By Stuart Smith on April 15, 2012
For those who – like me – have been following the buyout shenanigans at Chime with some bemusement, the following item from Bob Willott’s Marketing Services Financial Intelligence will be of more than passing interest: Chime Communications confirmed yesterday evening [Friday last] that long-term shareholder WPP has continued its recent buying of shares so that [...]
Posted in Agencies, Finance, News, PR | Tagged Bell Pottinger, Bob Willott, buy-out plan, chime comminications, increased shareholding, Lord Bell, marketing services financial intelligence, Piers Pottinger, Sir Martin Sorrell, Stuart Smith, WPP
By Stephen Foster on April 12, 2012
Heineken-owned John Smith’s is a running a campaign by Aesop, supposedly advising racegoers not to get drunk and disorderly at this weekend’s Grand National race meeting at Aintree in Liverpool, which it sponsors. But it all looks a bit half-hearted given that this TV ad, also by Aesop, is also running; indicating the delights of [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News, PR | Tagged aesop, anti-boozing campaign, bookies, grand national, horse racing, john smith's, john smith's heineken, tic tac, tv ad
By Staff on April 12, 2012
Downing Street must be paved with gold – or so it must seem to Tim Allen (pictured), boss of London PR firm Portland, who has just sold a majority stake in his company to Omnicom. The deal values Portland at up to £20m. Allen is a former PR adviser to Tony Blair in Number 10 [...]
Posted in Clients, Media, News, Politics, PR | Tagged 10 downing street, Alastair Campbell, bskyb, google, omnicom, politics, PR, Rachel Whetstone, Steve Hilton, Tesco, the red brick road, Tim Allan, Tony Blair
By Stephen Foster on April 4, 2012
Just about everybody in the UK hates the big energy companies, especially foreign-owned ones like France’s EDF who are suspected, rightly or wrongly, of ripping off UK customers while others get the sweetheart deals. The solution? Send for AMV/BBDO and some winsome animation, a rousing tune from the 1980s and a rather mystifying ‘blue+’ price [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News, PR | Tagged amv/bbdo, animation, brand mascot, charm offensive, edf energy, fluff, france, Keepon, sweetheart deals
By Stephen Foster on April 4, 2012
The ad by the M.A.R.K.A agency in Turkey for Biomen shampoo that featured Adolf Hitler (it’s been withdrawn now but you can see it here) has stirred up a right old hornet’s nest in Turkey and further afield. Now Turkish agency Farkyeri is running its own print campaign in response. Here’s what the agency says: [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News, Politics, PR | Tagged Adolf Hitler, biomen shampoo ad, Charlie Chaplin, farkyeri, m.a.r.k.a, print campaign, turkish agencies
By Stephen Foster on April 3, 2012
Agency creatives put their foot in in it now and then in their desire to be noticed but Turkish agency M.A.R.K.A unwisely donned jackboots for this campaign for Biomen shampoo, featuring one Adolf Hitler. The ad also features the somewhat contentious line: “If you’re not wearing women’s clothes, you shouldn’t be using women’s shampoo.” Right [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News, Politics, PR | Tagged Adolf Hitler, biomen shampoo, ethnic cleansing, founder of modern turkey, Hulusi Derici, jewish groups, m.a.r.k.a, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turkish ad
By Stuart Smith on April 2, 2012
Cabinet Office minister Francis ‘jerry can’ Maude’s legendary communications skills were on full display last week, with a gaffe that caused the Government its worst wobble since the election. Let’s hope this is not an omen. Maude (pictured) is, among other responsibilities, the minister in charge of direct government communications. Meaning: he has been the [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Media, News, Politics, PR | Tagged audir commission, change4life, coi, daily mail, drink drive, Francis Maude, gcc, government communications centre, Jenny Grey, nhs, son of coi, uk government, Wendy Proctor
By Staff on March 30, 2012
WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell isn’t a fan of Lord Bell (pictured) and Piers Pottinger’s plan to buy out the Bell Pottinger PR business from Chime Communications, the PR-based marcoms business Bell chairs. Sorrell has described the plan thus: “It isn’t logical and if you start to dismember the management of it, where does that end?” [...]
Posted in Agencies, Finance, News, PR | Tagged advertising, Bell Pottinger, chime communications, increased share stake, Lord Bell, Piers Pottinger, PR, Sir Martin Sorrell, sports marketing companies, us government accounts, vccp, WPP
By Stuart Smith on March 26, 2012
The marketing and media trade publications are still full of it. Kony 2012: the marketing angle. Apparently, the 30-minute video viral, which has now attracted over 85 million viewers on YouTube, is replete with key ‘learnings’ for anyone working in the marcoms biz. Just what these lessons are eludes me. To be sure, the exposé [...]
Posted in Clients, Creative, Media, News, Politics, PR | Tagged africa, ambush marketing, Andy Warhol, breakdown, dog, fenton/benton, invisible children, Jason Russell, Joseph Kony, kony 2012, megan leavey, prime minister, sergeant rex, serial murderer, uganda, youtube video
By Stephen Foster on March 25, 2012
Rupert Murdoch was the first non-MP into No 10 Downing Street after David Cameron became coalition PM in 2010 (by the back door, obviously). For a while it looked as though everything was going swimmingly: former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was Cameron’s press secretary and always helpful culture secretary Jeremy Hunt waved [...]
Posted in Finance, Media, News, Politics, PR | Tagged cash for access, David Cameron, Peter Cruddas, phone hacking, Rupert Murdoch
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