Benetton has been fined $32,000 (ú21,000) by a French court for causing offence to people with HIV and Aids, with its controversial advertising.

With reference to the article “Turning the Cables” (MW, January 27) I felt it important to clarify the role of the CCN Group, and particularly its Mosaic Systems product, within the cable industry. Firstly, the article’s author is quite right in identifying the primary use of Mosaic as the prioritisation of areas for building and […]

The days of the corner shop may be numbered, but in the countryside supermarkets often find it hard to compete against locally grown produce.

Banks Hoggins O’Shea is understood to have won the ú4m United Friendly Assurance account. BHO refuses to comment but industry sources say the agency has been picked to handle United’s largest advertising campaign to date.

Publishers are threatening to take legal action against Asda if it continues to violate the Net Book Agreement by discounting books in its supermarkets. The publishers, whose titles Asda has been selling at a £1 discount, are Transworld, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Harper Collins, Pan, Little Brown and Arrow Paperbacks. It is understood that they […]

Sales promotion consultancy IMP is understood to be battling to save its Pizza Hut business, after Burger King awarded its ú23m pan-European through-the-line account to IMP and its parent D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles jointly. Industry sources say Burger King chose the DMB&B/IMP combination over rivals Saatchi & Saatchi and SP Lintas because of the […]

Pornography, perhaps more than any other business, has benefited from the opportunities presented by emerging technologies and media fragmentation. Yet the recent fortunes of Penthouse magazine might lead one to believe the UK porn market is in decline. Penthouse is struggling to boost its circulation and so hold on to its franchise in the UK. […]

Hackers can now break into previously secure systems on the Internet and could use Barclaycard’s new interactive electronic magazine to reach confidential information on the magazine’s users as well as business data used by Barclays Bank. They can subvert a defensive system called a “firewall”, which is designed to keep out hackers by distinguishing between […]

On the surface, being sold to finance and make way for ú440m of Quaker petfood in Europe would seem unflattering for most companies.

The licensing deal of the year? Probably not. But it is likely to be one of the most keenly awaited product launches of recent months – Baywatch Sunguard. This is a suncare range for those who believe they look like either the bronzed babe Pamela Anderson (who appears in some point-of-sale material for the cream […]

BSkyB has announced pre-tax profits up 46 per cent to ú55m (ú37.8m) in the half-year to December 31. Turnover was up 48 per cent to ú356.

Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury has snatched the ú10m National Savings account from McCann-Erickson. National Savings confirmed this week that HHCL had beaten competition from a shortlist that included the incumbent, DFSD Bozell and Publicis.

While a DTI report has highlighted music’s strong contribution to UK foreign earnings, it remains to be seen whether British TV can emulate this success.

ITV has struck a ú2m sponsorship deal with Heineken to sponsor its coverage of this summer’s Rugby World Cup – the first network ITV deal where the same company sponsors the programme and the event.

The MMC often scuppers poster deals; in the case of Portland, the reasons are more personal.