Werbeanstalt Schweiz has won a pitch and will be advising and supporting HSR Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil in marketing communications with immediate effect. According to the agency, the first results of this collaboration will be seen in the coming weeks.

The National Council and the Council of States have failed to reach a common denominator on the subject of alcohol advertising. They remain divided on whether television advertising for beer and wine should generally be permitted in Switzerland. According to SDA, the National Council once again voted in favour of liberalization on Wednesday by 95 votes to 77, contradicting the Council of States, which is calling for a complete ban.

Microsoft Switzerland is running the "You Make IT Smart" campaign for the second time to promote computer science in schools and universities. The campaign is primarily aimed at Swiss pupils and students and offers a fun approach to IT and computer science in particular. According to the press release, around 800 pupils and students took part in last year's activities on the topic of robotics.
Pupils and students can win a total of 150 Xbox 360 consoles as part of various activities and competitions. One of the options is to take part in a programming competition. The task of the participants is to program their own "Spaceship Game" using the free software provided by Microsoft. In addition to the programming competition, pupils and students can take part in events and campaigns to win additional consoles. For example, at the global technology Olympics "Imagine Cup 2010", the final of which takes place in Poland, or the "Microsoft Academic TechDays" in Basel and Geneva. Accredited institutions also offer the opportunity to complete online training courses and obtain a Microsoft certificate.
We are also looking for ideas from professors and lecturers at Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences as well as teachers at Swiss vocational schools and high schools for the installation of a game research laboratory and a concept for integrating it into the curriculum.

Hochspannung has won the Swiss-Liechtenstein Building Services Association Suissetec as a new client. In a pitch, the Zurich-based agency was able to prevail against two competitors, as detailed in a press release on Wednesday.
The agency is currently working on the definitive motifs for the 2009 apprenticeship campaign. In addition to posters and advertisements, TV commercials and various guerrilla campaigns are also planned. The campaign will be seen throughout Switzerland from February/March 2010.

Constantin Seibt from the Tagesanzeiger newspaper wrote a satirical article on May 15 about Obwalden's intention to rezone land in particularly attractive locations as building land in order to attract rich taxpayers. In the article, Seibt wondered whether this measure was enough. For the really rich, tax rebates, subsidies, privileges and attention of all kinds are a daily routine. "So what would be the best someone could give, dear Obwalden residents?" asked Seibt. To which he replied: "The best thing is of course ... your children! Fresh children's meat is the most tender thing to be found on this planet." And further: "What could better underline the unconditional sincerity of the people of Obwalden towards wealthy taxpayers than tender Obwalden children, served in their own milk? Or steamed, roasted or as suckling pig?"
In the eyes of the complainant, the text exceeded the extreme limit of tolerance: "With his contribution, Seibt hurt the feelings of an entire cantonal population," he wrote. "The content of his column is racist in tone, does not shy away from cannibalism and stimulates the lowest and most perverse fantasies. "

True core
The Press Council stated that exaggerations and distortions are not excluded in a satire. Only the facts on which the satire is based need to be correct. This was the case in this article. The canton of Obwalden had put an extremely valuable asset - a scenic location - up for discussion. The satirical exaggeration was also easily recognizable to the readership. The author had obviously taken his cue from the Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, who in 1729 had suggested using Irish babies as food and an export product to combat overpopulation.

The deficit at Radio and Television of Italian-speaking Switzerland (RSI) is higher than expected. For this reason, ten million francs will have to be saved in next year's budget. As of January 1, 2010, the entertainment program "La Tele", which runs throughout the day, will be cancelled, as RSI announced on its website on Tuesday. The production of in-house films and series will also be reduced. This should save a total of six million francs. Cuts will also be made to special programs and studio decor. Director Dino Balestra is quoted on the website as saying that there will be no mass redundancies at RSI. But in some cases there will be discussions about future roles. There are 16 jobs under review.

Google has launched a new online news service called "Fast Flip". The content comes from almost 50 well-known US publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post or Newsweek, but also from websites such as the British BBC. "Fast Flip" combines the advantages of the online and offline worlds, according to Google News Manager Josh Cohen. The new application makes it possible to browse through selected articles like in a magazine. At the same time, users can put together a personalized content program, for example by selecting articles from specific journalists.
With the service launched in Google Labs, the search engine giant is reaching out to publishers, who have not previously received a share of the advertising revenue on Google News. According to Cohen, one graphic advertising element will be displayed per article. However, the Google News manager did not want to give details of the revenue split. A week ago, at the suggestion of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), oogle had already brought up a payment system for publishers' content. The newspaper industry in the USA is currently struggling against falling revenues from circulation and advertising. According to the NAA, the advertising revenues of US newspapers (printed editions and online) fell by 29 percent year-on-year to 6.82 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2009.

