The Zurich-based communications agency Viva has acquired two new clients, Tyco and Wernli. It is supporting the security company Tyco with the conception of a sales presentation, which is being realized together with the Internet agency Mediawinner.ch. This presentation celebrates its premiere at the "Security 2007" trade fair in Zurich. Viva lends a hand with media relations for the biscuit brand Wernli. Wernli recently hit the headlines with the launch of what it claims is the world's first biscuit for men only, called "Guara".

 The Valora retail group has repeatedly been the subject of various market rumors in recent weeks. It is now attempting to calm the waters and is publishing its first quarterly figures to this end. Valora expects to report an operating profit of CHF 21 million for the third quarter. Net sales improved by 39 million francs compared to the previous year and amounted to 756 million francs, according to a press release. With this publication, the company is probably seeking to reassure analysts and shareholders who were angered by the poor figures from the second quarter. According to the press release, Valora is now "cautiously optimistic". At the same time, the Group is also scattering ashes on its own head: the "unfortunate divestment and acquisition policy of the late nineties" has been rectified, albeit at a cost of over CHF 600 million. Valora is now pursuing a policy of focusing and is now only active in the retail sector, with three business segments: Retail, Media and Trade.
Problems are now looming on another front: Valora is rejecting demands from a new, unnamed group of investors. The Board of Directors emphasizes in the press release that it will adhere strictly to the current Articles of Association "in the event of any dispute". The Board of Directors firmly rejects demands for an Extraordinary General Meeting, as expressed in the media. The background to this is probably the acquisition of 11.01% of the shares by Adriano Agosti (see
).

Antitrust law The Competition Commission sees no reason to hurry with MediaSense, but is continuing its investigation. "Competition Commission Secretariat sees no need for precautionary measures against MediaSense." This was the title of a communiqué issued by TV marketer Publisuisse on October 30. In it, the SRG subsidiary triumphs over its competitors, the Publigroupe subsidiary Radiotele and the Goldbach subsidiary IP Multimedia, which had filed a complaint with the Competition Commission against the new marketing model of the Swiss Radio Pool (SRP). The model provides for marketing by MediaSense, a joint company of Publisuisse and SRP, whereby SRP advertising must be booked via Publisuisse's Publiplan online booking system. Publisuisse dominates the market and is abusing its position by offering low prices for the placement of radio advertising and requiring bookings to be made via Publiplan, the competitors complained. Radiotele also demanded precautionary measures, which were rejected by the Competition Commission, Publisuisse now writes, concluding: "MediaSense can therefore implement its business model as announced."
But that is only half the truth. Competition Commission spokesman Patrik Ducrey confirms that urgent measures have been dispensed with. "But the matter is not yet definitively closed," he says. It is possible that normal proceedings will be opened against Publisuisse if the Competition Commission Secretariat considers that the exclusive SRP marketing violates antitrust law. A decision will not be made until around the end of the year, says Ducrey.
Markus Knöpfli

Martin Hofer will join the management of the PR and communications agency Burson-Marsteller Switzerland with immediate effect. In this role, the former editor-in-chief of Sonntagsblick and editorial director of "10 vor 10" will be responsible in particular for the further expansion of the media relations area of expertise and the training program. Martin Hofer has been with Burson-Marsteller since 2005 and, as a Senior Consultant in the Public Affairs segment, supports clients at the interface between business and politics. He also supports the Media Relations division and launched the offer to conduct media and argumentation training courses in the in-house studio.
Before joining Burson-Marsteller, his professional career took him to Sonntagsblick as editor-in-chief and to the TV news magazine "10 vor 10", where he worked first as editor and producer, then as deputy editor-in-chief and from 1999 to 2003 as editor-in-chief. Prior to this, he worked as a parliamentary correspondent for the Sonntagszeitung.
In addition to Martin Hofer, the management of the Burson-Marsteller agency led by Roman Geiser also includes Marie-Louise Baumann, Olaf Pilleri and Marion Starck as heads of the consulting segments as well as Roland Oberhauser (CFO) and Madeleine Koller (HR).

Branding Saloon, the young design studio in the wild west of Zurich (see "Three Wild Ones in the West of Zurich"), was commissioned by international beauty label Dianne Brill Cosmetics to develop the graphic design for its first fragrance. In collaboration with Dianne Brill herself, a charming statement has been created that is carefully positioned in the male-dominated world of cigars. The American beauty designer Dianne Brill is a former pop icon, was Thierry Mugler's muse and modeled for Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. The house of Dianne Brill is an exclusive cosmetics brand that focuses particularly on the femininity of women. The New Yorker therefore deliberately looked for a packaging that was based on a luxury world dominated by men with a wink.

