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Young & Rubicam sold roughly 25 per cent of its shares, raising an

estimated dollars 466 million, on the first day of its flotation on the

New York Stock Exchange this week. Shares were trading at dollars 28

each, well above Y&R’s estimate of dollars 21 to dollars 24 per share.

Y&R plans to use part of the proceeds to repay some of the dollars 331

million loan it took out for a 1996 recapitalisation.

Editor’s Comment, p55.

Vision Express has awarded its pounds 8 million media planning and

buying account to Saatchi & Saatchi after Universal McCann resigned the

business. It is understood Universal and Vision Express decided to part

company because of a potential clash with the media specialist’s

Vistakon account.

The Cancer Research Campaign has appointed FCB to handle its

communications account after a four-way pitch against Abbott Mead

Vickers BBDO, Creative Marketing Solutions and Matthew Poppy. FCB will

handle all communications and database activities while Creative

Marketing Solutions will look after fund-raising. Last year, Cancer

Research spent just over pounds 500,000 on advertising, according to AC

Nielsen MEAL.

Lowe Howard-Spink and the incumbent, CDP, are making final presentations

to the board of Courts this Friday. A final decision is

expected on the pounds 11 million account next week, according to

Courts’ marketing director, Chris Coote.

The BT-owned Talking Pages is understood to have whittled the shortlist

for its pounds 3 million advertising account down to two agencies. Work

from Partners BDDH and Court Burkitt & Company is reported to be in

research, with results expected next week.

Pentax has shortlisted the Square, Court Burkitt & Company, BH McCann,

Publicis and the incumbent, Saatchi & Saatchi, for its pounds 900,000

account.

The brief is thought to include above-the-line, below-the-line and

business-to-business work.

M&C Saatchi unveiled its plans for Bethlehem 2000 at an event organised

by the EC and attended by Yasser Arafat this week. The theme of the

dollars 400 million initiative to attract visitors to the Holy Land

during the anniversary of Christ’s birth will be: ’Bethlehem, star of

the Millennium.’ International advertising will break later this

year.

The Campbell Soup Company has shortlisted Zenith Media, Young & Rubicam

and Carat to contest its pan-European media account. The agencies will

pitch next month for the business, which is worth pounds 9 million in

the UK, where Zenith is the incumbent.

Spirit, Michael Dobbs’ new agency, has picked up the advertising account

for the computer services group, Omni Solutions - its first win since

launching last month. Omni, the UK’s fastest-growing computer services

group, has not used advertising before. Budgets have not yet been

finalised.

The Saatchi & Saatchi network is moving into the fast-growing area of

co-marketing with the purchase of GMG Marketing Services in the US.

Rebranded as Saatchi & Saatchi Co-Marketing Services, the unit will

specialise in setting up strategic alliances between manufacturers and

retailers.

Manning Gottlieb Media has booked a campaign for Nissan Europe to

coincide with the Le Mans racing season, on behalf of Nissan Europe’s ad

agency, TBWA-Neth Work in Amsterdam. Nissan GB’s media planning and

buying is handled by TMD Carat.

The Just Juice Company is preparing to advertise again after a six-year

absence and has appointed Wrightson Dale to spearhead the pounds 1

million television campaign. The fresh fruit juice manufacturer

appointed Wrightson Dale without a pitch on the strength of its work for

RHM Foods’ Nimble and Granary brands. RHM is Just Juice’s parent

company.

A fashion lifestyle magazine called Untold will launch at the end of

next week. The bi-monthly title, aimed at black men, is backed and

distributed by Time Out and aims to have a settledown circulation of

around 65,000.

This article was first published on Campaign