The new Wirz commercial for the traditional vegetarian restaurant Hiltl is a satire of the popular Moorhuhn game, in which the aim was to kill as many chickens as possible. The Wirz commercial shows the screen of an online gamer who fails to catch a single chicken. The player receives zero points, but is still allowed to enter his name in the ranking list - albeit at the very end. The name typed in - Rolf Hiltl - clearly proves that the gamer is "Born to be a vegetarian" and the game called "Miss the Chicken" can be played online on Hiltl's website. The aim is not to hit a single chicken in 30 shots. Confirmation that you are an excellent vegetarian must suffice for the game, however, as there is no chance of winning.

Coca Cola's global "Welcome to the Coke side of life" campaign was launched on July 9 with the "Happiness Factor" TV commercials. The message: to enjoy the "simple and optimistic moments in life". Because Coca Cola has been present in Switzerland for 70 years (see
Coca Cola is celebrating 70 years in Switzerland), the "Welcome to the Coke side of life" campaign has been specially adapted for Switzerland to mark this anniversary - with a market offensive for the young target audience as part of the Coke "experience portal" Mycokemusic The "Coke side of life" can also be experienced via codes that can now be found under the lids or labels of every Coca-Cola or Coke light in Switzerland, as Coca Cola Suisse writes in a press release. The codes - entered on the online music portal Mycokemusic or sent by SMS to a corresponding number - are converted into points. How many points are hidden behind a code is a matter of luck - the points can be redeemed in the Mycokemusic store for ringtones, logos, wallpapers, videos or music downloads or collected for a competition. The main prize is a cell phone.
Further projects are planned as part of Mycokemusic: At the festivals in Gurten and St. Gallen, Coca Cola organized a hip-hop battle, which will conclude on August 5 with the selection of the best word acrobat. In the fall, the "Soundcheck" competition for young talent will be held for the second time.
As part of the "Coke side of life" campaign, the Coca Cola print ads, posters and also Mycokemusic present themselves in new "colorful" visuals. Mycokemusic also comes across as really sugary. So be warned against over-sugaring at this point.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wants to stand up to existing providers such as Monster and Jobware in the hotly contested market of Internet job exchanges and launch its own online job platform from September. The new portal is to "become the leading provider for specialists and executives", said Tobias Trevisan, spokesman for the management, to the news magazine Spiegel. Until now, the "FAZ" had only placed the print advertisements online and did not offer Internet rates: The shock from 2001 was too great, when slumps in the job market had plunged the "FAZ" into its biggest crisis to date. However, the online portal will not replace the print job market: "You can only reach acute job seekers via the Internet. The more interesting applicants can be reached via print."

The advertising agency Grey, based in Zurich and Geneva, has designed new motifs for the Credit Suisse Fides campaign. Credit Suisse Fides has been serving international private clients in its branches in Zurich and Lausanne for over 90 years - in some cases already in the 2nd and 3rd generation. The new motifs of the print campaign are intended to communicate the "typically Swiss self-image" that Credit Suisse Fides also represents, as Grey writes in a press release. Accordingly, the campaign is "unagitated, authentic, almost succinct". It is not about "lots of words, but lots of money". So the first German-language motif simply reads: "Swiss workmanship." The ads run in selected print titles. Further motifs will follow.

The Ringier subsidiary Previon, a provider of modern and integrated information management solutions, has redesigned the PrintOnline website. PrintOnline is a "hub for graphic designers, lithographers, polygraphers, media and advertising agencies for the transmission of advertisements to affiliated publishers and printers", as Previon writes in a press release. In addition to a clear, target group-oriented design, the focus of the redesign was also on short paths for finding information and services. To this end, Previon has implemented a new visual world, new navigation structures and a powerful search function, as Previon writes. The technical basis is based on Previon MediaSuite.

In July 2004, PubliGroupe acquired a 30 percent stake in the share capital of the media company The Guide Company. That stake is now being increased to 64 percent, as PubliGroupe announced on Monday. The remaining shares will remain with the existing majority shareholders; the parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The expansion of this stake is of strategic importance for PubliGroupe’s PubliDirect division, particularly for the cross-media guides and contract publishing business segments, PubliGroupe further stated.
The Guide Company produces content for city and event guides for print media, electronic media, and mobile services. In addition, The Guide Company offers customized guide solutions (contract publishing) for companies and publishers. With approximately 25 employees, the company generated sales of about 4 million Swiss francs in 2005.
As part of the acquisition of a majority stake, Robert Schmidli, CEO of the PubliDirect division and a member of PubliGroupe’s Executive Board, will assume responsibility for the operations of The Guide Company as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The previous Chairman of the Board, Ursin Mirer, has stepped down from his positions and will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity. PubliDirect publishes and markets directories through its subsidiaries LTV Gelbe Seiten and local.ch in Switzerland and Amitel in France.

