Swiss Lions? Swiss Lion! By Beat Fritsch
Almost a thousand advertisers who did not travel to Cannes this year did not want to miss the Cannes reel. It could be seen in the Musicalhall on the Maag site, which has been converted into a cinema and is currently hosting the "Deep" spectacle. Immersion in the world of advertising was the motto. The good seats were coveted. The first guests were already standing on the carpet half an hour before the doors opened, and an hour later the hall was filled to capacity.
Before the fun could begin, honors and speeches were on the agenda. First of all, RMB CEO Matthias Luchsinger announced a change of name. From 2003, RMB Switzerland will once again be called Cinecom, and the new logo will be unveiled shortly. Afterwards, the winners of the diplomas - known as Paper Lions in the trade - and the only Lion were invited to the stage to be honored by the Swiss jury members and the category sponsors respectively.
Roger Baur, Marketing and Sales Manager at Cyber Lions sponsor Adlink, was unlucky. He had a lengthy speech written for him at great expense. But because there were no awards in the Cyber category, Baur's speaking time was mercilessly cut short, leaving just enough time for five sentences.
Christoph Morach from DM sponsor Mailprofiler and Lions Direct jury member Gilbert Fisch had it better. While Morach used the time to put forward arguments for Cannes sponsorship, DM juror Fisch took it upon himself to piss off the trade press. He came up with a side blow against WerbeWoche that could be considered foul play.
That's how it came about: Before Cannes, our trade journal took the liberty of asking industry experts whether the inclusion of Lions Direct in the festival made sense. "He may not even comment on such stupid questions any more," lamented the CEO of direct advertising agency Fisch Meier. However - as we all know, there are no stupid questions. The answers ranged from "a big step forward" (Luchsinger) to "pure profiteering" (Aebi and Fueter).
The subject of profiteering. It is not forbidden, for example, to make the following calculation: The new Lions Direct category, with 1063 submissions of 400 euros each, has quickly generated an additional 425,000 euros in revenue for the festival. Less food and accommodation for another jury. Well, if that's not business ...
Remy Fabrikant provoked many laughs when he gave the audience an insight into the judging process. His performance by the Chinese juror in particular ("No, no - this no good - absolutely no good work!") caused much amusement.
Moving images were also the focus of last week's Tele-Award ceremony, which was also a redesign and relaunch party. The TV magazine was given a major makeover. The party took place in a very sophisticated atmosphere at the X-Tra, and in addition to advertisers and media people, there were also plenty of Cervelat celebrities in attendance. Frank Bodin, for example, sat at a very illustrious table with Emil Steinberger, Michael Ringier, Jürg Marquard and Urs Rohner.
The Tele prize went to sitcom author Charles Lewinsky (original quote: "I'm really impressed with myself."). In an allusion to Kurt Felix, who was present, the comedians presenting "Flüügzüüg" not only presented him with the Tele statue, but also the Telebock that television director Schellenberg had shot when Lewinsky was deposed.
Beat Fritsch

was lost in moving pictures last week. At the Maag-Areal, RMB hosted the vision of the Cannes reel 2002, the Tele-Prize is awarded annually to a television producer who is responsible for the filler between the commercial breaks.
We find out who meets in the communications scene at parties and drinks receptions at a wide variety of industry events. Do you already have something exciting to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or hit the keyboard (info@werbewo che.ch). For event tips and more pictures: ww.werbewoche.ch

Parlez-vous P?By Anita VaucherPublimedia celebrated its fifth anniversary in Geneva on the Sécheron industrial site, in the hall where locomotives of the best Swiss quality were once built and where it used to smell of sweat, oil and steel.
A good 450 people accepted the invitation from patron Cédric Hinderberger. This was, he said, an unexpectedly large number of guests by the standards of French-speaking Switzerland. There are simply no real advertising and cervelat celebrities in French-speaking Switzerland like in Zurich. There are simply not enough people in French-speaking Switzerland who really deserve this accolade. You might still find a few local heroes in Geneva, but if you're considered a scene-goer there, you might not even know them in Lausanne or Neuchâtel. You will also look in vain in French-speaking Switzerland for an advertising scene with the classic "in" meetings for exchanging gossip and industry news.
That's why advertising people flock to the company whenever there's something to celebrate. The Publimedia birthday was attended by clients, advertisers, media professionals and also employees from French-speaking Swiss television and radio. Around the fabulous Lebanese buffet, people were once again able to gossip to their heart's content. The members of the rock band The Gangsters of the Paradise, all wearing black glasses, even got some guests to shake a leg with their hot rhythms. In contrast, the trapeze artist, completely draped in white cloth, was somewhat lost in the air and barely noticed for a long time despite his outstanding acrobatic act.
Both Otto Meier from Publimedia Zurich and host Cédric Hinderberger dispensed with long speeches so that the guests could devote themselves to food and drink without further ado. And because it was back to work the next day, the first partygoers were already saying goodbye at around 10 pm.