Advertising Age back issues from December 1997:
Chrysler eyes $200 mil cut in ads.
Dec 08, 1997; ... Cost-cutters aim ax at marketing; TV executives fear domino effect Chrysler Corp. is eyeing a cut in its 1998 national ad spending of as much as $200 million. The possible trim of Chrysler's more than $1.1 billion U.S. media expenditure is a continuation of the ...
Publicis ready to detail structure of True North deal.(acquisition)
Dec 08, 1997; ... French shop's move may put FCB owner in play As the battle between Publicis SA and True North Communications reaches fever pitch, the French company is expected to file additional details with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission by Dec. 10 on its proposal to acquire True ...
Maybelline boosts budget 20%, sets direct push.(US ad spending)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Maybelline will boost U.S. ad spending by more than 20%--to $85 million--in 1998 as it also rolls out an ambitious direct-marketing program. The efforts come as Maybelline, the No. 3 brand in the $2.6 billion mass-market cosmetics category, sets a goal of $1 billion in global ...
Y&R reshuffling puts Vick in charge of all its units.(Young and Rubicam, Edward Vick)
Dec 08, 1997; ... New position places exec in spot to succeed CEO Georgescu, more shifts seen Young & Rubicam continues to reshuffle its executive ranks, tapping Edward Vick as chief operating officer to oversee all Y&R operating units. The move signals the beginning of a succession ...
Survey shows TV :20s being weighed by marketers.(television commercials)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Looking into feasibility of atypical ad unit; net execs note unhappiness A new survey shows that 20-second TV commercials are being considered for use by marketers unhappy with the time constraints of :15s and the cost of :30s. But TV network executives are uncertain ...
Goldberg Moser wins $10 million Cyrix ad account.
Dec 08, 1997; ... San Francisco shop in line to grab National Semiconductor Cyrix Corp. moved its $10 million-plus global ad business to Goldberg Moser O'Neill, and the San Francisco agency could be in position to win the account of Cyrix's new owner, National Semiconductor Corp., as well. ...
Drug trade group readies new campaign.(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's new ad campaign)
Dec 08, 1997; ... $16 million budget moves to more TV, radio ads Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America last week approved a new ad campaign in its continuing effort to improve the industry's image. While the group's $16 million annual media budget will remain the same, ...
Unilever pay revamp tackles new-product work.
Dec 08, 1997; ... Developmental expenses covered; incentive bonuses to be increased Unilever, when it adopts a new agency compensation policy effective Jan. 1, is expected to offer increased incentives for developmental work and for superior performance, rather than changing base levels of pay. ...
Ford wants sole ad role on 'Murphy Brown' finale.(Ford Motor Co.)
Dec 08, 1997; ... CBS may seek more than $3 mil to sponsor hourlong last episode Ford Motor Co. is negotiating with CBS to be the sole sponsor of the final episode of "Murphy Brown." "Murphy Brown" star Candice Bergen has been adamant that this will be the last season for the ...
McKenzies enlisted to help Molson Ice.(Bob and Doug McKenzie characters)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Miller extends Canadian duds work to ads for struggling beer; boosts $$ Miller Brewing Co. is hoping two pitchmen from the Great White North can lift sales of sagging Canadian beer import Molson Ice. The brewer in 1998 plans to support the once-hot brand with ads ...
Johnson scores in new-product derby for 1997.(S.C. Johnson and Son)
Dec 08, 1997; ... S.C. Johnson & Son has scored two of the hottest new products of 1997, according to an annual ranking by researcher AcuPOLL Precision Research. Johnson's Windex Outdoor, a window cleaner that attaches to a garden hose, and Shout Wipes stain treater towelettes, used to keep ...
P&G will try new methods for Dryel. (Procter and Gamble)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Procter & Gamble Co. will be testing new ways of marketing household products when it launches Dryel home dry-cleaning alternative in Columbus, Ohio, in February (AA, Nov. 24). With Dryel, the marketer known for massive TV support will employ such tactics as using the ...
Designer furnishings trend boosts mag pages.(fashion designers with home furnishings product lines increase magazine advertising)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Hilfiger, Nautica and Prada join strategy pioneered by Lauren A growing number of fashion designers are moving into home furnishings, a strategy that could boost ad page counts for fashion and beauty magazines with affluent readerships. Among the bevy of designers ...
