Jürg Steudler and the Regardez! production team are moving to Condor and creating a new working style. However, the more than 20 nostalgic TV sets are to find a new home in Studio Bellerive under the Condor roof before the end of this year. The collection of models from the early days of the television set, from the 1950s to the present day, is the pride and joy of Regardez! Communications GmbH. However, the sets are also thought-provoking: the TV world has developed rapidly in just a few years. Manuel Messerli, Bart Wasem and Jürg Steudler are at the forefront of the television business. The Regardez! directing team not only realized the entire launch design for MTV Pop and thus attracted international attention for the first time. The Zurich-based company is also currently involved in a major pitch for the visual design of all major sporting events for ZDF in the coming year. The "MusicStar" design by Steudler, Messerli and Wasem can currently be seen on Swiss television. Other reference clients include German sports television, Sat 1, Ringier-TV, TeleOstschweiz and Tele-Bärn. And that's where it all began. "We all three lived together in a shared flat in Bern," says Steudler. The current Writer/Director was initially an advertising salesman, then a copywriter in various agencies in Bern and Zurich, before finding his calling as Creative Director at TeleBärn. Bart Wasem, Director/Visual Artist, trained as a graphic designer at the Bern School of Design before joining TeleBärn. Manuel Messerli, Director/Visual Artist, took up his first job at SF DRS in Zurich after completing the same training. Wasem later moved to ZDF in Mainz.
Messerli and Steudler also left for Mainz and eventually ended up at Sat 1 in Berlin. This is how the old flat-sharing trio got back together in Germany.
"The breakthrough came in Germany. We no longer just created designs and trailers, but also started directing," says Steudler. Today, Regardez! sees its great strength in the comprehensive support of the creative process - from advising agency creatives on storyboards, shooting boards, mood boards/animatics through to the post-produced end product. In addition to clips and TV design, Regardez! also wants to tell more stories in the future and hopes to attract orders from the advertising industry in particular.
"Our strength is our holistic approach," says Steudler. Once the idea has been developed, a decision is made as to what needs to be solved during filming and what needs to be creatively implemented later in post-production and video design. This new generation of advertising filmmakers wants to mature a new style through an "optimal combination of shooting and post-production on the computer". Since such a holistic process "cannot be reconciled in one person", Regardez! wants to work in a directing team.
Because the young company had few resources of its own at the beginning, it looked for alternative solutions on its own Mac early on instead of renting expensive equipment. Today, Mac technology can also compete at the highest level. The pioneers at Regardez!, who "consistently pursued the Mac route right from the start", have become true specialists. "The ideal integration of filming and visual effects is also possible with smaller budgets thanks to our broad experience," says Steudler. Today you can work on the Mac in the same resolution as in a Hollywood film and make things look classy. "We are strong in illusion and imagery." This high standard also caught the eye of those responsible at Condor. They "thought out loud" at first - and then it happened. The collaboration began with small projects and has now reached its first climax under the joint roof of Studio Bellerive. This cooperation is intended to create a "win-win situation". "But we remain independent," the Regardez! directing team specifies.
Jürg Steudler breaks new ground in commercials by combining shooting and post-production.

Andreas Panzeri

Christmas every year... no, not the usual, original Christmas cards, said the creatives at Lowe's. Instead, the agency wants to donate ten francs each to the Domicil charity on behalf of everyone who deserves one. This charitable foundation helps people on modest incomes to find accommodation. Lowe publicized this idea with a full-page advertisement in the daily press. This advertisement mentions all the business partners, employees and friends of the company who had to forego their obligatory Christmas card in favor of this good deed.

Commentary In newspaper interviews with decision-makers from politics, business and the media, the spoken word must once again prevail, demands Oliver Classen. Once again, the Berlin daily newspaper has confidently and smugly drawn attention to a blatant journalistic malpractice: at the end of November, an interview with Olaf Scholz that had been distorted beyond recognition graced the front page of the left-wing central organ. The SPD Secretary General's answers appeared blacked out. The reason: his office had not only smoothed out, watered down and thus completely distorted the original statements, but also threatened the most independent German newspaper with exclusion from future background discussions. No wonder, after all, every newspaper today suffers from the bad habit of subsequently embellishing or even reversing oral statements in the course of so-called "authorization". This specifically German-language ritual - belief in authority is known to be a question of mentality - not only means a journalistic competitive disadvantage compared to the electronic live media; it also undermines the autonomy and credibility of the fourth power in the country, which has been degraded to a PR pillar.
However, the laudable protest by journalists and publishers has a dark, industry-internal flip side, as our colleagues at Kress Report recently pointed out. Werbewoche also knows from painful experience that media managers and editors-in-chief of all people are true virtuosos in this (self-)mutilation technique. And the stock market listing of publishers and agencies further accentuates the unfortunate trend towards zero statements and warm words. In this respect, family companies and edgy publishing personalities are a journalistic blessing.
When it comes to interviews with the notoriously diplomatic Swiss political and business elite, this development has particularly drastic consequences, especially for media journalists. So here is a pious Christmas wish from one of those affected: Dear people, if you are already sitting in a glass house and (rightly) throwing stones, then please set a good example. Here in this country too. We don't want to name any names this time - but we do want to make a strong appeal to professional ethics to allow the spoken word to count more in future.
> Oliver Classen, Editor