The Swiss daily press was able to place fewer advertisements in June due to a missing issue and cautious advertisers. The Publicitas index fell accordingly from 92.6 to 92.4 points compared to the same month last year, and Publicitas announced on Monday evening that a real upturn in commercial advertising is still a long time coming despite the positive development of most economic indicators. This had an impact on the overall development of press advertising. The lack of investment by advertisers such as car importers, telecommunications companies and companies in the food sector is hampering growth in the volume of advertisements. Only job advertisements recorded significant growth in the other advertising categories. The relevant index rose from 144.1 to 145.3 points. However, the index for real estate advertisements fell from 96.5 to 96.1 points.

In 2006, Ifra presented the Ifra Cross Media Awards for the first time for innovative and creative special projects carried out by newspapers from all over the world around the World Cup. In addition to the printed newspaper, other media channels such as online, mobile services, podcasts, gadgets or events must have been successfully used as part of a coherent special project. Three projects may be submitted per publisher. The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2006.
The award ceremony will take place during IfraExpo 2006 from October 9 to 12 in Amsterdam. IfraExpo is regarded as the world's most important trade exhibition for newspaper companies.
Publishers from Switzerland have already contacted Ifra, according to a press release. It is expected that a wide range of projects from all over the world will be presented at the Ifra Cross Media Awards 2006. One of the aims of the awards is to show the potential of cross-media projects and what newspaper publishers can learn from them for future coverage of mega-events. More information and registration on the website http://www.ifra.com/xma.
Ifra is the leading association of newspaper publishers and media companies with ten locations worldwide. More than 3000 members in 70 countries belong to the association.

As reported by the NZZ am Sonntag, the Berner Zeitung is being paid by two hospitals and a health insurance company to report on health issues. Since May 1, the Berner Zeitung has been publishing two pages on the subject of health every second Monday, which are said to be supported by the Inselspital, the health insurance company Visana and the private clinic in Meiringen. This can be read on the website of former Inselpital press spokesman Bernhard Kummer; Kummer is also said to have arranged the deal.
According to statements made by Kummer and the managing director of the Berner Zeitung, Albert P. Stäheli, to the NZZ am Sonntag, the media partnership consists of the three partners placing advertisements and publicity reports and the Berner Zeitung guaranteeing them the appropriate journalistic environment for this. Visana, on the other hand, had clearly stated that as a partner it would also contribute to the costs of the editorial services of the Berner Zeitung.
Stäheli rejects the accusation that this media partnership lacks transparency. Advertisements and public reports are labeled and the independence of the editorial team is clearly regulated by contract. Partners could suggest topics, but the editorial team alone would then decide. However, as Peter Studer, President of the Press Council, told the NZZ am Sonntag, it is a requirement of fairness to disclose the partnership.

Switzerland could have an English-language DAB radio station called "World Radio Switzerland" by the end of 2007 if the SRG has its way. As the NZZ am Sonntag reports, financial and legal clarifications are currently underway for a broadcasting operation for the whole of Switzerland. SRG expects to start broadcasting as soon as possible at the end of 2007. As Gérard Tschopp, Director of the French-speaking Swiss radio station RSR, told the NZZ am Sonntag, SRG must develop new products that create added value in a cost-effective manner. An English-language program could meet these requirements. The program should only be broadcast in DAB format (Digital Audio Broadcast).
World Radio Geneva is currently the only English-language station in Switzerland. The local station currently reaches 50,000 listeners. The SRG is also in talks with the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). OFCOM will soon be inviting tenders for nine new digital channels. Two of these DAB channels are likely to be awarded to the SRG: one for a Radio DRS information station, the second for the English-language station of French-speaking Swiss radio. The remaining seven are likely to go to private radio stations.

From July 17, the German tabloid Bild is expanding its "Seite*1Girl" label, which was launched in September 2005, to include boots and a jeans collection. The label was launched with a lingerie collection, which will continue to be available. Other products such as textiles, accessories and cosmetics are to follow. The label will be sold throughout Germany via C&A stores, the Axel Springer publishing house announced in a press release on Sunday. Bild is accompanying the new products with a wide-reaching print and outdoor advertising campaign.

Almost 5,000 television viewers currently own the Betty TV interactive remote control. The trend is rising, explains Daniel Gauchat, head of Betty TV, to Netzwoche. The aim is to have 50,000 active Betty users in the next few months. The TV remote control was officially launched by Swisscom Fixnet on June 9 and was primarily advertised during the World Cup. It enables viewers to take part in program-related competitions, quizzes, voting or shopping. Advertising content can be promoted via the remote control display. The product is now to be publicized further with promotions and the sales channels are also to be expanded, reports Netzwoche. A survey of around 4,000 test users in May showed that quizzes, knowledge quizzes and competitions were used the most. Betty TV has agreed a long-term cooperation with Swiss television (see www.werbewoche.ch).