Asian economic turmoil douses torrid ad growth.
Dec 08, 1997; ... Era of 20%-plus hikes fades for injured `tigers'[TOKYO] The one-two punch of the Asian currency crisis, followed by the collapse of Japan's Yamaichi Securities Co., is shattering hopes of maintaining the region's torrid growth in ad spending. Opinion is divided over ...
Direct mail, 'clubs' grow in baby-product marketing.
Dec 08, 1997; ... The birth rate may be sliding, but the baby market is booming. Some of the nation's fastest-growing retail chains have launched baby clubs in the past year, wooing new parents with gifts and coupons in an effort to win their loyalty. And marketers--of products from baby food and diapers ...
What can we be sure of today? Certainly not Westinghouse. (Westinghouse acquired by CBS and no longer exists)(Column)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Suddenly, life doesn't seem quite so certain anymore. There have always been bedrock institutions I could count on. "When it rains, it pours" from Morton Salt; "When you care enough to send the very best" from Hallmark Cards; "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't" from ...
Strategies for marketing toward the millenium.
Dec 08, 1997; ... The consumer marketplace is undergoing an unprecedented redefinition, making it much more difficult to chart a true course toward the millennium. As a colleague put it, "The future just isn't what it used to be." The ways consumers perceive products, define product choices and ...
'Anastasia' licensing lifts Ross to exec VP at Fox. (Steve Ross; Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising)
Dec 08, 1997; ... First animated feature scores at box office and with tie-in marketers With twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. off to a solid start in the animated film business with "Anastasia," the studio's licensing and merchandising division promoted the key executive responsible for its ...
Online services protest Dow plan to impose fees: financial sites are ticked off about paying for once-free ticker. (Dow Jones & Co. to charge for use of Dow Jones Industrial Average indicator)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Financial sites are ticked off about paying for once-free ticker Dow Jones & Co.'s plan to begin charging online providers for the use of its industrial average has caused a backlash in the financial community. Dow Jones faces resistance from financial service providers as wall ...
Internet World isn't just for tech crowd anymore. (advertising, marketing firms to participate in Fall Internet World trade show)
Dec 08, 1997; ... First Virtual, Submit It!, others roll out ad services As internet marketing becomes a solid business, advertising and marketing companies will jockey for position at this week's Fall Internet World in New York, expanding the scope of this traditionally technology focused trade ...
Levi Strauss aims for young males with I-Candy games. (Internet icons that allow users to play games)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Levi strauss & Co., in a major push to reach teens through online music venues, next month launches advanced forms of a Web banner alternative called I-Candy. The icons, which will run on 25 to 30 music sites, are intended only to give visitors an interactive experience of the ...
A & S readership data under review: early results show methodology yields average comparable to rivals. (Audits & Surveys Worldwide)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Early results show methodology yields average comparable to rivals Audits & Surveys Worldwide has completed its first total-audience syndicated magazine survey and results include an average of 5.3 readers per copy, lower than some observers anticipated. But it will ...
Cable TV: marketer of the year: A&E. (includes related article other distinguished cable networks)(Ad Age Special Report)
Dec 08, 1997; ... LATE IN JULY, on a shaved-ice New York night, the Upper West Side was greeted by an old landmark made new. Until that day, any time anyone in the area wanted to know the, time or weather, they just looked toward midtown and found the information on the big Hitachi sign located on ...
Industry pushes spot cable buys. (spot cable television advertising)(Ad Age Special Report)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Advertisers' spending increases, but executives still not satisfied Spot cable was up this year, in significant part because of such advances as digital insertion technology. National spot cable spending increased 24% in the first six months of 1997, with ...
Cable operators spark new image with high-tech link. (cable television)(Ad Age Special Report)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Industry innovations force slick marketing efforts Not long ago, cable operators were lagging in their efforts to build brand identities through solid marketing strategies. That's changing, however. Now that innovations in fiberoptic technology are transforming the ...
Tracey Hinchliffe: Teletubbies. (London)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Every day a growing number of young children greet each other with "eh-oh" and "big hug." These are the stock phrases of Po, Laa-Laa, Dipsy and Tinky Winky, the characters in the "Teletubbies" TV show that has taken the U.K. by storm and is on the export fast track. The initial ...
