REVIEW: Marketing and advertising news in the week’s press ..

Bacardi-Martini SAS, the drinks giant’s French division, is

challenging France’s Loi Evin, which prohibits TV advertising of most

alcohol and tobacco products. The company has issued a High Court writ

against Newcastle United Football Club and Dorna Marketing after the

Premiership club failed to honour a contract to run perimeter ads for

the Bacardi brand, Pastis Duval, during a match in December 1996.

Newcastle United says that, as the match was to be televised and shown

in France, running ads would be prohibited under the Loi Evin. -

Marketing Week

Full Circle Clothing, a sister brand to Firetrap, has launched a

controversial campaign for its menswear label through Beeching Dowell

Stubbs, featuring women tied up with clothes. The press ads carry the

strapline ’slightly twisted’ and will run in men’s press in Europe. -

General release

Prudential has appointed Roger Flynn, British Airways’ general manager

of world sales and distribution and a former right-hand man to Richard

Branson, to head its marketing department. Flynn will be responsible for

marketing, sales force effectiveness and development of alternative

distribution channels at Prudential Retail. - Marketing

The cosmetics company, Avon, has centralised its pounds 39 million

advertising and media business globally into the MacManus Group - giving

DMB&B the pounds 2 million UK account. - CampaignLive

The supermarket giant, Asda, is understood to be in talks with cable TV

companies, thought to include Flextech and Cable & Wireless, about

launching its own home-shopping channel. The Asda service is likely to

concentrate on selling a range of Asda products, including its George

fashion range and household goods. It is unlikely that it will sell

food. - Sunday Times

The former Sony UK managing director, David Pearson, has joined the

sports and clothing group, Pentland, as managing director for

international brands. The company, whose brands include Speedo, Ellesse

and Kickers, is trying to build a stronger global presence. - Marketing

Week

London Transport is to allow advertisers to sponsor its famous London

Underground roundel, the red circle and blue bar station logo, for the

first time. The trademark, which has been regarded as sacrosanct, will

carry a sponsor’s name on the white background, either very close to the

roundel, next to it or even inside it. The sponsorship is part of a

bigger pounds 10 million deal to allow a single company to sponsor North

Greenwich tube station, the one closest to the site of the Millennium

Dome. - Marketing Week

Emap Active, the magazine publisher’s newly formed special interest

division, has appointed Andrew Gillespie as group marketing director to

oversee the new group’s 58 titles and 70 marketing staff. - Marketing

Week

Dez Timmiss has been appointed marketing director of Cereal Partners UK

and Ireland, taking over from Linda Hipkiss-Mills (pictured), who has

been promoted to vice-president, marketing, at the company’s European

headquarters in Switzerland. Timmiss was previously responsible for the

company’s children’s brands. - General release

The European Union has ruled that consumers will be able to buy digital

television set-top boxes subsidised by British Sky Broadcasting without

having to sign up to its 200-channel service. British Interactive

Broadcasting will be allowed to provide the subsidy on the condition

that it does not discriminate among competing digital television

services. - Financial Times

Channel 5 achieved record viewing figures for the week ending 2 August

with a 5.8 per cent audience share, according to BARB. Across peak-time

on the Sunday, its audience share, 8.3 per cent, beat both Channel 4’s

7.3 per cent and BBC 2’s 6.4 per cent. It took a 5.3 per cent audience

share on Monday before rising to 7.7 per cent on Saturday. - General

release.

This article was first published on Campaign