Campaign articles from December 2004

Campaign archives from December 2004

WCRS and Naked unveil agency.(Element Communications)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The venture, called Element Communications, will launch with pounds 25m of BMW planning business. WCRS and Naked Communications are joining forces to launch a communications planning agency called Element Communications, which has secured...

Times joins with Endemol for live ads.(Live Advertising Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Times is working on a series of live TV commercials to be created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R in conjunction with Initial, the entertainment arm of the TV producer Endemol, and Live Advertising Ltd. Ideas for the commercials...

Daily Star rate hike raises media hackles.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Express Newspapers is risking stand-offs with advertisers because of plans to hike the Daily Star's display ad rates by a massive 25 per cent. Over the past few months, the Daily Star has introduced small increases to its display...

DM agencies vie for Mercedes account.(direct marketing)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Mercedes is talking to direct marketing agencies about a brief to launch its brand experience centre. Called The Mercedes Heritage and Technology Centre, the operation is being built on a 150-acre site at Brooklands in Surrey, where the...

FCB London lands Open University job.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Open University has handed its integrated marketing account to FCB London. The appointment extends the relationship between the university and FCB, as FCBi handles its below-the-line advertising. It follows a pitch that also...

Innocent Drinks teams up with HHCL/Red Cell.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Innocent Drinks has appointed HHCL/Red Cell to work on its next creative advertising project. But the drinks company, which was founded by the former BMP DDB account man Richard Reed, will continue to work with Fallon on future projects....

New creative chief for rmg:black cat.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... J. Walter Thompson's direct marketing arm, rmg:black cat, has strengthened its creative department with the appointment of Guy Bradbury as creative director. Bradbury, formerly the integrated creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi X, joins...

AA calls media pitch as it mulls budget cuts.(Automobile Association Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The AA is planning to review its creative account and has called a pitch for its pounds 15 million media planning and buying business. Manning Gottlieb OMD, the media incumbent for two years, has been asked to repitch against three other...

Reid U-turns on junk-food ad agencies.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Ministers have been forced to drop a controversial proposal to ban agencies from government accounts if they work for food and drink companies that advertise to children. John Reid, the health secretary, proposed the move as the Government...

Capital Radio adds pounds 1.5m to Xfm spend.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Capital Radio is to put an extra pounds 1.5 million behind marketing its young brands Xfm and Choice FM as it looks to achieve a national reach of one million listeners for Xfm. The radio group is expected to appoint an advertising agency...

TV marketing body in New Year launch.(Commercial Television Companies)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Commercial Television Companies marketing initiative is to launch in January, when it will reveal a name, identity and action plan. TV companies have created an eight-strong board of founding members to market the medium and a further...

Fenton sets up production company.(Number 9 Dream)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Paul Fenton, the former head of television at J. Walter Thompson and Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow Johnson, is launching a London-based commercials production company. Named after the John Lennon song Number 9 Dream, the company will be...

MindShare wins Nestle battle.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The agency strengthens its grip on the Nestle business after a showdown with ZenithOptimedia. MindShare has triumphed over ZenithOptimedia for control of the bulk of the pounds 62 million UK Nestle account. The two agencies have been...

HHCL's Minnie Moll leaves ad industry.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Minnie Moll, HHCL/Red Cell's long-serving marketing director and managing partner, is leaving the agency this month after almost ten years. Moll is leaving the advertising industry to spend more time with her family. The move comes...

Wanadoo hands Dare pounds 5m digital business.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Dare has won the pounds 5 million Wanadoo digital creative account after a final-stage pitch against Profero, Agency Republic and TBWA\GGT. The review, which was handled through the AAR, was called after the incumbent, itraffic, was merged...

Former chief Bob Offen bows out of MPG.(Media Planning Group Global)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Bob Offen has stepped down as the chief strategy and marketing officer for Media Planning Group Global. According to Marc Mendoza, the chief executive of MPG UK, Offen, 48, will continue to work two days a week for the network, in a...

ITV unveils vital Christmas schedule.
December 3, 2004... ITV has unveiled its Christmas programming, which it hopes will build on the performance of its autumn schedule and put it in a strong position for the negotiation round. After a dismal summer, ITV had a stronger November with its peaktime...

Merged Tequila arm picks London team.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... TBWA\Worldwide has unveiled the management team that will run the London arm of its sister below-the-line network, Tequila, following its merger with the Omnicom agency TBWA\GGT. The latter's name will disappear and the move effectively...

