Newspapers Inspired by Lucerne's unsuccessful football team, the Publicis team led by CD Uwe Schlupp, Johannes Jost (text) and Sven Christinger (AD), converted a round ball into a square one for their client Neue Luzerner Zeitung and teasingly asked on one of the five advertisements: "When will FCL be back on track? The Lucerne footballers must not be particularly pleased with this advertisement. After all, it is enough for them to regularly feel as if they have to kick a square football on the pitch.

Health insurance companies Despite good test results, Swica's brand image has eroded since the award-winning pensioner sex commercial. AA&I is implementing Swica's trading-up strategy with its lifestyle image campaign, and the new health insurance campaigns and follow-ups are also being rolled out with the upcoming premium round. However, every price increase reduces the understanding of expensive insurance company image campaigns. Finding the right balance between awareness and popularity and achieving the necessary share of voice to gain as many "good risks" as possible: This is squaring the circle for clients and their advertising agencies.Winterthur's top 5 insurer Swica, which has an almost traditionally DM-heavy media mix, opted for the Zurich agency Advertising Art & Idea (AA&I) after a pitch in April. The only thing that was certain at the time was that they wanted to further develop the overarching concept - "I trust Swica" - with ski pro Sonja Nef. It soon became clear that with these resources and this strategy, it was almost impossible to differentiate the company from the strong competition, particularly in the above-the-line segment. For this reason, all advertising materials were redesigned during the summer months.
The result - three advertisements and two TV commercials - does without celebrities and conveys an image that reflects the renaming as a "health organization". This is probably also the reason for the recent decision by Swica director Hans-Ueli Regius not to launch the announced low-cost health insurance company Prima. This could hardly have been reconciled with the positioning of a self-confident Swica in the direction of attractive yuppie country.
Stefan Winzenried, AA&I-CD, is certain that this psychographic profile is likely to be accompanied by a risk structure consisting primarily of health, fitness and brand-conscious people. Just as the Holmes Place member does not go to a communal fitness center, the Swica customer should also want to afford this health insurance company because Swica is a brand that sees itself as a health organization and not as a care provider. This attitude to life should be expressed by vital and healthy people with the communicative guiding principle "I am Swica" and "We are Swica", which is suitable for both external and internal communication that strengthens identification. The claim "Healthy security" is supported by the repositioning.
Spends up to six times less on advertising per insured person than the competition: Swica.
Health insurance companies For the new Swica image campaign, the new in-house agency AA&I takes the pensioner sex spot down a notch - but stays true to the bare facts >> p. 9
Luca Aloisi

SF DRS With hip-hop producer Sacha dos Santos alias Morph, Zurich-based Eqal Visual Productions has secured a place on Swiss television. 27 August sees the launch of its commissioned production "Morph" as one of five youth programs that will take over from "Oops!" on SF 2. The other new formats will be produced by SF DRS itself or purchased abroad. Morph also impressed those responsible at SF DRS so much that they gave the project, originally called "Word-TV", its name.

Radio DRS 3 and Virus reserve the right to further joint programs.Bendicht Luginbühl, program director of DRS 3 and Virus for almost five months, does not rule out further program cooperation between DRS 3 and Virus. "We want to save costs and look for synergies," he says on request. The aim is to anchor both stations even more firmly in their target groups. To this end, they want to coordinate their presenter training and increasingly use the
the targeted listeners, which
will be possible from October with a satellite-supported OB van for live reports. Virus will also be able to use this van, and it will also be possible to "broadcast various special programs on both stations," said the program director. And: "Further collaborations are conceivable in the future."
Cooperation between DRS 3 and Virus is nothing new: Virus has been broadcasting DRS 3's hit parade at the same time since mid-May, and conversely DRS 3 has been taking over Virus' "Sounds" program since June 2.
(mk)

The advertising agency Eugster Kommunikation in Rorschacherberg has two new clients in its portfolio: for Hügli Nährmittel AG in Steinach, it is taking on the brand relaunch of various product range components in the food service sector. The first results will be seen this winter. Eugster won the account in a pitch among three agencies. For the St.Gallen cosmetics manufacturer Mila d'Opiz, Eugster is implementing an end-to-end concept for customer retention and acquisition for beauty salons.

