The Advertising Association has criticised hard-hitting proposals to restrict the promotion of junk food to children, claiming they would do little to combat the growing problem of obesity.The organisation’s director general, Andrew Brown, claims that plans put forward by the Food Standards Agency to curb fast food advertising and promotions would be totally ineffective in… Continue reading Advertisers Rally Against Ban On Fast Food Promotion

Hachette Filipacchi has confirmed that Durex has backed out of a sponsorship deal with its flagship teen magazine Sugar following criticism for promoting contraception to youngsters.The condom manufacturer’s logo will no longer appear on a special twelve-page editorial section in the May issue of the magazine, which is intended to educate and inform teenagers on… Continue reading Durex Backs Out Of Sugar Sponsorship Deal

International magazine publisher, Future Network, is to issue its first dividend to shareholders after reporting a strong set of financial results for the full year 2003. The group said that turnover was up by 11% to £182.7 million, whilst operating profit rose by 24% to £22.5 million. Earnings per share rose from 4.4p in 2002… Continue reading Future Sets Maiden Dividend As Revenue Rises 11%

Profits at global advertising network, Publicis Groupe, rose by 21.8% to €263 million in 2003. This follows the integration of Bcom3 (see Publicis Confirms BCom3 Merger Details) and a return to sustainable organic growth, the company said this morning. Organic growth at the network was 2.0%, within which there was a 3.7% rise during the… Continue reading Publicis Looks Strong, Whilst Interpublic Slumps

The advertising recovery is gaining momentum according to SMG, but this could not prevent the Glasgow-based media group from posting poorer than expected profits for the full year 2003. The group this morning reported pre-tax profits down by 27.7% from £24.2 million in 2002 to £17.5 million last year. Analysts had expected profits to be… Continue reading SMG’s Profits Tumble 28% As Advertising Decline Bites

The next generation of video games consoles will sell 47 million units between their expected launch in late 2005 and the end of 2010, according to a new executive briefing from Informa Media. The European Games Consoles To 2010 report predicts that Sony’s PlayStation brand will again be the winner, with the PS3 expected to… Continue reading Online Gaming Will Be Key In Next Generation Consoles

US outdoor advertising revenues rose by 5.2% for the whole of 2003, after Q4 came in at a growth of 5.7%, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA). The Association forecasts that outdoor will rise by 2% more than GDP over the coming year and early indications from OAAA member companies are that… Continue reading US Outdoor Advertising Grows 5% In 2003

MTV Networks has secured drinks brand Campari as the exclusive multi-platform sponsor of its forthcoming music series, MTV Recommends, which launches across Europe later this month.The one-year deal will include fully integrated on-air, online and on-the-ground brand presence, marking Campari’s biggest music based pan-European sponsorship agreement to date.On-air integration will compromise sponsored billboards attached to… Continue reading MTV Secures Campari For Pan-European Sponsorship

Lord Conrad Black was dealt a further blow yesterday when he was forced to step down as chairman of the Telegraph Group after almost twenty years at the newspaper company’s helm.It emerged last night that Black, who took control of the Daily Telegraph in 1985, had been removed as both chairman and director of the… Continue reading Crisis Deepens As Black Ousted From Telegraph Group

Aegis Group, the global media network which owns the Carat agency, today posted a 12.7% rise in underlying pre-tax profits for 2003, with media turnover rising by 15.0% £6.9 billion. Aegis chief executive Doug Flynn says that the results have been achieved despite challenging market conditions thanks to action taken by the company over the… Continue reading Aegis Profits Jump 12.7% As Ad Recovery Builds