The three members of the web band Clip Bandits have never met. They don't even know each other's names and yet they write songs and make music together.  
The Clip Bandits present their song on You Tube. There you can see how the song is performed by the individual band members in three simultaneous videos. Over a million users have already watched the clip on the Internet. If the boys make the leap from the Internet to the charts, the Internet will be one music success story richer.

The traditional Unspunnen Festival took place from September 1 to 3. Shortly beforehand, the organizers announced the photo competition for the festival. An expert jury has now selected the best 15 photos from 4010 entries.  
The aim of the competition was to capture this unique traditional event for future generations. The expert jury found it difficult to select the best pictures from the many beautiful ones. But even those that did not win an award can still be honoured: they are to find a suitable place in a book by author and folklore expert Martin Sebastian, as the organizers write in their press release.
 
Among the top 15 are 14 Swiss and one German, who placed among the best several times. The winners were René and Elisabeth Bühler from Bern. All winners receive non-cash prizes in the form of overnight stays and travel tickets. The winning photographs and their authors are now available on the link below.

Swisscom has proclaimed November 18, 2006 to be Directory Assistance Day. On this day, all national and international directory enquiries on the number 1811 will be free of charge. Calls to the new Swisscom Fixnet directory enquiries number and every subsequent call are free.  
This applies to all calls from the landline or mobile network. Only calls from public telephones are excluded from the promotion. As Swisscom Fixnet writes in its press release, the aim of this information day is to thank its customers for their loyalty to the traditional 111 number and the successful launch of the new 1811 directory enquiries number. The new directory enquiries number 1811 is accessible from all networks. This means that Swisscom Fixnet directory assistance is now available to all customers around the clock, regardless of their chosen telephone provider. National and international directory enquiries can be reached under a single number. The number 1811 replaces the previous national directory enquiries 111 and the international directory enquiries numbers 1151 - 1154 and 1159.

Biggest possible launch of a revised company logo: The Louisville-based US fast food company Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the first company to have a brand that is visible from space. The 8,000 m2 logo was erected in the Nevada desert in Area 51, also known as the landing strip for UFOs. An example of how a marketing strategy can also include contact with incoming extraterrestrials.  
KFC has redesigned its logo, the well-known likeness of Colonel Sanders. Not only that: the entire image, from restaurant furnishings and uniforms to packaging, is now all new at the global chicken roaster with over 14,000 restaurants worldwide. Greatness must be appropriately portrayed and widely communicated, and with the 8,000m2 logo in the UFO capital of the world, Area 51, this seems to have been achieved. KFC is thus following the example of the men's magazine FMH, which has already blown up a cover to astronomical size and erected it. This is advertising specifically for the target groups of frequent flyers, astronauts and extraterrestrials. They are also hoping for some free advertising with the next update of Google Earth. We can only hope that the weather gods like to eat chicken burgers.

Last Saturday, popular pastor Ernst Sieber presented "Thoughts on Sunday" on U1 TV and promptly brought the channel a new viewer record. U1 TV deduces from this an increased interest in programs with religious content. 
Normally, TV sermons are not necessarily considered a ratings hit in this country. However, "Thoughts on Sunday" on the national private broadcaster U1 TV, which recorded a peak of 131,000 viewers last weekend, shows that they can be. According to a press release, U1 expects the figures to continue to rise.
 
The star himself, Pastor Sieber, expressed his delight in a statement, but was not surprised: "I have already spoken on SF or TeleZüri. At peak times, Swiss television received up to 80 kilos of mail after a broadcast. The reactions ranged from enthusiasm for my words to enthusiasm for the pattern of my sweater".

An American investment group is buying the long-established Reader's Digest publishing group for 2.4 billion US dollars. The investment firm Ripplewood Holdings was in charge of the deal.  
According to the SDA, Reader's Digest announced the change of ownership on Thursday. The purchase price corresponds to 17 dollars per share, which is 25 percent higher than the stock market average over the last 60 days. However, the deal is not quite perfect yet: Reader's Digest shareholders and the regulatory authorities still have to give the green light. The transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2007. Ripplewood is thus strengthening its involvement in the media industry. It already owns shares in educational publisher WRC Media and direct marketer Direct Holding Worldwide.

The well-known showman Rosario Fiorello will no longer be allowed to imitate the Pope's secretary Georg Gänswein on the radio. This was decided by the public broadcaster RAI. It is still unclear whether comedian Maurizio Crozza will continue to play the Pope in a satirical program on private television.  
The Vatican reacted to the parodies in an unusually direct manner: "I hope that these satires will be stopped immediately, because they insult churchmen," Georg Gänswein was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ADN. The Vatican is not in the habit of expressing its criticism so directly. But it worked: RAI boss Fabrizio Del Noce forbade Fiorello from using Gänswein's satire. He reacted with indignation: "I don't think I'm going to hell because of this imitation".
 
According to the SDA, the Vatican also has no love for the satire by comedian Maurizio Crozza, who imitates His Holiness himself with his characteristic Bavarian accent. In an editorial in the newspaper L'Avvenire, published by the Bishops' Conference, the program on the private channel La 7 was described as "vulgar" and "of the lowest level". According to the article, the Vatican is planning to take legal action against the program. So in this case it is not a clerical but a legal amen that is on the horizon.