Jose La Cruz: Godex. (Caracas, Venezuela)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... The stack of orders for disposable medical garments and accessories that sit in front of Jose "Cheo" La Cruz represent the culmination of a dream. Ten years ago, Mr. La Cruz and his sister Carmen imported Baxter disposables for a growing market where Kendall, the only ...
Marketers look to cable for direct-response ads. (cable television)(Ad Age Special Report)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Medium reports infomercial revenues up over last year Revenues for the cable industry from direct-response advertising have climbed about 17% over 1996 and now are more than $300 million, according to Joe Ostrow, president-CEO of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau. ...
Christine Magee: Sleep Country. (Vancouver, British Columbia)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Bedding is no longer a sleepy side business in Canadian department stores, thanks to Christine Magee and Sleep Country. Last year, thc aggressive strategy of Sleep Country's president led the three-year-old chain to more than double in size. Also in 1996, the stores sold more ...
Fabio Hering: Hering Textil. (Sao Paulo)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Brazil's Hering has achieved a status similar to The Gap in the U.S., leveraging basic items such as a plain white T-shirt into strong brands that are worn by everyone, rich or poor. "It's not enough to be just the most remembered brand," said Fabio Hering, 38, president of ...
David Tang: Shanghai Tang. (Hong Kong)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Entrepreneur David Tang, owner of Hong Kong's wildly popular retro-Chinese department store Shanghai Tang, does everything with a bang. In November, he orchestrated no fewer than three days of a gala opening for his first store abroad--on New York's swank Madison Avenue. "I've ...
Jamie Macdonald: EuroTel. (Prague, Czech Republic)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... EuroTel has gone from the Czech Republic's mobile phone company of necessity to the population's provider of choice, and much of the credit for the turn-around goes to Executive Director of Sales and Marketing Jamie Macdonald, who has made reliability, quality and growing coverage the ...
Simon Williams: Co-operative Bank. (Manchester, England)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Unlike some secretive bank managers, Simon Williams, head of marketing for the U.K.'s Co-operative Bank, puts business ethics in the spotlight when wooing new customers. Taking an ethical stance could be seen as a natural fit for a 125-year-old bank founded on the values of ...
Maurizio Marchiori: Diesel. (Molvena, Italy)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... The whimsical, irreverent advertising overseen by Advertising Director Maurizio Marchiori has transformed Diesel, once an obscure Italian jeans marketer, into an emerging global clothing brand with a striking image. Even as Diesel was winning the Grand Prix at the International ...
Aki Maita: Tamagotchi. (Tokyo)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Aki Maita knows the secret behind the Tamagotchi toy sensation: kuchikomi. The word refers to the lightning-fast network of word-of-mouth advertising that connects teen-age girls in Japan. For Ms. Maita, who created Tamagotchi for Bandai Co. Ltd., the young opinion-formers have ...
Brian Cape: Samsung Electronics. (Johannesburg)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... While multinationals from Mars Inc. to PepsiCo Inc. have burned their fingers trying to enter South Africa against entrenched market leaders, Samsung Electronics' Brian Cape has proven that it can be done. The only non-Korean to head a Samsung foreign subsidiary, the 48-year-old ...
Ilker Keremoglu: Efes Pilsen. (Istanbul)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Although Efes Pilsen has been turning bira into lira for more than two decades, the Turkish brewer has only recently begun transforming its signature brand into a steady stream of rubles, lei and manat. Credit for the evolution goes to Ilker Keremoglu, the 49-year-old CEO of ...
Patrizio Bertelli: Prada. (Milan)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Any doubts of how hot the Prada brand is are laid to rest outside the family-owned Italian marketer's boutiques worldwide, where fashion addicts trigger traffic jams of pedestrian gawkers. What sets Prada apart from other luxury goods marketers is a look that defies conventional ...
Sanjay Khosla: Hindustan Lever's Brooke Bond A1. (Bangalore, India)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... An entrepreneurial spirit and category strategist Sanjay Khosla made Hindustan Lever's Brooke Bond A1 a standout in a market chockablock with 37 tea brands. Lever's goal when it launched A1 in early 1996 was to satisfy varying tastes of tea drinkers throughout India. The task was ...
