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Our favourite ad this week: 

It's not advertising as such, but it's probably done more for sales of Perfetti Van Melle's Mentos sweets that two years of paid-for advertising. Cyberspace has been abuzz for the last week or so with reports of the extraordinary effect created by dropping Mentos, the chewy mint sweets made by Perfetti Van Melle,  into a bottle of Diet Coke or Pepsi. The chemical reaction between the Mento and the compressed carbon dioxide in the soda creates an astonishing geyser of soft drink that can reach heights of 10 feet or more. The free publicity, especially for Mentos, has been extraordinary, and video sharing sites such as YouTube have been inundated with home movies capturing the spectacle. The most impressive contributions can be found on amateur science site Eepybird.com which demonstrates an attempt to replicate the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas with multiple Mento/Coke combinations. (The Pepsi Girl: Super Burp film at YouTube reveals the alarming consequences of trying the same trick inside the human body. Watch it if you dare!)

Recently Revised Profiles and Snapshots

In the news this week: Advertisers

H&M secured the services of Madonna this week in a crafty mutual marketing pact. The music icon, currently midway through a world tour, will also star in the clothing retailer's Autumn 2006 marketing campaign. In return, H&M has supplied an entire off-stage wardrobe for Madge and her band, dancers and road crew.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the merger of the three bodies responsible for the city's trade and tourism marketing, which includes the celebrated "I Love NY" campaign. Previously marketing has been split between three separate companies, NYC & Co, NY Marketing and NY Big Events. These will now be combined as one, and George Fertitta, former head of ad agency Margeotes Fertitta, was appointed as CEO of the as-yet-unnamed new company.

French insurance giant AXA agreed to acquire Winterthur, the insurance division of Credit Suisse Group, for almost $10bn. EMAP was close to agreeing the sale of its French magazine division to Italian rival Arnoldo Mondadori. AOL appeared to be moving ahead with the sale of its ISP operations in Europe. Neuf Cegetel was rumoured as the likely buyer of its French unit; Sky of its UK operations. Namco-Bandai, the Japanese toymaker best-known for electronic gadgets and games, is to acquire German dollmaker Zapf Creation.

In the news this week: Agencies

Omnicom, which has until now had a comparatively low profile in the rapidly expanding Chinese market, secured an important new alliance with state-owned commercial development group China International Trust & Investment Corp, which has investments in a wide variety of sectors including telecoms, marketing, tourism and real estate. CITIC's Beijing Guoan Advertising subsidiary has been the local partner in China for Grey Worldwide since the 1990s. However that relationship has now been terminated, and instead Beijing Guoan will merge with the existing Chinese outpost of DDB Worldwide, to create joint venture DDB Guoan Communications. According to the Financial Times, CITC's decision to drop Grey stems from an alleged snub by WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell. Beijing Guoan's president Yan Gang met with Sorrell earlier this year to discuss management problems at the Grey-Guoan venture. "I have met a lot of people," Yan told the FT, "but never met anyone as rude as [Sir Martin Sorrell]. I went to London to tell him about the problems and he dealt with me very rudely in the discussion. Because of this kind of attitude, we have been forced to cease co-operation with him. We have instead looked for a more understanding partner with whom to develop the Chinese market." AdAge China put a different gloss on the rift, quoting WPP's Asia Pacific chief Mike Amour as being surprised but "relieved" by the break. "As with many joint ventures," he said, "Guoan has been a relatively silent partner, so there will be little change in our day-to-day business."

A majority of Aegis shareholders this week voted against Vincent Bolloré's proposal to secure two seats on the company's board. Around 58% of the total vote went against the French raider, and Aegis claimed that an overwhelming 94% of votes not already controlled by Bolloré opposed his motion. Undaunted by the defeat, he has vowed to continue his battle for representation, describing this skirmish as a "first date" in what would be a "long love affair" with Aegis. He will now launch a campaign to win over institutional shareholders. 

Accounts Changing Hands: BBDO secured a toehold in the global Mercedes account, with a brief to launch the new C-class model. InBev announced a review of the global Beck's account, held by Leo Burnett. US financial services company MassMutual appointed Mullen to its creative and media account. Gap handed US media planning to Carat. LG Electronics reappointed Y&R's Brand Buzz to its North American creative account. Six Flags theme parks appointed Zimmerman to its US creative. Heinz called a review of its UK creative business, split between Leo Burnett London, WCRS and Beattie McGuinness Bungay.  

Regards


Simon Tesler
Publisher, Adbrands

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