The Lucerne-based advertising agency Bossard Kommunikation was recommended to Assinara Services AG, a new client in the software sector, and Bossard's initial work will be featured in various national publications in September.

Social campaign No medicine helps against ignorance. Aids sufferers experience this first-hand. Zurich-based AY&R wants to alleviate their suffering worldwide with an awareness campaign: In the fight against deadly viruses, people instinctively fall into the collective hysteria of "don't touch me". Fortunately, the World Health Organization is seeing a drop in the number of new infections on the Sars front. On the other hand, things look anything but reassuring when it comes to Aids. There is no sign of a decline in new infections. Even in Switzerland and 20 years after the virus was first isolated, the number of new cases has increased by 25 percent compared to the previous year. No wonder, then, that the FOPH has been stepping up its Aids campaigns again since the infection rate rose three years ago.42 million people infected with HIV worldwide and over three million deaths from Aids.
In the past year alone, these people are still experiencing exclusion and discrimination. The Geneva-based UNAIDS sub-organization has commissioned a campaign to combat this stigmatization. It is normal for aid organizations to take the low-cost route via connections. In this case, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's acquaintance with
Sir Martin Sorell, CEO of the third
the largest communications network WPP, was helpful. The latter recommended the Swiss advertising agency Advico Young & Rubicam for the conception and realization.
In Gockhausen, the decision was made with the client to change the focus of previous campaigns: Away from the sick and towards their relatives, who often exclude them from the community either deliberately or for lack of better knowledge. "Discrimination against the sick is therefore proving to be the biggest obstacle to containing Aids," says Account Manager Lara Krensler. This isolation in turn makes access to treatment and care more difficult. The result is devastating individual fates, broken families and weakened communities.
This was also the starting point for the TV commercial, which was put together from dozens of negative exclamations such as "You disgust me" or "Get lost, we don't want AIDS here" from people of all skin colors and ages. The impressive plea for more humanity in dealing with AIDS patients ends with the message: "Help us fight fear, shame, ignorance and injustice worldwide. Live and let live."
Luca Aloisi
Advico Young & Rubicam has created a TV commercial for the UN Organization to Fight AIDS that calls on people around the world not to discriminate against AIDS patients.

The Zurich-based advertising agency Euro RSCG has won the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) budget for regular customer marketing. Euro RSCG prevailed in a two-stage selection process, with over 60 agencies applying for the publicly tendered budget, according to a press release. Three were selected for a pitch. The contract covers relationship management with holders of Half-Fare, General and Track 7 travelcards. This includes the MobilBonus customer magazine. The account was previously managed by Fisch Meier Direkt.

Wemf's online usage certification Net Audit shows new values. Unique clients" indicates the number of individual users who accessed a website during the month under review. "Use Time" indicates the average duration of a visit. Since May, Tages-Anzeiger.ch has also had its usage certified by Net Audit, as have Bieler Tagblatt, Liechtensteiner Volksblatt and Infoweek. The number of participating sites has thus risen to 23. The Net Audit data is published free of charge every month on www.wemf.ch.

The book "Visuelle Kommunikation - Visual Communication" by Beat Keusch has been published by Nigg-Verlag.The former AD at GGK Basel and CD at Stalder & Suter now runs an independent studio for visual communication in Basel. The publication gives a multifaceted insight into Beat Keusch's work, among others for the Schauspielhaus Zurich, the Theater Basel and the Centre Culturel in Paris. ISBN 3-7212-0475-1.

Internet: Hans Fischer, Peter Keller, and Nicolas Berg are launching First-Stocks.com, a new online financial service. Managing Director Fischer and Marketing Director Berg are co-founders of the stock market portal Borsalino, which is now part of Ringier. With their new offering, they promise «news and profit tools at a fair price» for individual investors and CFOs of small and medium-sized enterprises. A subscription to the basic service—which includes stock prices, analyses, news, and tools—costs 900 francs per year.

Food producer Nahrin has commissioned Zünd ASW to create a new corporate identity. The advertising agency from Berneck won a pitch against domestic and foreign competitors.Nahrin produces food according to the principles of healthy nutrition. The Sarnen-based company wants to standardize its international image. By the end of the year, all products will therefore be given a new look and selected measures will accompany this step.

Following a selection process, the technology group Epson has entrusted Jenni Kommunikation with the PR mandate for the whole of Switzerland.the Japanese company serves the Swiss market from Germany, but has recently opened an office in Zurich. By choosing a local PR agency, Epson is continuing its strategy of increasing its involvement in Switzerland. Jenni Kommunikation is taking over media relations for the provider of printing and image processing solutions with immediate effect

Airlines What the American government can do, we have been able to do for a long time, easyJet advertisers must have said to themselves: While the Americans concentrated on missiles in their search for weapons of mass destruction, the low-cost airline is focusing on weapons of mass dispersal after the end of the war in Iraq - and they can only be female. What this linguistic confusion has to do with the easyJet flight offer advertised in Saturday's edition of the British Times is hard to guess with so much deliberate mass confusion. The main thing is to look - and turn the page. (ck)

Press The German weekly newspaper Die Zeit is also available to listen to: professional speakers such as Ingrid Metz-Neun, dubbing voice of Marilyn Monroe, read the online audio articles of the Hamburg weekly newspaper. The downloads include journalistic highlights from all departments. The additional service, available in all common formats, is part of an innovation package for mobile contemporaries. An e-paper edition and the complete current weekly newspaper on audio CD are also planned. Non-subscribers will have to pay for the new services after a free trial period. (oc)

Business magazines The investor magazine Stocks, launched in November 2000, will only be published fortnightly from July onwards, instead of weekly as before, with the HandelsZeitung publishing group justifying this step with the continuing decline in advertising volume. The advertising combination with HandelsZeitung launched a few weeks ago will remain in place. Stocks will also be published with a new editorial concept from the end of August 2003.

A look at car brochures from different decades illustrates the change in values, while farewell poems on corns bear witness to a more innocent era of advertising. The SME advertising service provider Ansatz offers a cross-section of 20th century marketing communication with the exhibition "Advertising then and now" at its premises in Dietikon. The exhibits come primarily from the advertising museum currently being set up in Zurzach, but local companies have also contributed objects. For example, the development of Sprüngli's chocolate packaging from 1911 to the present day can be admired.