Carlos Murilo Moreno: Fiat Palio. (Sao Paulo)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... When he came on board 18 months ago, Carlos Murilo Moreno, advertising and promotions manager of Fiat Automoveis, took on the marketing assignment for something code named Project 178. In the outside world, that mysterious moniker translated into the launch of a compact car called Palio that ...
Anssi Vanjoki: Nokia 9000 Communicator. (London)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Anssi Vanjoki, marketing chief at Finland's Nokia Mobile Phones, didn't let a Vacation--no matter how well-deserved--interrupt his international ambitions for the portable 9000 Communicator. On reading a magazine's speculation that the mobile phone-like device, which converges ...
Wolf Tilmann Schneider: SAT.1. (Berlin)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... It is easy to see why Wolf Tilmann Schneider's nickname in the German TV market is "The Merchandising Pope." As director of new business development at SAT.1, the country's fourth-largest TV channel, Mr. Schneider, 41, has catapulted the station's merchandise revenue to $390 million last ...
Arik Vardi: Mirabilis ICQ. (Tel Aviv)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... When Arik Vardi developed Internet software company's ICQ Internet communications product, one of the features he built in was an ability to market itself. That characteristic enabled Tel Aviv-based Mirabilis to have its product at work on 5 million PCs worldwide within a year of beginning ...
Jurgen Kindervater: Deutsche Telekom. (Bonn)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... By creating a brand called the T-share, Jurgen Kindervater masterminded the sale of $12.5 billion in Deutsche Telekom stock. "Telekom shares had to become a brand just like Coca-Cola. That's why we named them T-shares," said Mr. Kindervater, 52, communications director. ...
Carlos Alberto Poletini: Guarana Antarctica. (Sao Paulo)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... As the marketing director for Brazil's No. 2 soft drink after Coca-Cola, Carlos Alberto Poletini is going after the leader. Guarana Antarctica is Companhia Antarctica Paulista's entry in the lucrative guarana soft drink segment. Guarana, a small, red Amazonian fruit believed to ...
Takeshi Yoshida: Toyota Soluna. (Bangkok)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Engineers aren't known for being overly emotional, but when Toyota Motor Corp.'s Takeshi Yoshida introduced Toyota's first overseas launch of a new international model--the Soluna--in a downtown Bangkok hotel last December, he was visibly moved. "Today is one of the happiest days ...
Enrique D'Alessandro: Arcor. (Buenos Aires)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... A salty old sea captain sprung from the imagination of Enrique D'Alessandro is steering Arcor toward its goal of becoming the world's leading sweets marketer. The nautical navigator is the star of a series of animated short programs created for cable TV, called "The Stories of ...
Claude Benchetrit: Intercall. (Paris)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... On business trips to the U.S., French computer services specialist Claude Benchetrit observed the phenomenal success of prepaid telephone cards. The concept rung his bell, especially because in March 1995 he had met a like-minded entrepreneur, Alain Chatteau, a French expert in computer ...
Franco Bosisio: Superga. (Turin, Italy)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Once known exclusively for a rubber-soled sneaker developed decades ago, Superga is now a fast-growing operation that spans the seasons with sportswear, fashion-forward clothes and a winter shoe collection. Credit for the makeover goes to Franco Bosisio, 47, who joined Superga two years ago ...
Nicholas Hieronimus: L'Oreal Fructis. (Paris)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Nicolas Hieronimus' hunch to extensively pre-test L'Oreal Fructis built up the haircare line's muscle to compete against successful global rivals Pantene and Organics. "It was for us a strategic launch," said Mr. Hieronimus, 34, marketing manager for L'Oreal subsidiary ...
Juan Cano: Quo. (Madrid)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... When Hachette Filipacchi Magazines' ad sales department in Spain started begging for a new men's title to attract a different range of advertisers, Hachette VP Juan Carlo was already working on an idea. More than just a men's magazine, he wanted a publication that could easily move beyond ...
Simeon Garcia: Aserca. (Valencia, Venezuela)(Marketing Superstars)(Advertising Age International)
Dec 08, 1997; ... Aserca airlines President Simeon Garcia is off to a flying start. Initiating operations with just a trio of eight-seat Cessnas in 1991, Aserca today boasts to DC9s that move 110,000 passengers a month, or 45% of the country's domestic air traffic. That figure is nearly triple ...