The outdoor advertising company APG only likes them huge, Bern-Belp Airport has opted for medium, while the electronic advertising time marketer IP Multimedia, the cinema marketer Cinecom and the Swiss Post prefer small ones. We are talking about screens, which are also called "electronic posters" here and there. But the industry finds this rather disrespectful. Despite all the terminology, these flat screens are springing up like mushrooms and entire networks have sprung up within a very short space of time. The result of this boom: the industry is still chaotically organized, efficiency remains unclear for a while, the providers are numerous, the offers are anything but clear and the CPMs are still quite inconsistent. However, even this still young form of advertising will soon find structures and clear rates. Even in Germany, where this medium was introduced two years earlier, the market was shaken up more quickly than expected. And the Munich-based company UnitedScreens, for example, is in the process of turning down the volume on hundreds of screens in petrol station stores. The sound of the commercials was getting on the sales staff's nerves - the constant streaming was detrimental to efficiency. Therefore, the sound should now only be audible within a 45-degree angle in front of the screen. Switzerland has already gone further: most screens here are soundless. Instead, some are equipped with Internet terminals (see page 1). Away from the one-way medium and towards interactivity. This should also increase the advertising impact. (mk)

The Swiss Press Association's proposal to set up a foundation to promote the press was intended as a defensive measure against direct federal subsidies. Instead, it provided the arguments for the supporters of a media article in the National Council. For SP parliamentarian Hansjürg Fehr, the publishers had thus moved from their "previous narrow-minded attitude of saying no to a much more constructive stance". Cécile Bühlmann (Greens) felt that the National Council could "wonderfully" provide the necessary constitutional basis for the foundation idea with the media article. As a result, the bill was adopted by 78 votes to 53. The publishers now see the independence of the press from politics under threat and must hope that the Council of States will vote against the media article. It is doubtful whether the foundation would be established in this case. With the maximum demand of 150 million francs in federal funds per year, the publishers have predetermined it to be a failure. (sm)

Magazines Berlin's writers and young publishers continue to fly the flag: after Deutsch and Achtung!, the quarterly Dummy (starting circulation 30,000) is the third reportage magazine to venture into the media jungle. It's no coincidence that the editorial is entitled "Crash test instead of copy test". The cover story of the 160-page maiden issue is "The first time". In addition to Reinhold Messner's first mountain and Harald Schmidt's first guest, this section also features Sebastian Turner's first claim (in 1987 for the sausage brand Zimbo). Otherwise, the gazette published by a certain Flora & Fauna Media GmbH relies on a brand-one-like look, long photo spreads and even longer interviews and portraits of Spiegel boss Stefan Aust, among others. In Switzerland, however, Dummy is only available at Capribar in Basel, according to www.dummy-magazin.de.

PR market The members of the Association of Public Relations Agencies in Switzerland (BPRA) expect a recovery in business volume next year, although most agencies anticipate a decline in business volume of 5 to 15 percent for the current year. BPRA members see the greatest challenge for 2004 in better profiling their own strengths and adapting to the continuing short-term nature of order placement and processing. In order to increase market transparency, it is planned to place the 2003 market survey on a broader basis and to include non-members in the official BPRA statistics for a processing fee.

TV PR entrepreneur Klaus Stöhlker will be making another appearance on "TalkTäglich" on TeleZüri on December 23. "Never again", was the message from Tamedia after the "SonnTalk" on November 2. At the time, Stöhlker had compared Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger to the Roman Emperor Nero and described the Federal Council's state as "latently psychopathic". And now the pre-Christmas reconciliation? "No", denies program director Markus Gilli. The announced talk is only about "People 2003".

