Marketing Week
17 March 2005

ASA bans Wanadoo 'scrapyard' TV ads

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Asda and Disney promote healthy eating to children

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Asda is teaming up with The Walt Disney Company to promote healthy eating to children. The supermarket will run an on-pack prize draw over 30 different fresh produce items featuring Disney characters from The Incredibles film...

Ask Jeeves raids Levi's to fill top European position

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Atari flashback to sponsor Virgin Radio

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Virgin Radio has signed up video games brand Atari Flashback as the sponsor of Suggs' Virgin Party Classics from this month. It will also create a one-off St Patrick's Day show called Suggs' St Patrick's Day Craic, which will be sponsored by Guinness.

Aviva and RAC search for mutual assistance

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The RAC lags behind the AA, while Aviva's Norwich Union wants to supplant RBS as the UK's top motor insurer. A merger could be just the ticket, but a culture clash looks likely. By Martin Croft

Aviva set to review £60m merged media business

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Aviva, the financial services giant which has launched a £1.1bn agreed takeover for motoring organisation the RAC, is planning to put its combined media planning and buying business, worth more than £60m, up for review.

Barr Soft Drinks invests in Diet Irn-Bru

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Barr Soft Drinks is investing £2.5m in Diet Irn-Bru including a television campaign shot in South Africa and aimed at women.

Borders appoints commercial director

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Borders, the bookseller, has appointed Cathy Ferrier, former trading director at Poundland, as commercial director. Marketing director Louise Collinge will continue to concentrate on brand building and communication.

C&W picks top marketer after restructure

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Struggling telecoms operator Cable & Wireless has appointed Rance Hesketh as its head marketer following the departures of Mark Quartermaine and Laurence Huntley.

Cello Group posts profit

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Cello Group, the AIM-listed marketing services group that bought Leith Advertising, Target Direct and other agencies last year, has posted a profit before tax for its first two months trading of £1.3m. Cello plans to acquire further businesses this year, including a London agency.

DDB London hopes to tap into popular culture with 'Grapevine' panel of cabbies

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

DDB London, the Omnicom-owned agency, has launched a research panel comprising cabbies, pub landlords and hairdressers in an effort to gain a broader range of consumer insights than that provided by traditional focus groups comprising housewives.

Dyson and Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest poised to launch campaign's second phase

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Europe votes against food 'traffic lights'

Wed, 23 Mar 2005

In a European-wide setback for the idea's proponents, the European Parliament has voted against the "traffic light" food-labelling system, following concerns that the nutrient-profiling tool would create a highly simplistic scheme.

Famed for their love of tea

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The British are famed for their love of tea, but Hong Kong-based Starmoon seems to have got the wrong end of the stick. According to its latest press release, its Tea Bag Bin is 'just' 200cm tall and 100cm in diameter. Given its shape, this means it has a volume of just short of 60 litres. That's about 3,500 tea bags, or nearly ten cups a day for a year. Sadly, while the thought of short people slam-dunking tea bags into a giant bin is not without its appeal, the Diary suspects a misprint. ...

Finding a fitting solution

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Exhibitors striving to deliver a consistent message from one event to the next face a number of hurdles, but by sticking to the same basic principles a brand can overcome these problems, says Ian Whiteling

Ford pays to brand Essex CCC ground

Tue, 22 Mar 2005

Ford has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Essex County Cricket Club that will see the team's Chelmsford ground renamed the Ford County Ground for the duration of the sponsorship.

Google faring better in UK than US

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Google has been more successful in the UK than it is in its native US, and accounts for almost twice as many UK online searches as all of its rivals put together.

Guaber seeks media agency for major UK portfolio push

Tue, 22 Mar 2005

Half of 'i-generation' use Web for finances

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Online banking has been eagerly adopted by Europe's internet-aware youngsters, with three-quarters of those aged between 16 and 34 years old accessing their bank accounts online, according to a new study.

Interpublic hires for new youth marketing unit

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Interpublic Group in the US has hired the former Saatchi & Saatchi General Mills account team to be part of a new youth marketing unit.

Is product placement commercial salvation?

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Product placement on TV could be a sensible route forward for advertisers seeking ways to counter the threat from personal video recorders and video-on-demand. By Jonathan Harwood

ITV requests longer commercial breaks

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

ITV is in negotiations with Ofcom to obtain permission to lengthen commercial breaks from an average of seven minutes to nine. Current rules allow a daily average of up to seven minutes an hour, with a maximum of 12 minutes in any one hour.

