Ferrero, the Italian chocolate company, has called off its search
for an agency following a discussion between Michele Ferrero, its
president and owner, and Unilever about a possible takeover. The
confectionery giant, whose pan-European account is worth pounds 200
million, owns brands including Ferrero Rocher, Kinder and Tic Tac. -
Marketing
Tony Vickers, BSkyB’s sales and marketing director, is leaving the
company as has long been expected. It is not known whether Vickers has a
job to go to or if his departure marks his retirement. Peter Shea now
has full responsibility for advertising sales. - General release
The Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone, has joined forces with the
Hollywood star, Sylvester Stallone, to stage the first US-based Grand
Prix in almost a decade. It is intended that shots of the race, which
will take place in Las Vegas in 1999, and practice sessions will be
included in a forthcoming Stallone film based on F1 racing. - Marketing
Week
Pizza Hut has offered the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, more
than pounds 2 million to become the face of its next advertising
campaign. The campaign, which would feature Gorbachev and his wife,
Raisa, at the Kremlin in Moscow, would poke fun at the unusual birthmark
Gorbachev has on his head. - News of the World
C&A has appointed its first UK board marketing director as it bids to
reposition itself as a more upmarket, youth-orientated brand. Norrie
Fairbairn, the head of regional marketing, takes on the role of director
of marketing and will be responsible for developing a range of clothes
to appeal to fashion-conscious consumers. - Marketing
The Halifax has appointed a general manager for marketing to forge a new
identity for the bank following its flotation in June. Philip Hanson,
European managing director of Tricon Restaurants, will take control of
the Halifax’s pounds 60 million advertising and direct marketing budget.
- Marketing
Tony O’Reilly, the chief executive of Heinz, is stepping down after
nearly 20 years. He will stay on as the US company’s non-executive
chairman for three years but has hinted he is stepping aside to focus on
his newspaper interests, which include a 43 per cent stake in the
Independent. - The Sun
GEC-Marconi, the defence giant, is talking to marketing and
communications agencies in a bid to change its image. The company, which
has previously only advertised in defence and technology titles, is
understood to be looking to spend up to pounds 12 million. Its parent
company, GEC, appointed the former Tory defence minister, Sir Geoffrey
Pattie, as its first marketing director earlier this year. - Marketing
Week
Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper has launched its first work for Cadbury’s Milk
Tray since it axed the ’man in black’ campaign. The ad, which features a
couple, is shot through the eyes of an animal, whose identity is
revealed when the man switches on the light and says: ’Hello tiger.’ -
General release
Jeff Cowell, the Quaker Oats UK commercial director for cereals with
marketing responsibility for brands including Sugar Puffs, is leaving
the company at the end of the year. Cowell’s role will be assumed by
Mark Potgieter, who is currently responsible for branding and new
product development. - Marketing Week
Seagram’s president of global marketing, James Espey, is leaving the
organisation after a full-scale review of its marketing structure.
Espey, who joined Seagram in 1992 as president of the Chivas and
Glenlivet group, will continue in a non-operational role as the chairman
of Seagram plc. - Marketing Week.
