UBS, one of Europe’s largest banks, has appointed Bartle Bogle
Hegarty to its pounds 30 million pan-European business after a four-way
pitch against Leo Burnett, D’Arcy and BMP DDB. - Marketing
Flextech, the pay television company, has lodged a bid to buy an 18 per
cent stake in Channel 5 from the investment bank, Warburg Pincus. The
deal will clarify the value of Channel 5 and make paper
multi-millionaires of its five top executives, David Elstein, Nick
Milligan, Jim Hytner, Dawn Airey and Damien Harte. - The Guardian
Chris Smith, the culture secretary, has proposed a generic advertising
campaign for the television industry, having chastised it for
’bamboozling’ the public over the variety of digital services on offer.
The TV companies were accused of promoting their own brand names over
the benefits of digital TV as a whole. - Financial Times
The simultaneous launch of Associated Newspapers’ Metro and a Guardian
Media Group title of the same name has provoked a newspaper war in
Manchester. The GMG’s Manchester Evening News has accused the Associated
title of knowing nothing about the city. - Financial Times
Zenith Media is launching an interactive division, Zenith Interactive
Solutions, and has brought in Amazon’s former marketing director, Chris
Ketley, to run it. - Marketing
Stephen Byers, the trade and industry secretary, has referred two of
Britain’s biggest recent media deals to the Competition Commission.
Vivendi’s proposal to increase its holding in BSkyB and NTL’s pounds 8.2
billion acquisition of Cable & Wireless will both come under scrutiny. -
The Times
Harry, Safeway’s original talking toddler, has been taken out of
retirement to appear in a new spot breaking this week. Harry will go to
a party and be reunited with his sweetheart, Molly. - The Sun
Face Communications and Vanten, the Tokyo-based marketing and internet
planning companies, have unveiled Japan’s first internet ad agency.
FlyingColor Interactive will provide new-media services as well as print
and television ads. - Financial Times
Trader.com, one of the world’s largest classified advertising groups, is
planning a flotation on the Nasdaq and Paris stock exchanges. As part of
the move, it is likely to enter the UK market. The Guardian
MediaCom TMB Outdoor has centralised its pounds 25 million poster buying
account into Posterscope. It previously used Posterscope and PPL. -
Marketing
Ben Andradi is to succeed John Swingewood, the head of BT’s internet and
multimedia division, who left last month. Andradi was formerly the
vice-president of communications sector services at IBM Global Services.
- Financial Times
Vodafone AirTouch has approached Tony Blair for support ahead of making
a revised bid for Mannesmann, the German industrial and telecoms group.
German corporate law is stacked against hostile bids, but Vodafone
intends to go ahead with an unsolicited offer if, as expected, the
Mannesmann board rebuffs its pounds 70 billion offer. - The Guardian.