British Film Institute plans 100-year archive of filmed commercials.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The UK version of Coca-Cola's iconic 1971 commercial 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' is the centrepiece of a new archive of film and TV ads housed at the British Film Institute. The archive is part-funded by Coca-Cola GB, which has...

MediaCom unveils ethnic marketing outfit.(CultureCom)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... MediaCom is setting up a specialist division to help its clients understand and build relationships with Britain's ethnic groups. The division, to be called CultureCom, is claimed to be the first venture of its kind by a media agency. ...

Ogilvy, MindShare in joint media hire.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Ogilvy and MindShare have hired Richard Peters as a business director in a joint bid to improve their channel planning offering. Peters, who joins from PHD, will be based in Ogilvy's Canary Wharf offices but will divide his time between the...

Martin Wright takes over at FCBi Europe.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Martin Wright has been made the president of Interpublic Group's below-the-line network, FCBi Europe. Wright takes over from David Poole, who is leaving to pursue interests outside the industry, following a 30-year career in direct...

Shearman to lead global planning on JWT's HSBC brief.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... J. Walter Thompson has appointed Paul Shearman to spearhead global creative and strategic planning on the agency's HSBC account. Shearman, currently the international planning director at TBWA\Worldwide, will take the title of global...

ITV names new chief marketer.(Clare Salmon appointed)
December 3, 2004... Ex-AA boss Clare Salmon succeeds Jim Hytner at ITV but will have only a pounds 3.8m budget to play with. ITV is sticking with its modest marketing budget despite its high-profile hiring of Clare Salmon as its head of marketing. The UK's...

Naked wins brief for discounter TK Maxx.(Naked Communications)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Naked Communications has picked up a brief from the discount retailer TK Maxx after a four-way pitch. The agency saw off competition from TK Maxx's media planning and buying agency, Starcom Motive, through which the retailer spends about...

Fink student school goes online for free.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Graham Fink and Deidre Allen, the founders of the production company thefinktank, are launching an online version of their free art school for students. At theartschool online, launched this week, students can work on ad and design briefs....

Media Forum: Is Tesco right to pre-vet mags?(Panel Discussion)
December 3, 2004... Should advertising fear Tesco's wish to vet the titles it displays, Alasdair Reid asks. Powerful things, supermarket chains. The Tescos of this world are the most influential gatekeepers in our lives - and it's becoming true that all FMCG...

Media: Chatter.
December 3, 2004... 'The future looks very good to me. I have my wife, my family, I feel privileged. I'm a director at this company and I'm adored by everyone.' - Vogue publisher Stephen Quinn couldn't be accused of false modesty 'ITV is run by accountants -...

Media: National Magazine Company releases monthly sales figures.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The National Magazine Company is releasing monthly sales figures for the past three ABC periods in response to industry demands for greater transparency in monthly sales trends. NatMags is the first major UK publishing house to release monthly...

Media: Andrew Canter launches his own consultancy.(Contentworx)(Andrew Canter)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Andrew Canter, the former head of broadcast and then client services at Media Planning Group, has launched his own consultancy. Contentworx will specialise in developing and producing advertiser- funded content.

Media: Concord moves into the experimental marketing sector.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Concord, the outdoor media specialist, is moving into the experiential marketing sector. It has launched a division called Amplify that will offer event marketing, distribution and sampling, special-build constructions for roadshows, and PR.

Media: Arla Foods sponsors portfolio of Sky programming.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Arla Foods is sponsoring a portfolio of Sky programming across Christmas. Its Anchor Real Dairy Cream brand will back Sky Christmas programming from 1 December. Creative for the sponsorship has been produced by Sky Networks and the deal was...

Media: Transport for London launches interactive posters.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Transport for London has launched interactive posters at London stations. The 25 posters use interactive technology to enable travellers to receive travel information direct to their mobile phones. Viacom Outdoor supplied the sites.

Media: Practical Parenting magazine unveils new look.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... IPC SouthBank's Practical Parenting magazine is unveiling a new look and new editorial sections with its January issue. The changes include a new logo, cover format and columnists. The January issue goes on sale this week.

Media: Sky One's winter season highlights.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Sky One's winter season highlights include Rescue Me, a drama featuring Denis Leary, and new series of Nip/Tuck and 24. Rescue Me will start on 13 January while Nip/Tuck and 24 will run on Sunday nights.

Media: National Magazine Company's first two issues of Reveal.
December 3, 2004... The National Magazine Company said that the first two issues of Reveal, its women's weekly, both sold in excess of 300,000 copies. The title is backed by a pounds 16 million marketing spend and has a cover price of pounds 1.