After seven years of collaboration, the PKZ Burger-Kehl Group, under the leadership of CEO Ph. Olivier Burger and Head of Communications Caroline Röösli, decided to review its collaboration with the advertising agency By Heart. In the end, they stuck to the principle: Never change a winning team.  
The aim of the review was to realign the PKZ, Feldpausch, Blue Dog and Burger brands for the long term and to optimize communication accordingly. In addition to the budget holder, other agencies were invited to present proposals. This pitch was won by By Heart. The premium strategy for the PKZ and Feldpausch brands will be further accentuated in future, as the agency announced.

The French-speaking Swiss commuter newspaper 20 minutes is launching a third, national edition for French-speaking Switzerland on January 3, 2007 and is expanding its website. The reason for this is the extremely positive development since the launch. With the third edition, 20 minutes will increase its circulation in French-speaking Switzerland to around 240,000 copies and further consolidate its position. The commuter newspaper was launched on March 8, 2006 with a circulation of 120,000 copies. As with the regional editions in German-speaking Switzerland, 20 minutes also offers two pages of local news every day in addition to the national and international sections (see
). Regional editions have so far been published for Lausanne and Geneva. The national edition for French-speaking Switzerland will be published from January 3, 2007 and will be distributed via 400 additional newspaper boxes. A circulation of around 90,000 copies is planned, which will be distributed in the cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura as well as the French-speaking areas of the cantons of Berne, Valais and Fribourg. The Romandie edition thus complements the two existing local editions for the cantons of Geneva (circulation 65,000) and Vaud (circulation 85,000).
 
At the same time as the launch of the new French-speaking part of Switzerland, the 20minutes.ch web center will be significantly expanded. 20minutes.ch will now be updated 16 hours a day on weekdays and 12 hours a day at weekends. As part of this expansion, eight jobs will be created in the editorial department and one in the publishing department. As a result, 20 minutes will employ more than 50 people from 2007.
With the expansion, the battle between the two free newspapers for French-speaking Switzerland, 20 minutes and Le Matin Bleu from Edipresse, is entering the next round. However, according to a readership survey conducted in early summer, the latter title has more fans among readers (see
Le Matin Bleu is ahead
). 20 minutes will publish an initial interim evaluation of Wemf's readership figures for the two local editions in Geneva and Vaud at the beginning of December.

Allgemeine Plakat Gesellschaft APG published a PDF newsletter on Thursday. It provides information on new poster sites and the latest developments in poster site procurement. The newsletter also shows a selection of new APG locations, organized by target areas and featuring numerous photos. Customers, advertising and media agencies would receive important information on new poster concession contracts, overall poster concepts and background reports. This also includes the new basic research Swiss Poster Research Plus SPR+. In future, this will provide the data needed to determine the advertising performance value - calculated from the number of poster contacts and reach - for each individual location. APG intends to use this data to improve the advertising impact of its advertising space in a targeted manner. The newsletter is available at www.apg.ch/publikationen
available as a PDF file. You can subscribe to the regular news on billboards at .

The Zurich-based specialist for promotion and events is currently reaching the interested public with various campaigns for well-known clients. For Dr. Oetker, frozen pizzas were delivered to after-work travelers at SBB train stations - in record time, 5,500 pizzas per station found a person who wanted to try them and perhaps buy them again. For Cardinal Eve beer, which is aimed at women, 24 sampling teams are currently on the road to bring around 150,000 tasting units to women in over 250 restaurant visits.
Together with SFLB, Action Agency is also responsible for the launch of the new Feldschlösschen Gold beer. Huge gold safes were set up in train stations, which could be cracked with the right combination.
And when it comes to Sloggi for Men, the agency is currently on the road for Triumph in Migros. A push campaign coupled with a competition is being carried out in various stores. The follow-up campaign will take place in spring 2007.
The agency has also launched a new website. In future, a new event tool called "actiontv" will be used to document events. The tool will be used for the first time at the Edi Awards 2006, and clips will be available from November 17, 2006 at
to see.

The Swiss Commissioned and Commercial Film Award Edi was presented on Thursday evening at the Schiffbau in Zurich. Gold went to Spillmann/Felser/Burnett, Ruf Lanz and Michael Girardin/Condor Films. In the "Clips & Trailers" category, the work "Mary Woodbridge" by the advertising agency Spillmann/Felser/Burnett and Plan B Films was honored with gold. The campaign for the Swiss sports label Mammut is exceptional, writes the Swissfilm Association in its communiqué on Thursday. The film was directed by Chris Niemeyer.
Gold in the "Commercials" category went to "Andrea Bocelli" by Ruf Lanz and directed by Serge Höltschi. The film was commissioned by the Mühlehalde home for the blind in Zurich.
The Gold Edi in the "Corportate" category went to Michael Girardin and the production company Condor Films for an SBB film with stuntman Oliver Keller.
Special Edis were awarded to Thomas Gerber, Martin Spillmann and Neil Stubbings, among others. A total of 201 works were submitted for assessment. No money is associated with the award.