Soap-to-food giant Unilever revealed that the Power manganese “accelerator” crisis of the past year will cost the company ú57m worldwide to write off the original Power formulation and stocks of its ingredient. Unilever had spent ú200m developing the Power range. Unilever chairman Sir Michael Perry says: “The lessons of the Power fiasco have been learned […]
Has anyone noticed the startling resemblance between Abbey National, the building society that converted to plc bank status in 1989 (spending £10m on marketing the fact) and the Abbey National which happily picked up an award at this month’s Building Society Marketing Awards? Are they by any chance related? TEXT:
How do you turn defence into attack? Look no further than Omnicom. It is fast becoming the world’s largest marketing services group. Is this the result of a masterplan or merely naked opportunism combined with a superabundance of cash? By Jon
Coca-Cola is building on its `All colas are not the same’ sales drive with a new campaign, which goes on air this Monday. The new commercial, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, is set in Prohibition New York and based on a true story. Shot in black and white, `Feds’ features a raid by the New […]
Pizza Hut is to centralise its international advertising and is ditching its ú2.8m (Register-MEAL) Hit the Hut campaign, developed by Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters.
The Independent Television Commission has amended its rules governing product placement, viewer competitions and promotions as part of an overhaul of its entire Programme Code. The move follows recent breaches of the undue prominence section of the code, which relates to product placement. Earlier this year, Granada TV was fined ú500,000 for promoting branded products […]
The BBC is extending its Top of the Pops brand into the glossy magazines market.
What’s in a corporate image? Most businesses don’t know, and overlook the fact that research plays a vital part in analysing a company’s identity. By Sophie McKenzie
Top TV hairdresser Andrew Collinge is launching a 1.5m TV and cinema campaign to win supermarket sales for his designer haircare range.
Will King, the marketing entrepreneur who last year took on the combined forces of Gillette and Wilkinson Sword with his shaving product Kings, the King of Shaves, has cut a breakthrough distribution deal with Tesco. King’s shaving oil will be stocked in 200 Tesco stores from April 3, in addition to the 217 Boots branches, […]
Superdrug has switched off its National Lottery machines in three top-performing stores because of disruption caused by long ticket queues. The decision could jeopardise plans to connect Lottery terminals in other Superdrug stores. The 600-strong chain says it is still reviewing plans for a roll-out of lottery terminals. Lottery operator Camelot has embarked on the […]
GWR Group chairman Henry Meakin has called for an independent review of UK commercial radio to cover legislation, ownership and technology. This alone can ensure a long-term legislatory framework which offers the industry the flexibility required to fulfil its potential, he told the Kagan Conference on World Radio this week. “The everyday use and simplicity […]
BT is understood to have redirected about ú15m of its 1995 TV spend from ITV to Channel 4, and has shifted ú10m of its ITV spend to London Weekend Television from Carlton.
AMS Advertising Group, the media planning and buying specialist, has merged with specialist recruitment company Choice Accountancy Group to form a new group, Amcom Resources plc. Amcom will comprise media planning and buying operation AMS Advertising, direct marketing media operation AMS Direct, recruitment advertising specialist AMS Recruitment and Choice Accountancy. The move was driven by […]
The anti-smoking lobby, Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) has vowed to continue its battle against the tobacco industry, despite the latest setback in its campaign to win greater health warnings on cigarette packets.