Expansion possible
The new service will initially be available on the web at the address fastflip.googlelabs.com be available. There will also be web applications for the iPhone and smartphones with the Android operating system. A test phase will show whether publishers from other regions will also be represented on "Fast Flip" in the future.

The publishing house Espace Media is streamlining its range of automobile and motorcycle magazines. The publisher is still looking for a buyer for the motorcycle magazines Moto Sport Schweiz and Moto Sport Suisse until the end of October. Together with other measures, up to 12.7 jobs are at stake. The job cuts at Automobil Revue's French-language sister title, Revue Automobile, are already definite. From 2010, it will only be published every two weeks. Automobil Revue will continue to be published weekly.
The online offering is also being thinned out. It will be "consistently geared towards additional services to the printed magazines", as Espace Media announced on Tuesday. When asked by the SDA news agency, spokesperson Christopher Wehrli was unable to say how many jobs would be lost as a result of the individual measures.

The E,T&H advertising agency has produced a new TV commercial for Meister Tilsiter together with Condor Films. The 25-second film featuring wrestling legend Jörg Abderhalden promotes the cheese, which was awarded a prize by a jury of experts and the public. The film was directed by Peter Indergand, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 for "War Photographer". The commercial can now be seen on SF1, SF2 and TSR1.

> To the spot

Responsible at Tilsiter Switzerland: Bruno Buntschu (Management), Heidi Diethelm (Marketing and Advertising). Responsible at E,T&H Werbeagentur AG BSW: Enno Wassmer (CD text/concept), Marcel Schwarz (CD art), Sandra Sigrist (consulting), Peter Thoma (overall responsibility). Responsible at Condor Films: Philipp Kotsopoulos (producer), Peter Indergand (director).

The Iraqi journalist Muntaser al-Saidi, who became famous for throwing his shoe at the then US President George W. Bush, has been released after nine months in prison. His brother Udai told the AFP news agency in Baghdad on Tuesday. He is still waiting for his belongings, then he will come home. The 30-year-old television journalist was originally sentenced to three years in prison, but an appeals court shortened the sentence for good behavior.
During a Bush visit in December, Al-Saidi had thrown his shoes in the direction of the then US president at a media conference in Baghdad, shouting, "This is your goodbye kiss, you dog! ". Bush ducked away and was not hit. In the Arab world, Al-Saidi's action was cheered. After his release, he is likely to be celebrated like a hero; the Emir of Qatar has already promised him several sports cars.

Following the poster campaign for Swisspatat, Neue Lgk is now advertising the potato with films for the first time. In terms of content, the new commercials follow the recipe of the previous campaign: The versatile tuber remains the protagonist, while short stories are used to draw attention to the collection of over 200 cooking ideas on Kartoffel.ch. Each spot focuses on a different recipe and is intended to inspire a specific target group to cook with potatoes. The films will be broadcast immediately on Swiss television and in various Swiss advertising windows.
> To the spot "Morning grouch"
> To the "Strohwittwer" commercial
> To the "Indians" commercial
Responsible at Swisspatat: Ernst König (Managing Director), Barbara Brönnimann. Responsible at the New Lgk: André Benker (CD), Andreas Szentkuti (text), Dominic Beyeler (AD), Silvano Spezia, Claudia Chryselius and Diana Geissbühler (consulting). Film production: Solid & Hallerfilm, Lukas Strebel (camera and director).

To mark the upcoming winter season, the Vizner Borel agency has developed a campaign for the Schild fashion house. The motto is: Those who tease each other love each other and love Schild fashion. The charm offensive focuses on playing with gender and playing with fashion. At the heart of the campaign is a booklet, which is supported by mailings, posters and other measures.

Responsible at Schild: Stefan Portmann (Managing Director), Antonio Govetosa (Marketing Coordination). Responsible at Vizner Borel: Lajos Vizner, Guillaume Borel (overall responsibility), Gian Maurizio (AD), Nina Treml (text), Sascha Knauer (consulting/strategy), Patricia Tschumi (consulting). Photography: Daniel Aeschlimann. Image processing/litho: Detail.