Underwear Blue Spirit Communications searched for the most beautiful bottom in the world for Sloggi - and found it an incredible 1400 times. 
With the worldwide campaign "Show me your Sloggi", Sloggi is looking for "the most beautiful female and male bottom in the world" in 2007. A guaranteed recipe for success in the age of casting shows. Countless attractive young women and men took part. For three months, the trendy underwear brand searched 28 countries for the crispest backside. More than 3.5 million interested people took a professional or expert look at the Sloggi website with all the details of the competition. Over 15,000 participants have entered worldwide. The winners of the final in Munich yesterday (Wednesday) were awarded prize money of 10,000 euros as well as a photo shoot for the next Sloggi ad campaign.in Switzerland, the popular campaign was managed regionally by Blue Spirit Communications. The agency from Schlieren already caused a stir two years ago with the Sloggi girls adapted for Switzerland and their legs massaged into top form by the computer.
In addition to the national implementation of the international concept, Blue Spirit has now also created special tools to strengthen the affinity for "Show me your Sloggi" in Switzerland. With Xenia Tchoumitcheva, for example, "the ideal testimonial was found", as Gerry Flückiger at Blue Spirit is convinced. The runner-up knows the modeling business inside out and was able to help the amateur models with lots of good tips. In addition, with Mister Switzerland Tim Wieland, Ursula Knecht as owner of the Option Model Agency, Peter Triner from Triumph International and the lifestyle editor Martina Marti from 20 Minuten, "a renowned jury" could be put together. The Sloggi club tour was more than just an eye-catcher everywhere. At an after-work clubbing event, the young women and men were able to have themselves put in the best possible light by people photographer Geri Krischker in a mobile photo studio. The butt pictures were posted directly online.
Participants from Switzerland had until the beginning of October 2007 to register on the Sloggi website and take part in the contest. All future models had to be at least 18 years old and could upload their bottom photo, dressed in Sloggi underwear of course, for online voting. Every Monday for six weeks, the weekly winners were chosen from the top 20 and published by Xenia Tchoumitcheva in 20 Minuten print and online on Tuesday.
The 12 weekly winners were allowed to compete in the final at Zurich's Kaufleuten on October 16. The winners were 19-year-old Jessica Matzig and 20-year-old Jean Dominique Placy.
Blue Spirit Communications relied on a media cooperation with 20 Minuten and Tilllate to ensure the campaign had the best possible impact on the right target group. The agency provided the content for the campaign over eight weeks in the form of editorial news for the 20 Minuten community and the Reminder Box. Classic advertisements were also designed. In this way, "Show me your Sloggi" was communicated integrally on several levels and reinforced using multimedia.
Over 1400 photos of participants from Switzerland, thousands of visitors to the website and a high level of acceptance within the target group speak for Peter Triner, Director at Triumph Switzerland, "for the great success of the campaign". With the cross-media implementation of classic communication, editorial content and media coverage in several TV formats such as "Glanz & Gloria" and the news on Tele Züri, Blue Spirit Communications took a successful step towards integrated communication, which seems to be becoming more and more of a trend in the advertising world for such products.
Andreas Panzeri

Former Aegis manager Aleksander Ruzicka must remain in custody, the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court confirmed on Wednesday. Ruzicka has been in prison since October 2006. He is accused of not passing on discounts in kind for advertising time to his agency, but instead silver-plating them and lining his own pockets. As the spokesperson for the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court (OLG) explained when asked by Medianet, the chamber, consisting of three judges, had no reason to question its own decision from June 2007. It still assumes that there is an urgent suspicion of a crime and a risk of flight. The fact that there were still no charges admitted against Ruzicka at the Wiesbaden Regional Court had no effect on the decision. According to the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court, this circumstance, as well as the fact that Ruzicka has been in pre-trial detention for more than a year, is not sufficient to suspend the arrest warrant. The continuation of the pre-trial detention is justified according to §121 para. 1 StPO. According to this provision, pre-trial detention can be continued beyond 6 months if the particular difficulty or the particular scope of the investigation or another important reason does not yet permit the judgment. In the opinion of the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court, the public prosecutor's office would have brought charges in good time. If the indictment is admitted, a trial could be scheduled in a timely manner.
Lawyer finds arrest grotesqueThe accused was served with the decision on Tuesday in Weiterstadt prison near Frankfurt. The decision on his continued detention had been available to the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court since mid-September. Reasons for detention must be reviewed every three months in Germany. When asked by Medianet, Ruzicka's lawyer Marcus Traut said that he had expected this decision. He has not issued a new statement. For him, there is no urgent suspicion in the absence of a crime. In addition, his client had already voluntarily surrendered his passport before his arrest more than a year ago. Therefore, in his opinion, there is still no risk of absconding.
In view of the fact that Ruzicka had every opportunity to evade the proceedings for six weeks between the house searches and his arrest, Traut described the reason for his client's arrest as grotesque. The three other defendants remain at large, some despite not having German citizenship. They must continue to report to the police on a weekly basis. Aleksander Ruzicka's next trial will take place in mid-December.
According to its own information, the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Wiesbaden Regional Court wanted to decide by the end of October whether to admit the indictment, which it has had before it since July. This decision has now been postponed until mid-November. The reason: the defendant Heinrich Kernebeck has changed his defense lawyer. He has asked for an extension of the deadline for a statement. Even if the indictment is very likely to be admitted, the main trial is not expected to begin before January or February 2008.