Kerrygold chief's exit sparks rejig

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Kia Motors becomes official partner of FIFA

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Kia Motors has signed up as an official partner of FIFA for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Labour plots ad drive to win over gay voters

Wed, 23 Mar 2005

Whitehall is gearing up to launch a consumer campaign aimed at unmarried partners, making them aware of their legal right to make divorce-style claims for financial support.

Leo Burnett pulls out of Abbey pitch

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Leo Burnett has pulled out of the pitch for Abbey's £30m advertising account because of a conflict over its relationship with Scottish Widows. Lowe, WCRS and incumbent TBWA/London remain on the shortlist.

Making Light of a weighty issue

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The Diary was amused to hear from delegates of last week's ISBA conference that McDonald's chief marketing officer Larry Light appears to have been "living the brand".

Manchester Evening News free lite edition on its way

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The Manchester Evening News will launch its free Lite edition, to be hand-distributed, on March 21. The free edition replaces the paid-for fourth daytime edition and will have an initial print run of 10,000.

Marketers under threat as Masterfoods cuts 700 jobs

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy creates Metropolitan Police campaign

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy has created a new campaign for the Metropolitan Police aimed at tackling domestic violence by speaking to the abusers. It will targets 18- to 40-year-olds.

Mirror Group Newspapers scraps editorial director role

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Mirror Group Newspapers has restructured its magazines unit and scrapped the position of editorial director, magazines which was held by Phil Hall. MGN head of strategic planning Simon Clough has been appointed publishing director, magazines to oversee commercial concerns.

More stations is better, but more of the same old mainstream isn't

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Ofcom's granting of 35 new FM licences is a big step forward for commercial radio, but that won't stop its share of listeners slipping away, says Tim Inman

National Trust hunts for marketing manager

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The National Trust is looking for a marketing manager following the departure of Jorj Jarvie, who left the charity last month.

News Group Newspapers reviews ad business

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and News of the World, is reviewing its £15m advertising business held by TBWA/London. The review is being handled by the AAR.

Not all was Clear about Jazz FM win

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

I read in Marketing Week (March 3) that we'd lost an account, since which time I've been looking for it everywhere. And then I realised I couldn't find it because we hadn't lost it.

Orange mulls future of digital media planning and buying business

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Orange is understood to be talking to agencies about its £4m digital media planning and buying business, which is held by Initiative Media.

Pepsi in temporary reshuffle

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Pepsi Europe head of marketing for carbonated drinks Okay Egdirici is to act as interim Pepsi UK marketing director while Caroline Diamond is on maternity leave. He will concentrate solely on UK business during this time.

Phones4U entrepreneur loses court battle

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Phones4U entrepreneur John Caudwell has lost a court battle to stop a smaller rival from trading under the name Phone4U.co.uk.

Point Blank to promote sport scooter

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Point Blank, the youth marketing agency, has been appointed by Italian motorcycle company Aprilia to promote its new sports scooter.

PSA to review media planning and buying business

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

PSA, owner of the Peugeot and Citroën car marques, is thought to be reviewing its £76m UK media planning and buying business.

Samsung appoints JWT to handle ad business

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Samsung has appointed JWT to handle its pan-European mobile handset advertising business. The handset division has also signed a deal to sponsor radio show Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on London station LBC 97.3FM.

Satellite TV Monthly to close down

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Saving Sony before it falls

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Sony has lost credibility as a premium consumer brand. Can Sir Howard Stringer raise its game?

Somerfield restructure claims marketing chief

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The Iams truth is harder to swallow

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Please allow us to respond to the statements that Iams spokeswoman Judith Russell conjured up to defend the company's cruel laboratory testing on animals ("Iams has nothing to hide over tests", MW February 17).

UK's future lies in Europe

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

The US economy is booming while Europe is lagging, so why isn't Tory MP John Redwood extolling the virtues of free trade?

Unilever in hunt for brand head

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Unilever brand vice-president William Brown has been made interim marketing director for personal care.

Unilever links with Persil and Comfort to create dual brand product

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Unilever home and personal care brands Persil and Comfort have joined forces to create a dual-branded product for the detergent market. Persil with Essence of Comfort will be backed by a £5m campaign using TV, radio and outdoor and is set to launch in July.

Unilever's Weed takes global homecare helm

Wed, 23 Mar 2005

Unilever UK chairman takes global role as he moves to head homecare business

Watch out for the flaws in direct marketing's design

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

A new DMA report paints a picture of happy, responsive consumers, but the data suggests otherwise.

Who fixed more than the flighty Quinn's lavatory?

Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Kimberly Quinn's latest conquest is believed to be a 'top TV journalist' who called round to fix her lavatory.

Wrigley's Airwaves signs sponsorship deal with British Superbikes team GSE Ducati

Thu, 17 Mar 2005