Intel, the computer chip maker, took out a series of full-page advertisements over Christmas which apologised for a marketing blunder. The worldwide press ads, issued on December 22, said it wanted to “sincerely apologise for our handling of the recently publicised Pentium processor flaw.” It answered criticism from users, PC makers and the press after […]
Grey Communications Group has won the ú8m Nynex account, beating competition from Chiat Day and Teamworks, the cable TV and telecoms giant’s incumbent agency.
More than half of shoppers are addicted to bargain hunting in sales, according to a new report entitled “The Promiscuous Shopper”, commissioned by loyalty specialist Air Miles. Northerners are generally more enthusiastic about shopping than their southern counterparts: for example, 51 per cent of the former agree with the statement “Shopping is fun”, compared with […]
Zenith Media has clawed back 5m of Mars brands from rival media buyers days after Maurice Saatchi was ousted from Zenith parent Saatchi & Saatchi plc. The realignment is a signal that Mars’s year-long disagreement with Zenith over its winning of the 5m Terry’s Suchard business is now over. However, the decision appears to have […]
The Saatchi brothers are, or were, the nearest thing advertising had to a royal family. Their indisputable achievements were surrounded by an aura of mystique and prestige, knowingly and assiduously cultivated by themselves. Like Bagehot’s celebrated dictum on royalty, they determined never to let daylight in on the magic for fear of dissolving it. And […]
In the premier league of consumer goods, a promotion battle is fought out every day as special offers flood the shelves. And the results are good: this summer, items under promotion accounted for 20 per cent of the value of the average British
Black & Decker is to introduce a new umbrella brand identity, to coincide with the launch later this month of a new range of DIY power tools.
The Telegraph has been making claims about The Times which might be expected from a rattled competitor but which are at best selective (MW December 1) The Telegraph has been the leader in the daily broadsheet market for many decades since it cut its cover price to below The Times, in fact. But brand leadership […]
Metrobus, the bus contractor which evolved from Primesight two years ago, has thrown the already turbulent bus advertising market into further turmoil by capturing a large slice of British Transport Advertising’s portfolio. Metrobus has won the 4,000 strong Badgerline Group contract, which accounts for about 25 per cent of BTA’s business. However, industry observers have […]
Sainsbury’s has slashed the number of products in its price-fighting Essential for the Essentials campaign and relaunched the strategy under the title “Low Price Essentials”. The chain has cut nearly 200 lines from the campaign, and now only 120 are covered. The in-store marketing of the strategy has been “de-emphasised” and in-store merchandising has been […]
UK Living, the cable and satellite channel for women, has acquired the Liverpool soap opera Brookside. The exclusive deal enables the broadcaster to show the soap three nights a week starting with the first episode broadcast 12 years ago. Brookside will go out twice a day at 6.30pm and 11pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, […]
Allow me, as managing director of British Transport Advertising, to allay any confusion following the recent “musical chairs” in the bus advertising contracts business and the misleading information that has been circulating (MW December 9). Changes are on the way – but because of contract terms, in many cases not for one or two years […]
JWT Manchester is understood to have won the 20-way account pitch for the healthfood retail chain Holland & Barrett. According to sources the account does not represent a huge win in terms of budget for JWT but the pitch has already attracted headlines. A series of agencies are reported to have been angered by Holland […]