The new Advertising Index Switzerland (AIS), with which Wemf will be offering a rival product to Media Focus from January, promises to add some color to the media planner's gray salad of figures next year. While the industry is still arguing about the sense and nonsense of a second currency in the area of advertising sales statistics, many are delighted with the radical transparency that the two statistics open up. They relentlessly shed light on the previously shrouded jungle of discounts and freespace. As before, Media Focus tells us how much advertising was placed by a particular client in a particular medium. The AIS now also provides us with the invoice issued to the client. This means that in future it will be child's play to work out to the nearest decimal place how much discount a competitor has taken - or granted.this subversive and unintended possibility could easily become the most attractive sales argument for the AIS. In any case, plausible justifications for double-tracking are rare. In December, the Swiss Advertisers Association (SWA) also joined the discussion. It is calling for a standardized base currency for advertising sales statistics. The SWA is also conducting a written survey to clarify the needs of its members.
(dse)

In the editorial offices of the Swiss press, the upholstered armchairs turned into ejector seats in rows and cost-cutting measures set the job carousel spinning: at the Basler Zeitung, Ivo Bachmann is to implement the cuts that the graying Hans-Peter Platz could no longer be expected to make. At the Tages-Anzeiger, Peter Hartmeier took the place of Philipp Löpfe at the end of 2002. However, Tamedia's ongoing cost-cutting efforts secured him a prominent place in this year's press drama. When Markus Gisler and Peter Buri replaced Hans Fahrländer at the Aargauer Zeitung in February, it still seemed as if publisher Peter Wanner wanted to strengthen the title. Since cost-cutting programs have also been imposed on AZ, observers see Gisler's chair shaking again. Markus Eisenhut has already been fired because Tamedia wanted to be represented at 20 Minuten by Marco Boselli. Winter makes everything new in the business press: René Lüchinger replaces Medard Meier at Bilanz and Martin Spieler takes over from Kurt Speck at Finanz & Wirtschaft. The succession of Martin Hofer at SonntagsBlick and Christa Löpfe at Annabelle has only been settled ad interim. So the merry-go-round is likely to continue in the coming year. (sm)

Three appearances - one in spring and two in fall - divided the Swiss Confederation in 2003, starting with crisp female poses dressed in a touch of nothing, Sloggi brand. The delicate, Barbie-sized creations sowed discord between the sexes: While the Venusians felt robbed of their dignity, the Martians fell for the charms of the spring sirens on the roadside. This in turn led to heated discussions about road safety. At least the accusation of sexism was dismissed by the negative decision of the Fairness Commission. In the fall, Franz AG was able to pick the fruits of its regional image campaign: juicy accusations of racism. The creatives at MRM Partners actually wanted to use a name game to highlight the company's expertise in Peugeot representation. The fact that they crossed out names such as Goran, José, Giovanni or Detlef in red and replaced them with Franz - the "right name for Peugeot" - was taken badly. "Contemptuous and racist", was the verdict. The campaign by Sigi Feigel's foundation against racism and anti-Semitism also reaped these accusations at almost the same time. The jokes designed by Wirz without a funny punchline tore open a deep rift in the Swiss population - although this ran through all genders, parts of the country and political views. Reproach number one: the idiosyncratic implementation stirred up the very prejudices that it was actually intended to combat. Discriminatory or not, all three campaigns are striking. And what more could advertising want? Drawing the ire of women and anti-racists: three campaigns that caused a lot of discussion in 2003.
(sk)

Watches Heavy clouds hung in the sky as Mrs. Schulte hurried through the driving snow towards the department store, making her way safely and dryly under canopies through the raging nature and the crowds. Neither her hairdresser Iris nor her knitting booklet inspired her to make a Christmas present for her 17-year-old grandson this year. This year, she would outshine everyone else with her surprise for Sven. "A black quartz watch without hands," she explained to a watch saleswoman, whose brow furrowed behind festive glittery strands. "The one with the colorful picture of Jesus in the advertisement," she tried to explain to the saleswoman. However, she was unnerved by the incessant "Tomorrow, children, there'll be something" noise, so she responded in a friendly manner: "We have seven brands, over 100 different models, and tomorrow the baby Jesus is coming." "No, no," said Mrs. Schulte, somewhat intimidated, "not the Christ Child, but the grown-up Jesus." "You must think that's very original," scoffed the sales clerk. Only now did Mrs. Schulte realize how primitive the ad actually was and how easily she had been duped by it. "We have the new Christmas Swatch here," said the woman behind the counter, who was now looking a little more conciliatory. But Mrs. Schulte had already turned away. "Maybe the Sempach Ornithological Institute's calendar will do," she mused and leisurely moved to the shelf with the latest support stockings before heading home again. (la)