Column The media decide who will be the first to cross the finish line in the approaching fall elections. This may not be a good thing, but it is better (i.e. more democratic) than political communication in the good old days of ideologies.A long time ago, a certain Goethe noted irritably: "What is printed in the newspapers by monarchs does not look good: For power should act and not talk." What would the Weimar poet prince have thought of the obtrusive media presence of incumbent and candidate Helvetic rulers this fall? Probably this: "Poor people: having to talk so much for so little power!"
Must? We are allowed to! Today, our classe politique has at least as many opportunities for public self-presentation - because they are increasingly for sale - as they have hopes of big attention dividends: and the more "media-friendly" (i.e. apolitical) the appearance, the more likely the public will occasionally take a look, and the happier the media coffers will ring. In a nutshell: political advertising has blossomed into a universally profitable work of art, and anyone who doesn't bid is either to blame or broke.
Nevertheless, disapproving but also well-meaning democrats have every (good) human objection to this development. Academic and other observers diagnose a surplus of political representation at the expense of policy-making, of symbolic instead of decision-making politics, of shaking hands instead of raising hands (in parliament), of talking instead of acting.
So what? Isn't grassroots democracy the form of government of patience that works according to the motto: "Me mues halt rede mitenand"? The fact that the rampant communicationitis not only costs something, but often also brings something politically, may seem plutocratic to the have-nots, but it is entirely in line with market economy logic. Is the quack Dr. Eisenbart a much better "spin doctor" than Dr. Placebo? Is political bite more digestible than politics with donated toothbrushes? Once again
you are obviously beating the advertising (packaging) sack and actually mean the media democracy donkey.
Nothing works politically without media mediation, and certainly not without advertising for politicians, both on factual issues and in the election of candidates. Anyone who is bothered by the long duration and simple binary coding (yes/no) of campaigns should take note of the fact that there are many citizens who are slow to grasp political issues,
if at all. And that mass communication only works if it is simple and inviting. That's why Schröder sat down on Gottschalk's little bench. It should not be forgotten that politics needs advertising more than ever, even on its own behalf, as a field of action in need of legitimization - be it through media entertainment.
Power, which was still indivisible for Goethe, is now also distributed among media audiences. They can vote their political actors in and out of office twice: first by remote control - an early form of e-democracy - and later at the ballot box. "Votes should be weighed and not counted," said another classic author, Friedrich Schiller, some time ago. Who should weigh what and whom today, in the election fall: political or taste judgments, of responsible citizens or spoiled entertainment consumers? And with what legitimacy: that of a self-appointed elite? Then why not the ritual media political spectacle?
> Ulrich Saxer was a professor of journalism at the University of Zurich and
Professor of Sociology of Communication in Lugano.

A majority of the Internet community in Switzerland would like to see an out-of-court dispute resolution service for .ch domains, according to a study conducted by the Internet registry Switch and the Federal Office of Communications. If there is a disagreement about the rights to a domain name that has already been registered, the parties would like a quick and cost-effective procedure to assert their interests, according to a press release from Switch. Although the Swiss legal system is efficient and cost-effective, 54 percent of the 1,000 respondents said that the establishment of a dispute resolution service was important. The analysis of the survey is available as a PDF file at www.switch.ch.

Advertising expenditure Gross advertising expenditure in Switzerland fell by 5.3% year-on-year in July, which is always a weak month in terms of sales.Advertising expenditure Gross advertising expenditure in Switzerland fell by 5.3% year-on-year in July, which is always a weak month in terms of sales. Daily newspapers suffered the biggest decline (by 11.2 percent to CHF 91 million). According to Media Focus, for the first time since January 1999, they generated less than CHF 100 million in commercial advertising in a single month. Consumer magazines also suffered (-7.9 %), while trade journals recorded their first positive result (0.5 %) since January. Radio advertising continued to enjoy a consistently positive year with an increase of 1.3%. TV grew by 12.8% and is now only 0.1% behind over all seven months. With growth of 64.6 percent, cinema reported a
remarkable summer high. Less pleasing is the result for poster advertising (minus 7.3%). Nevertheless, the cumulative
annual loss every month after the miserable first quarter, comments Media Focus.

With over 3000 addresses for production and creation as well as current articles by renowned specialist authors, the "Production + Creation" yearbook is the ideal key to the Swiss advertising scene. The address book from the Media-Daten AG publishing house is clearly arranged according to 330 keywords. The addresses range from photographers, digital printers, film and AV producers to database administrators and mouse mat manufacturers. The 200-page work is supplied in a user-friendly Wiro spiral binding and can be ordered for 110 francs (+ VAT) from Media-Daten AG by calling 01 296 97 98 or faxing 01 296 97 02.