Werbewoche has compiled detailed information on the various forms of finishing in the print sector. 
Premium products are the trend in the production sector. Find out more in the first part of the advertising material & production special on the subject of finishing. From inline finishing and gloss finishing to finishing in packaging printing, we shed light on the possibilities. The second part of this special will appear in Advertising Week issue 43. 
Download the corresponding double pages of the current Advertising Week:
 
 

Column The big players are gradually being sold off to foreign publishers. And the smaller houses are forming alliances. The consequence: a jekami effect in the publishing industry and boring agency journalism.  
Every day, we experience a flood of news and conflicting opinions pouring in. Our brains are crammed with the "latest news" from newspapers, magazines, electronic and online media. They are all in fierce competition with each other. They fight for circulation, ratings and advertisers. Time is short for research, for quality, for adequate treatment of employees. And it's precisely them whose well-being should be the concern of the editorial management and the publishing house. Good employees are worth their weight in gold. And good employees with great relationships are priceless.Yet there seems to be a massive lack of two things in the big publishing houses: time and qualified employees or qualified supervisors. In recent years, neither Ringier nor Tamedia has developed a really good product in terms of content. The new papers are mostly stale copies of earlier media products. New concepts have to be developed, and old concept developers have to be hired. I hear again and again in both houses: "There is no one. Who could do something like that?" So they always fall back on the two or three familiar names that have been gathering dust in address cards for decades. In the end, every second print concept comes from the same brain. But even brains get old. Their owners no longer travel as much. They lose touch with the pulse of time. And so what comes is what has to come: Old wine in new skins, a few million for the launch. But none of the publishing bosses is really happy right from the start.
Second whine: "There are no editors-in-chief." Huh? I think I'm dreaming. There are plenty of suitable media professionals. But maybe we should also look outside the houses. Instead, it's always the same noses in charge. A blood refreshment seems hopeless. And then one wonders why the titles are doing so badly, why the TV ratings are falling, and so on. The result: In the hectic rush of falling sales, new titles are developed quickly, without time and without money. They are supposed to plug the holes. A new "trash child" is born, the editorial team is given such a minimal budget that it can practically only deliver "trash news". Thus is born what is already a reality today: agency journalism.
This "quality" in journalism is enough for many potential
readers any longer. So entrepreneurs hire former top journalists without further ado and invest in new publishing products. In the past, investing in a dilapidated five-star hotel was considered chic. Today, CEOs find it casual to finance their own newspaper, TV station or publishing house. As a result, media professionals are becoming pawns in the hands of various power groups. Politically independent reporting seems impossible. What to do, for example, when the financier's company hits the headlines? Crisis communication becomes a top dance, and qualitatively impeccable journalism can no longer take place.
Today, as never before, the formation of political will and the assertion of interests in power politics are taking place via the media. At the same time, there is an increasing convergence of opinions transported and established by the media. This is essentially based on a very close interlocking of most media with news agencies and with the interests of shareholders, advertising customers, political parties and other groups. The journalistic search for truth is becoming impossible.
I'm convinced that the more free papers that spur on the competition, the more the desire for quality journalism will grow. The question is who will pay the actual costs for well-researched stories. This would actually be the job of a good publisher. Patronage for quality in journalism must give way. Instead, good research and well-trained journalists should once again be worth a lot to the publishing houses.
> Karin Müller,