Media: ITV commissions second series of The X Factor.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... ITV has commissioned a second series of the musical talent show The X Factor. The programme is a co-production between Thames Television and Simon Cowell's company Syco.

Media: Calcio Italia magazine acquired by Anthem Publishing.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Calcio Italia, the Italian football magazine published by Independent Magazines, has been acquired by Anthem Publishing. Anthem already produces Italia!, the property, travel and lifestyle magazine. Sports Productions will continue to produce...

Media: Victor Chandler signs deal with Dennis Publishing.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Victor Chandler has signed a deal with Dennis Publishing to support its King of Poker Tournament, which will be held in London next June. Dennis' title Maxim will sponsor the event and its gambling title Inside Edge will also offer promotional...

Media: National Geographic Channel's advertising sales team appointed.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The National Geographic Channel's advertising sales team has been appointed as the ad sales representative for Fox's Latin America Networks. The team will represent the Fox channels in Asia-Pacific and Europe to provide integrated advertising,...

Media Headliner: Robert Ray's youthful image belies experience.
December 3, 2004... The Newspaper Society's new marketing director has the energy to push regional papers forward, Alasdair Reid writes. According to sources at one of his former employers, Starcom Mediavest, Robert Ray keeps a portrait of himself in his...

Media Lifeline: Newspaper Marketing Agency.
December 3, 2004... Though early research failed to impress, the NMA makes grand claims for newspapers. July 2002: All but one (the Financial Times) of the UK's national newspapers decide they need a bureau to market the medium to the advertising industry -...

Media: Perspective - Is the Newspaper Marketing Agency finally growing up?
December 3, 2004... During its early months, the Newspaper Marketing Agency resembled a fledgling US sitcom that had staggered beyond the first pilot but looked set to be canned after every subsequent episode. Its early bungling is covered in our 'Lifeline'...

Media: All about ... Royal Mail size-based pricing.(Royal Mail Group PLC)
December 3, 2004... A battle has been won but the war continues, Claire Billings writes. If you had hoped Royal Mail's latest climbdown on the thorny issue of size-based pricing meant the matter was close to conclusion, you'd be disappointed. Although...

Media: A Grazer's Guide to TV.(television programs)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... THE RECORD OF THE YEAR - ITV1/4 December/5.55pm. The shortlisted ten cheesy pop tunes face a public vote to win the coveted title. There are also live performances from the acts nominated. THE STORY OF BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - BBC3/4...

Media: Double Standards - 'More clients should book outdoor more often'.(David Pugh, Stevie Spring)(Interview)(Illustration)
December 3, 2004... Outdoor was one of the big success stories of 2004, so how confident are the heads of two outdoor companies that the sector has further growth to look forward to? DAVID PUGH - managing director, Maiden Outdoor What do you think the...

Media: Strategy Analysis - Selling serious digital photography.(BLM Media, advertising campaign)
December 3, 2004... Brand: Nikon Client: Jeremy Gilbert at Nikon Brief: Launch the D70 Target audience: ABC1 Adults Budget pounds: 700,000 AGENCIES Media: Alex Bickford and Guy Abrahams at BLM Media Creative: Doner Cardwell Hawkins In early...

Media: A moment with Marquis.(Phil Georgiadis)
December 3, 2004... Beware Phil Georgiadis. Especially his speeches. Laid-back to the point of horizontality, he creates the beguiling illusion of having only started to think about his subject during his stroll up to the podium. He then delivers a few...

The World: Atlanta - CNN launches client-funded mobile news service.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CNN has teamed up with Xerox to launch a free mobile-phone news service. Delivering the top-ten world news stories from CNN's website, the CNN multimedia ticker is the news network's first service to be solely supported by an advertiser,...

The World: New York - Y&R wins Weight Watchers creative account.(Young & Rubicam )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Young & Rubicam has won the dollars 45 million Weight Watchers North American advertising brief, beating Lowe and TBWA\Chiat\Day to the account. Weight Watchers' media will be run by Y&R's WPP sister company GroupM, while direct marketing...

The World: Paris - Editor's resignation deepens Le Monde's troubles.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Edwy Plenel, the editor-in-chief of Le Monde, France's best-selling national newspaper, has resigned to 'return to the simple joys of journalism and writing'. He began his career on the paper in 1980 as education correspondent, and was made...

The World: Amsterdam - W&K hires extra executive creative director.(Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam has hired John Norman, a creative director from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, as its second executive creative director. Norman will work alongside the recently appointed Al Moseley, whose arrival at the agency...

