STOP PRESS

Sopexa, the international marketing consultancy for the French Food &

Drink Industry has shortlisted K Advertising, Young & Rubicam, Ammirati

Puris Lintas and D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles for the Le Crunch UK and

Irish account on behalf of the French Apple Commission.

Anheuser Busch is launching Michelob Golden Draft in Scotland from

September 1 with a pounds 500,000 campaign.

Gruner & Jahr’s group advertising director Vicky Scott is leaving to

become commercial director of Emap Elan. She will work across 13 titles,

including Elle, New Woman, and It’s Bliss. Scott takes up her new post

at the end of October. No replacement has been found at G&J.

Somerfield kicks off a month-long TV ad campaign next week to promote

the launch of its loyalty card scheme. The card will allow shoppers to

collect points in-store and get discounts on Argos goods.

Punch relaunches next week with a pounds 2.5m marketing campaign through

Leagas Delaney.

Limbo board director Mike Dodds is leaving, after six years, to join the

board of Ogilvy & Mather Direct.

Alan Shearer, Newcastle’s new pounds 15m striker, has registered his

name as a trade mark at the UK Patent Office.

Diner’s Club has handed European marketing responsibility to Debbie

Green, director of marketing and establishment sales, as a temporary

replacement for Andrew Wilson.

Trebor Bassett has appointed Geoff Howe & Associates to produce

promotional work across all its sweet brands.

Unigate has been given the official go-ahead by the Office of Fair

Trading to buy Kraft Jacob Suchard’s Vitalite and Golden Churn margarine

and spreads brands.

McVitie’s has linked up with Whitbread to launch Hob-nobs Original ale,

celebrating the tenth anniversary of the biscuit. The beer will be

available for six weeks at selected pubs.

Safeway this week begins a month’s trial of the first unassisted

cashless checkout, called Auto Pay Point. Users place their loyalty

cards into the pay point, producing an itemised till slip, and payment

is made via the customer’s credit or debit card.

First Direct is launching the next phase of its pounds 10m ‘Tell me one

good thing about your bank’ campaign this week, with an ad showing

consumers struggling to answer the question. The ad, through WCRS, will

run in cinemas, along with a national poster campaign.

Granada Media Group has created two new marketing director posts: one

for Granada International Productions and one for Granada UK

Broadcasting.

This article was first published on Marketing