So now it's finally over for teenagers, the good old days when it was still possible to grope uninhibitedly at the movies - far away from worried or even reproachful adult eyes. As the online newspaper writes, moviegoers in Magdeburg were observed with night vision devices during the screening of the new Harry Potter film: apparently Warner Bros. was afraid that the film would be secretly recorded on cell phones. The scandal came to light when a moviegoer noticed an employee of a security company observing "the auditorium with the help of camera-like devices". It goes without saying that the data protectionists are not enthusiastic about this. Not to mention the fumbling teenagers, of course.

The Bern-based media agency Mediaplus is now also responsible for Eichhof's media planning. This makes Media Plus responsible for all of Heineken Switzerland's beer brands, according to a press release issued by the agency on Thursday. "The fact that we were also able to win Eichhof, the Group's latest new acquisition, confirms that we are on the right track with our agency approach," said Urs Rueb, managing owner of Mediaplus.

The press company Espresso has filed a libel suit against Italy's Prime Minister in the dispute over revelations about Silvio Berlusconi's private life. By accusing the newspaper La Repubblica, published by Espresso, of having launched a "subversive attack" against him, Berlusconi has abused his office, according to a report by SDA. In addition, the statement of claim submitted to a Milan court alleges that Berlusconi is guilty of unfair competition and violating the rules of the market with his call for a boycott of La Repubblica.
In mid-June, Berlusconi had accused Espresso of machinations dangerous to the state following reports of debauched parties in his vacation villa. The weekly magazine Espresso, published by the publishing house of the same name, and La Repubblica nevertheless published transcripts on Tuesday and Wednesday of audio recordings allegedly made of conversations between Berlusconi and a call girl. Berlusconi, for his part, threatened to sue the publisher over this publication.
Meanwhile, the Italian Prime Minister tried to calm the waves. "I am not a saint, you have understood that," he said on Wednesday at a ceremony to mark the start of construction of a highway, according to the Italian news agency Ansa. He hoped that the journalists from La Repubblica would also understand this.

Volkswagen has reviewed its agency relationships in the area of brand management and corporate identity. Metadesign successfully defended the account in a two-stage pitch against three international competitors and will continue to look after the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Bank and Volkswagen AG brands. According to the agency, the new framework agreement runs until 2013.

Maxomedia and Zeta are delighted to have won a pitch: Interhome, a provider of vacation homes and apartments, is the latest client of the two agencies. With immediate effect, they are jointly responsible for communication in the area of purchasing. This involves the acquisition of homeowners interested in renting out their vacation home.
Zeta is responsible for ATL communication, while Maxomedia is responsible for all BTL communication. The first results of this close collaboration will be seen in the fall of 2009.

The online appointment scheduler Doodle is now a launch partner of the new Xing Partner Ecosystem, as the two companies announced on Wednesday. Doodle as an open social application on the Xing business network means professional "social scheduling", according to the press release. The network character of Xing enables functions that did not previously exist. Doodle can now be used directly on Xing and Xing contacts can be invited with a click. You can see the status of the appointment polls you are taking part in on your own start page, while you can see ongoing joint polls in the profile of a Xing contact.

Audi and the multimedia agency DDD have commissioned Snap Film to produce the first moving image configurator. In the 60-second spot, users can select and change the equipment of their Audi A5 Cabriolet online. The vehicles are 3D models that were subsequently inserted into the film scenes. The film was shot by producer Michael Kindermann and director Nico Beyer without a single A5 Cabriolet in Cape Town, according to a Snap Film press release.
> To the spot

The SF summer series "Alpenfestung - Leben im Réduit" has a new commander: Helmut Mettler from Buttikon has agreed to take over responsibility for the troop of soldiers. The 56-year-old is a major off duty and works in civilian life at the Walenstadtberg rehabilitation clinic. There he is head of administration and a member of the clinic management. According to a statement from Swiss Television, he will spend three weeks next Monday at the artillery fortress in Fürigen near Stansstad NW, where he will be responsible for the soldiers and non-commissioned officers on "Schweiz aktuell". His predecessor, a 58-year-old off-duty commander, was famously dismissed from TV duty after it emerged that he had a criminal record.
Swiss Television is relieved to have found a worthy replacement in such a short time. A viewer got in touch and recommended Mettler, said SF spokesman David Affentranger when asked by SDA. Although it had to happen quickly, Mettler was by no means an emergency solution - on the contrary. He is authoritarian, but at the same time caring and fair. He has also completed 1,400 days of service, which makes him very credible. But don't worry, Swiss television seems to have learned from its mistakes and is not relying on its gut feeling this time: they had a criminal record check carried out - and it was flawless.

Apple generated a turnover of 8.34 billion dollars and a profit of 1.23 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2009. This means that the American IT multinational was able to increase its turnover by 12 percent and its profit by 15 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Apple sold 5.2 million Iphone devices, a six-fold increase in sales. Sales of Macintosh computers also increased by four percent compared to the same quarter last year. Ipod sales, on the other hand, fell by 7 percent.

Yahoo has exceeded market expectations in the second quarter. The bottom line was a net profit of 141 million dollars after 131.2 million dollars a year earlier, as the Internet company announced on Tuesday after the close of trading, according to SDA.
Earnings per share thus amounted to ten cents. Analysts had only expected earnings of eight cents per share. Turnover fell by 13 percent to 1.57 billion dollars. The outlook for the third quarter disappointed investors. The online advertising specialist expects a profit from current business activities of between 55 and 65 million dollars after 76 million dollars in the second quarter.
According to the company's forecasts, turnover should be between 1.45 and 1.55 billion dollars and operating profit excluding special items between 330 and 370 million dollars. Yahoo shares fell by 4.7 percent in after-hours trading.

Last autumn, Energie Wasser Bern's "Drück mich" campaign against unnecessary standby losses was launched by Polyconsult. In spring 2009, the campaign came up with new motifs and an online competition in which the people of Bern could create and publish their own energy-saving posters online. According to the agency, 521 poster proposals were received within four weeks. The five winning posters will be displayed at Bern's poster sites in the fall.
Responsible at Energie Wasser Bern: Thomas Hügli (Head of Communications), Michael Bähler (Project Manager Communications). Conception: Polyconsult AG, Berne. Online production: Netvertising AG, Zurich.
The five winning posters:

Business Campaigning Switzerland is launching an information and awareness-raising campaign on the topic of "sustainable biofuels". The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness among politicians and the public of biofuels that comply with all the rules of sustainability: they are ecologically and socially compatible - their cultivation creates jobs and protects the environment.
The campaign was commissioned by the Jatropha Alliance. According to a press release issued by Business Campaigning, the Alliance has identified a major information gap when it comes to biofuels. At the moment, all biofuels are being lumped together in the public debate. The campaign aims to show that it makes sense to differentiate between sustainable and poor biofuels.