their products”. Some 61 per cent of women questioned do not like campaigns that rely on overt […]

Beer brand Rolling Rock is being removed from supermarket and off-licence shelves following the discovery of small particles of glass in some bottles. Marketing director Mat-thew Street says: “We are withdrawing the product as a precautionary measure and conducting a full and rigorous investigation into the causes of this problem.” The bottles which may be […]

The Telegraph’s advertisement director and deputy managing director Len Sanderson is to oversee new revenue generation. Running of the ad section will be handled by Andy Jonesco, display sales director, and Mark Payne, classified sales director. The Independent and Independent on Sunday suffered year-on-year falls of 9.3 per cent and 12.9 per cent respectively in […]

P&O Exhibition Services (POEX) has restructured its senior management team to lead four new divisions within the group. The aim of the reorganisation, according to POEX, is to improve the customer and operational focus of the exhibition and event industry and provide a framework for expansion into new business areas, nationally and internationally. Phil Scott […]

Sprung from a below-the-line background, John Farrell, DMB&B’s new supremo, feels agencies have a lot to learn. In this, he mirrors the new wave of US pragmatism.

Conference venues are rarely chosen for their facilities. What often counts for more is their proximity to nearby hotels and the most convenient form of transportation. In attracting delegates, time is certainly of the essence.

Andrew Seth, managing director of embattled soap giant Lever Brothers UK, will take early retirement at the end of next month. His post will be filled by an unknown Dutch marketing chief from Lever Hamburg, Germany. Seth’s replacement, Aart Weijburg, managing director of Lever’s German operation. Weijburg, who is in charge of equivalent soap brands […]

Further to the piece in Marketing Week on February 3 about the Wales Tourist Board putting its account up for review, I wish to add that the review process in no way reflects badly on the excellent work which both Laing Henry and Purchasepoint have done, and still continue to do, for us. Being a […]

Nickelodeon, the children’s satellite channel, continues to increase its share of viewing in satellite homes, according to the latest analysis of BARB viewing data. In the first three weeks of last month, ending January 22, it achieved a 1.3 per cent share of all viewing, compared with 0.5 per cent in January 1994 and 1.1 […]

It was disappointing that you chose not to cover Coca-Cola Great Britain’s sales figures in your February 3 issue, following your highly-speculative report preceding the results announcement the previous week. The fact is that British consumers are drinking more Coca-Cola soft drinks than ever before. Coca-Cola Great Britain grew sales volume in the fourth quarter […]

Isabella Rossellini, the actress and model Lancme said it was going to drop because she was too old, is to become vice president of marketing at rival skincare, fragrance and cosmetics company Lancaster Group Worldwide. Rossellini will not act as the “face” for the Lancaster brands, which include suncare products and the Joop! fragrances. Instead, […]

News International will keep The Times’ cover price at 20p following strong circulation growth in January and a penny increase in the Sun’s price this week, say industry analysts and press buyers. The Times defied expectations that its post-price cut circulation had peaked at 614,477 in October by increasing its circulation last month to 631,449. […]