The World: Tokyo - Japanese ad agencies to launch joint venture.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Dentsu and Asatsu-DK, respectively the largest and third-largest advertising agencies in Japan, are to establish a joint venture, Drill Inc, to develop campaigns that combine creative and media planning and collaborate with both traditional and...

The World: Washington DC - FDA calls for Viagra ad to be pulled.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has written to Pfizer, the manufacturer of Viagra, asking it to pull its current ads for the erectile dysfunction treatment. The campaign, created by McCann Erickson, which won the account in August this...

The World: Lisbon - Metro International launches Portuguese edition.(Portuguese media group Grupo Media Capital)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Portuguese newspaper market is bracing itself for the launch of a local edition of Metro, following the creation of a joint venture between Metro International and the Portuguese media group Grupo Media Capital. Grupo will create...

The World: Dublin - RTE faces EC probe into funding.(Radio Telefis Eireann)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Irish broadcaster RTE and TG4, the Irish-language station it controls, are under investigation by the European Commission over the broadcaster's public and licence-fee funding model. The scrutiny follows a five-year-old complaint by TV3,...

The World: Manila - BBDO expands Asia-Pacific creative teams.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... BBDO Asia-Pacific has hired a series of high-profile creatives across its local offices. In Manila, Merlee Jayme joins as the executive creative director from Ace Saatchi, Manila, where she held the same post. She will support the BBDO...

The World: Tokyo - APA trade mission aims to increase Japanese output.(Advertising Producers' Association)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Advertising Producers' Association, the UK trade body for commercial makers, has just returned from a trade visit to Japan to promote the services of British ad production and post-production companies. During the five-day trip to...

The World: Product placement reaches maturity in the US.
December 3, 2004... Glen Mutel reports on the branded entertainment industry in the US, which is now estimated to be worth dollars 1 billion. Product placement is under the spotlight in the US following the Federal Trade Commission's decision to investigate a...

The World: Insider's View - Russia.
December 3, 2004... International brands are using more and more local flavour in their attempts to communicate with Russian consumers. Russia is the fastest-growing market in the global ad industry; in 2003, the Russian economy grew 7.3 per cent overall. But...

Close-Up: D&AD Annual has the hits but misses so much.(Design and Art Direction)
December 3, 2004... Shame on D&AD for not awarding Pencils to some notable campaigns, such as those for Orange and VW, Gerry Moira says. I was about two-thirds of the way through the new D&AD Annual when it hit me, the whole paedophile exposure thing. ...

Close-Up: Live Issue - Can a holding company get too big?
December 3, 2004... Is the EC right to be concerned about agency networks dominating the market, Glen Mutel asks. Just when he thought he was home and dry, WPP's chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, last week met a new obstacle to his efforts to purchase Grey...

Close-Up: 24 Hours with ... Lorna Tilbian.(Numis Securities Ltd.)
December 3, 2004... Name: Lorna Tilbian Job: Head of media equity research, Numis Professional mission: Help institutional investors outperform by spotting and championing the finest media companies Professional mantra: Buying today's reality at a discount...

Editorial: Tough times, but AMV is still an ad industry totem.(Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO)(Editorial)
December 3, 2004... Last week's Campaign front page will have been uncomfortable reading for Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. Pizza Hut is reviewing its pounds 11 creative account and the agency also faces the prospect of a fight to retain pounds 40 million of BT...

Editorial: Call for sense in Tesco pre-vetting furore.
December 3, 2004... Let's hope common sense prevails in the controversy surrounding Tesco's decision to pre-vet the magazines it sells. While some publishers have pushed the boundaries of acceptability with their sexually explicit covers, it would be a sad day for...

Opinion: Global groups do not warrant more EC meddling.(European Commission)
December 3, 2004... Over lunch a few weeks back with the eminent lawyer and ad industry celeb Roger Alexander, talk turned to his recent trip to New York, when he'd visited Mother's Manhattan office. 'Do you know, even if there had been no name above the door you...

On the Campaign Couch ... with JB.(Jeremy Bullmore)(Column)
December 3, 2004... Q: Dear Jeremy, Is client conflict finally becoming less of an issue in advertising? Will we soon be able to claim 'category specialisation' and handle rival brands? A: As for the first part, yes. And as for the second part, no. Client...

Diary: Speaker's Corner.
December 3, 2004... Sunday morning, 8am. Bleary-eyed and barely awake, I just about hear the dull thud and blunder downstairs to pick up the papers. The delivery boy has long since abandoned any attempt to thrust what seems like the entire contents of a Brazilian...