The Zurich advertising agency Soldini Bienenfeld is now responsible for the security software Norton Antivirus, having won the account from Symantec in a pitch against five other agencies. The advertising measures, which will start in August, will focus on point-of-sale advertising throughout Switzerland.

Tourism At the end of May, Advico Young & Rubicam won the competition presentation for the brand campaign of the canton of Graubünden, and now it's time to get started: with literally groundbreaking advertising for the "Züri retour" event from September 5 to 7 at Zurich main station. On the left wall of the platform concourse, a gigantic hiking trail arrow will guide hundreds of thousands of travelers daily to the scene of the action: the large station concourse, where a multimedia 200th birthday party for the canton of Graubünden will be celebrated. Street, streetcar and S-Bahn posters will also be on display in the city and agglomeration of Zurich. Further measures from Gockhausen for Graubünden will follow.

Television DDB Zurich promotes "People," the new and first Swiss gossip show from the Swiss illustrated magazine on Sat 1.What "Seitenblicke" is to ORF and 3sat, "People" is to become for the Swiss TV community. On August 25, Swiss people with a penchant for gossip (and there are quite a few) were allowed to take a look at the world of the rich and beautiful through the window of Sat 1 for the first time. They were admitted as guests to Franco Knie's caravan and the homes of the Miss Switzerland finalists. In this look through the nation's keyholes, viewers of "People" are always accompanied by Bernese Anita Kunz. The former Tele M1 news anchor has not yet asked her guests to splash around in the bathtub, as is usually the soapy, clean norm for similar home stories in Swiss magazines. But her questions should at least be "as deep as my cleavage," the presenter in the glittering glamour dress revealed to a colleague from Blick - whether the naked truth will come to light remains to be seen.Gap Closed
The new gossip and lifestyle magazine was developed and produced by Sat 1 Switzerland in cooperation with Ringier-TV and Schweizer Illustrierte. The editorial director of "People" at Ringier-TV is Anouk Haimoff. "With the new show, the media group has closed a gap in television in Switzerland, as until now there was no TV magazine that also featured gossip about celebrities," says DDB Zurich.
Monday is rehearsal day
Following the successful and multiple award-winning campaign for the broadcast of the soccer World Cup on Sat 1 Switzerland, the agency has now also designed the advertising for Glamour magazine. In its concept, DDB Zurich declares Mondays to be celebrity days, thus staging TV sets as sites of celebrity activity.
"After all, 'People' is supposed to report so closely and exclusively from the world of glamour that it's almost as interesting as meeting the people in the flesh," says Creative Director Patrick Lienert. At least in the tongue-in-cheek campaign, the creatives from Zollikerberg have succeeded. The implementation shows this "exaggerated staging of celebrity" in both the spots and the ads, in that it is not the protagonists of the glittering world who are the center of interest. The real "star" in the spots and ads is the TV set. The bras of screaming fans fly to the TV and onto the finally shimmering screen. Even the lenses of the paparazzi are no longer on
the celebrities, but focus their focus expectantly on the TV sets. In other words: "The show should be more interesting than the celebrities themselves," the advertisers hope to promise with their subjects.
According to the concept, the TV magazine wants to position itself "a little more styled than Schweizer Illustrierte. In addition, actual styling tips are also given in the show, so it was a must for DDB to also have the advertising "come across with class.
Consumer environment
DDB Zurich has created a campaign for "People" for TV, cinema, radio and print. The two spots were realized by Addictive Productions, directed by Markus Welter, who also worked for the DDB World Cup advertising.
In addition to the first broadcast of "People" in two independent parts on Monday evenings on Sat 1 - due to advertising regulations - there will be two repeats per week. Sat 1 Schweiz and Cinecom & Media AG expect a total of 1,700,000 viewers a week. Cinecom already knows that the way the show is made is intended to offer "an extremely consumer-friendly environment for advertisers.
Whose heart is full, frees itself from the textile corset and lets a thousand flowers speak: DDB launches Ringier-TV's celebrity show "People" on Sat 1 Switzerland with a dash of piquant irony.
Andreas Panzeri