Lifestyle Exxtra Kommunikation presents new stories from the gourmet world of the Migros premium brand Sélection. 
The new commercial for Migros Sélection immediately puts its audience in the best vacation mood. Black and white, without frills, with atmospheric bouzouki music and informative text inserts about the country and its people, it tells the story of a Migros shopper looking for the best feta in central Greece. As with the previous commercial, in which a shopper searches for the best pasta in Italy, the Exxtra Kommunikation agency has staged this new commercial for the Migros gourmet line like a reportage, with the shopper visiting shepherds who graze their flocks on the coasts of Thessaly. Feta production has a long tradition in this region. The buyer is interested in everything that is important for the quality of a good feta until he has found the right producer. After all, selection is the basic philosophy of the Gourmet line. As the name suggests, Sélection is all about a small but fine range of selected delicacies from all over the world that are characterized by their geographical origin and by the people who make these products.
Underlining authenticityThe concept also works with four new print subjects, which are placed in daily newspapers and selected magazines. Two of them show the origin of smoked Tyrolean wild boar ham. Two others illustrate the environment in which Flor de Sal is produced on the Portuguese Algarve coast.
Consequently, the double and 1/1 pages are also in black and white. The photographs were taken by Dorothea Craven, also in a reportage style, which "is intended to emphasize the authenticity of the products", as CD Dieter Hofmann explains. Reading the texts, which are unusually detailed for advertisements today, you learn a lot of informative and surprising facts about the production of the "salt flower" or about the traditional customs of the hunters who hunt wild boar in the forests of Lower Austria, which is processed into smoked wild boar ham in Tyrol.
A comprehensive pocket guide with illustrations and descriptions of over 150 Sélection products was also reissued to accompany the new campaign. The booklet will be sent to 150,000 addresses from the Cumulus card file as a mailing.
As a fourth element, banners are on air on various websites. These draw attention to a competition in which, among other things, a trip for two to Sicily can be won. This is where the high-quality Sélection olive oil is produced on the Fontanasalsa olive oil estate.
Andreas Panzeri
Facts & FiguresThe Migros Sélection premium line
was able to establish itself as a genuine and credible premium brand within two years with a focused, clear positioning and a differentiated advertising presence that has already won several awards. During this time, brand awareness was increased to 77 percent (supported). Today there are over 150 different Sélection products. Non-food items such as selected beautiful knives, glasses or cutlery and other fine table utensils made of olive wood are also regularly added. The competition launched at Coop somewhat earlier (in December 2004) with the first Swiss gourmet line Fine Food now comprises around 200 products. (pan)

And that brings us back to our favorite question, which has been raised almost daily lately: How far can advertising go? After the uproar over the bulimia posters in Italy, this time it is a campaign designed for the lifestyle magazine Deutsch by the agency Jung von Matt/Neckar that is causing the advertising associations hot heads and making the papers roar. An elementary component of the ads, which have now been inundated with accusations of bestiality, is the German Shepherd, which according to the agency embodies "the most German Germany". The bow-wow with the long snout symbolizes potency. Sometimes as a snarling super biter with gemstone teeth à la hip-hop superstar, sometimes as a slobbering bed plaything, or - probably most disreputable of all - as a sniffing detective under the skimpy skirt of an enraptured blonde. No need to jump to conclusions and "the association lies solely in the eye of the beholder", says the managing director of the Stuttgart-based advertising agency. The Central Association of the German Advertising Industry (ZAW), on the other hand, takes a very critical view of the work. "I have my doubts as to whether such motifs are compatible with our rules of conduct," spokesman Volker Nickel told Horizont.net. It is quite possible that this statement also reflects fear of advertising regulations from Brussels. It is interesting to note that the advertisement comes from the agency of ZAW Vice President and General Communications Association President Holger Jung. Mr. Jung's campaign has now received the desired attention.

Migros Culture Percentage is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year with various activities and projects. The Zurich-based advertising agency Glamour Engineering developed an umbrella campaign that draws attention to the company's diverse commitments. In a deliberately provocative and self-confident manner, everyday life is caricatured and placed in the context of Migros Culture Percentage, according to a statement from the agency. A centerpiece of the anniversary year was the presentation of the Migros Culture Percentage Jubilee Award, which went to 10 prizewinners on October 18 at the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art. Each prize is endowed with CHF 20,000. A jury of experts autonomously selected the winners in each of the 10 categories.
Responsible at Migros Culture Percentage:
Hedy Graber (Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Directorate, Federation of Migros Cooperatives), Barbara Kreyenbühl (Head of Communications, Culture and Social Affairs Directorate). Responsible at Glamour Engineering: Erich Baumgartner (overall management), Michelle Nicol (curation/judging), Rudolph Schürmann (creative direction), Kerstin Schnyder, Philipp Bartscher (consulting).