Diary: On the QT ..
December 3, 2004... Associates with a colourful turn of phrase are rallying to the support of Brendan Ryan after reports that FCB's loss of the dollars 200 million Samsung brand marketing assignment to WPP might hasten the departure of its worldwide chief...

Diary: Emotions run high as C4 staff look to future.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The run-up to Christmas can be an emotional time. For media traders, things can become fraught as sellers spend weeks arguing with buyers over their share of next year's ad budgets. Combine this with vast quantities of booze, and the potential...

Diary: Going for a song, the address you all want.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The irony of a press release about how media-related e-mail addresses fared in a recent auction on MSN in aid of the NSPCC did not escape our attention this week. The release, which had been automatically computer generated, clearly hadn't...

Diary: You must remember.
December 3, 2004... Last week: Congratulations to Marie de Lantsheere of Orion Books, who answered last week's competition correctly. The answers were: 1. Citroen; 2. Fosters; 3. PlayStation. The theme was robots. This week: We want you to identify the ads and...

Diary: Pick of the week - TBWA\London/PlayStation.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... James Hamilton is won over by TBWA\London's new campaign for PlayStation: 'Easily funnier than 95 per cent of the comedy on TV at the moment, these ads have a skewed logic that hasn't been seen since Monty Python staged a football match between...

Diary: Turkey of the week - Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners/WH Smith.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Francesca Newland does not believe that Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners' campaign for WH Smith will do much to help the retailer out of its current gloom: 'The use of talking worms as a branding device was always going to be tricky to...

The Return of the Furry Animals.
December 3, 2004... The heirs to the PG Tips chimps and the Andrex puppy, animals in ads are back in vogue. The imagery taps into a peculiarly British psychology, Alex Benady explains. Over the past six months, a startling array of campaigns starring furry...

Special Report: Direct Marketing.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Direct marketers must be pretty used to being patted on the head by their patronising advertising cousins and reminded how far DM has come over the past 15 years. Even so, the latest IPA Bellwether Report will have forced competitor...

Special Report: Direct Marketing - DM's profitability paradigm.(Illustration)
December 3, 2004... The latest league table of direct marketing agencies, covering 2002-3, shows a few outfits outperforming the market against a sector down overall. DIRECT MARKETING AND SALES PROMOTION - TOP 40 AGENCIES RANKED BY GROSS INCOME Rank...

Special Report: Direct Marketing - New-model planners.
December 3, 2004... Direct planners have evolved as direct marketing takes on more responsibility for brand building from ad agencies, four senior direct players say. NIGEL JONES - Claydon Heeley Jones Mason There is little doubt that an increasing...

Special Report: Direct Marketing - Doorstep Challenge.
December 3, 2004... Robin Hicks asks direct marketers what should be done to shed DM's tag of Britain's most irritating customer service industry. If you work in direct marketing and happened to sit through the last episode of the BBC series Brassed Off...

Special Report: Direct Marketing - Client Champions.
December 3, 2004... Its ability to precision target potential converts segmented by age, income or geography has inspired some clients to spend most of their budget on direct marketing, Glen Mutel reports. When times are hard, advertisers have to justify every...

The Work: New Campaigns - UK.(Foetal Alcohol Syndrome)
December 3, 2004... ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR - STELLA ARTOIS - CHRISTMAS FILM SPONSORSHIP Project: Christmas film sponsorship idents Client: Kerry Collinge, senior brand manager, Stella Artois Brief: Start building a special association between Stella Artois and...

The Work: New Campaigns - The World.
December 3, 2004... PRISMA PUBLICACIONES - INTERIORES MAGAZINE - SPAIN Project: Interiores magazine Client: Joan Corcoy, director of marketing, Prisma Publicaciones Brief: Reposition Interiores as a magazine with affordable ideas and raise awareness of the...

The Work: Private View.
December 3, 2004... CREATIVE - Steve Henry, creative partner, HHCL/Red Cell Welcome to the cheap-shot shooting gallery. A place where (traditionally) traditional creative directors pretend that every ad comes from a beer brief and where the old 'lads' view' of...

Movers: Appointment at Spinnaker.(Spinnaker Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Nick Morgan - The direct and digital agency Spinnaker has hired Morgan as its creative director. Morgan joins from Meteorite Marketing where he headed the creative department. His earlier agency experience includes Burkitt DDB, DMB&B and Grey....