Marketer of the Year: The Gap: apparel retailer remakes itself as a brand by integrating marketing into merchandise formula.(Cover Story)
Dec 15, 1997; ... The Gap: Apparel retailer remakes itself as a brand by integrating marketing into merchandise formula The Gap got a wake-up call in the mid-1990s, after other retailers had copied not only its store design but its core products. Stacks of multicolored T-shirts and sweatshirts ...
Pillsbury's $100 mil promo biz to 3 shops.
Dec 15, 1997; ... Pillsbury Co., after an exhaustive half-year review, has consolidated its promotional business-up to $100 million in spending--with three agencies. In opting for promotion agencies of record, Pillsbury is abandoning its system of working on a project basis with up to 50 shops ....
P&G media operations revamped.(Procter and Gamble)
Dec 15, 1997; ... Procter & Gamble Co. is restructuring its internal media operation as part of its ongoing plan to increase the value of its U.S. media buys by more than $50 million without boosting ad spending. An internal memo to agencies and employees from P&G VP-Media and Programming Daryl ...
Deutsch poised to gain $30 mil Hilfiger account; agency wins Super Bowl ad assignment for designer's hot fashion brand.(Tommy Hilfiger USA)
Dec 15, 1997; ... Agency wins Super Bowl ad assignment for designer's hot fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger USA has tapped Deutsch to create its first Super Bowl commercial, a move seen as a prelude to awarding its $30 million creative account to the New York agency. A Hilfiger spokeswoman ...
True North scrambles for shareholders' OK.(True North Communications wants to acquire Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon and Eckhardt)
Dec 15, 1997; ... True North Communications is scrambling to line up support from shareholders for its acquisition of Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt, even as Publicis SA refuses to wave a white flag in its hostile battle for control of True North. True North's management appears to have ...
'The New Yorker' is timely, topical, but not profitable.
Dec 15, 1997; ... Five years after the explosive arrival of Tina Brown, the magazine industry is still awaiting the big bang from The New Yorker. Despite its cachet as a media brand and the influence of arguably the industry's highest-profile editor, The New Yorker has failed to reap the full ...
Saatchi plans to study value of Rx ads on TV.(prescription drug advertising)
Dec 15, 1997; ... Agency, network to analyze what as become $80 mil-plus medium Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide is dose to a deal with an undisclosed TV network to study the effectiveness and value of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising on TV. That's a question pharmaceutical ...
Boston Market to slice marketing by $40 mil.
Dec 15, 1997; ... Turnaround effort also includes limited-time, value-price items Boston Chicken's ailing Boston Market chain is cutting some $40 million out of its overall marketing budget for 1998, part of a turnaround effort that includes trimming costs and streamlining operations. ...
EMI plans Planet Hollywood label.
Dec 15, 1997; ... Record marketer's venture part of push to `take music to consumer' EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties, the marketing unit of EMI Recorded Music, has signed a deal with Planet Hollywood to launch a new record label. The label will be called either Planet Hollywood ...
McDonald's to step up ad spending for 1998.
Dec 15, 1997; ... Local promotional windows will double as chain looks for growth As it works to regain its footing, McDonald's Corp. will boost overall ad spending in 1998 and double the number of local promotional opportunities to bring the brand closer to consumers. Brad Ball, ...
Sprewell applies some tarnish to carefully crafted NBA image.(Latrell Sprewell's punishment, National Basketball Association)
Dec 15, 1997; ... The controversy surrounding the National Basketball Association's harsh punishment of star player Latrell Sprewell isn't likely to hurt the league's value as a promotional vehicle for sponsors, but it does expose cracks in the league's carefully managed image. So said several ...
Coen: ad spending in '98 will outpace overall economy.(Robert Coen)
Dec 15, 1997; ... 6.2% rise seen in U.S. expenditures Advertising expenditures will keep ahead of economic growth, Robert Coen, senior VP-director of forecasting at McCann-Erickson Worldwide, New York, told the 25th annual PaineWebber Media Conference last week. While the ...
Intrepid ads tout computer redesign. (Dodge Intrepid)
Dec 15, 1997; ... Dodge's $60 mil campaign notes `virtual' process used in revamp Dodge Intrepid, Chrysler Corp's best-selling car and the one that started the "New Dodge" repositioning, debuts a major redesign late this month via a $60 million campaign touting the computerized, 'virtual" nature ...