From February 10, Reto Wüthrich (photo) will be the new program director of the local station Radio ExtraBern. He replaces Claudia Schwab, who was dismissed last fall. The new program director Wüthrich was previously project manager at Migros Kulturprozent and a member of the management team at content provider Swisscontent. Most recently, he was the owner of the information agency Pepper. ...
Corinne Scarpi and Christa Niederberger have joined the sales team of the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten. Christa Niederberger has been looking after customers from the local Zurich market and the event sector since January 3.
...
Andreas Meier has been a partner and co-owner of the advertising agency Metzgerlehner Worldwide Partners AG since the beginning of the year. Prior to this, he was unit manager and member of the management board at Wirz Werbeberatung and also a partner at Wirz Partner Holding AG.
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Marianne Burgener joins the dialog agency Fisch Meier Direkt in Adliswil. She previously worked at Readers' Digest Switzerland in Zurich.
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At the request of Radio Director Walter Rüegg, the Regional Council Committee of SRG Deutschschweiz has appointed Bendicht Luginbühl (photo) as the new Program Director for
DRS 3 and Virus
elected. Luginbühl, previously with
Radio DRS 3, will take over from Andreas Schefer in April, when he steps down. Luginbühl is currently Head of Content on the management board of Goldbach Media Holding.
...
At the beginning of February, Silvia
Aeschbach new member of the
Editor-in-Chief (CR) of the tabloid Blick. She was most recently editor-in-chief of the
Meyer's women's magazine. From February, the editorial team of the Ringier-published magazine will consist of Werner De Schepper (Editor-in-Chief), Rolf Cavalli (Deputy Editor-in-Chief), Silvia Aeschbach, Hanspeter Peyer, Markus Rohr and Ueli Walther.
The Basel-based pharmaceutical company Novartis is merging its Communications and Public Affairs divisions. The American Steve Kelmar will take over as head of both divisions at the beginning of February.

Super Bowl America's TV advertisers are once again playing the leading role in the legendary football final this Sunday night, leaving Willie Nelson with just his guitar. In 1990, the tax authorities confiscated the country singer's home and hearth in order to settle at least part of his seventeen million dollar tax debt to the tax authorities. Since then, Nelson, an elegant figure with braided hair, has been regarded as the noble tax evader par excellence, and this rebellious image is now being exploited by tax consultant H&R Block. The company has hired Nelson to advertise its services in an original commercial. The smart short film premieres this Sunday during the live broadcast of the Super Bowl, the final of the National Football League. Around 100 million people will be watching in the USA when the most important trophy in American sport is awarded in San Diego. However, the majority will not be tuning in for the sport, but for the commercials when the Californian Oakland Riders take on the favored Tampa Bay from Florida at 4 p.m. local time.
Advertising Christmas in JanuaryThe legendary Super Bowl, this year in its 37th edition, is by far the most important event in the advertising industry. Every year, the most surprising, funniest and often best commercials celebrate their premiere during the four-hour broadcast. At the same time, the event, which traditionally takes place in January, is regarded as an indicator for the coming eleven months. If the Super Bowl business goes well, according to the conventional wisdom, the communications industry is in for a good year. One recruiter from the job agency Hotjobs even describes the game of games as the "Christmas of our industry".
And indeed, there is a lot of splashing, as is usually only the case at Christmas. Advertising time worth over 200 million dollars has been sold by ABC, which is allowed to broadcast the Super Bowl this time. But trends are not only set commercially, but also in terms of content. The style and mood of the commercials allow interesting conclusions to be drawn about the mood of the nation. Accordingly, last January, a few months after the terrorist attacks, restrained to contemplative images and tones prevailed. The clips were dominated not by glamor and humor, but by melancholy and patriotism. The White House also booked a broadcasting slot at the time and promoted abstinence from drugs and against terrorism.
This year's commercials, on the other hand, paint a mixed picture. Once again, the White House is advertising against smoking weed. In addition, the so-called pre-show, which is almost as important for the advertising industry as the final itself, will be broadcast from an aircraft carrier in San Diego's harbor, which will further underline the military mood. Nevertheless, wit and sarcasm are back this year. And there is plenty of room for creativity again. For the first time this year, it was even possible to book 60-second advertising slots. This novelty has inspired General Motors and Visa to create veritable mini-films.
In contrast to the previous year, more celebrities are once again promoting products. For example, the in
between 40-year-old basketball player Michael Jordan for the isotonic drink Gatorade against himself (in a digital version from 1987). The astronomical prices are also back. On average
ABC demands 2.2 million dollars for half a broadcast minute. According to the president of ABC Sports Marketing, Ed Erhardt, no one paid less than 1.5 million and no one paid more than 3 million dollars. Last year, when Fox broadcast the spectacle, the average price was 1.9 million. By comparison: in January 2000, at the height of the Internet hype, the average price for a ticket to the advertising Olympics was 2.5 million dollars.
At that time, 22 dotcom companies, which offered up to 3 million dollars, drove the price up to lofty heights. They have not yet reached that level again. However, the prices achieved now point to a recovery in the industry. Especially as most of the slots were already booked two weeks before the event. The emerging optimism is only dampened by the fact that in 2003 only old acquaintances are appearing instead of vivid technology companies whose ludicrous spots have made Super Bowl advertising history: Most of the spots were booked by beer brewers, car manufacturers and the film producers of the blockbusters of the coming summer. Anheuser-Busch alone has reserved six of the approximately thirty advertising minutes for its Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob brands. Main sponsor Pepsi-Cola is also a sure bet, as it will be taking part for the 18th time in a row. In contrast, only two Internet companies, Monster and the Yahoo subsidiary Hotjobs, appear on TV.
Betting for 100 billion dollarsSince many televisions are switched on primarily because of the TV commercial premieres, phenomenal viewing figures are guaranteed. According to Nielsen Media Research, 42.6 million US households watched live last year. A study by the University of Connecticut also illustrates just how enormous the interest is. According to the study, legal and illegal Super Bowl bets amount to 100 billion dollars (!) nationwide, which corresponds to around one percent of the gross national product.
Regardless of the many pairs of eyes, the Super Bowl also harbors dangers for advertisers. As great as the attention is, the expectations of creativity are just as great. Because advertising critics are relentlessly on the watch. An estimated 6000 journalists in the USA alone report on the entertainment value of the Super Bowl commercials. If one stands out particularly positively, even national prestige titles report on it. If, on the other hand, one falls down, the consequences are catastrophic. The very next day, various websites publish top and flop rankings. And sport? What happens on the pitch can influence the odds. If the score remains undecided for a long time - as was the case last year - the odds rise steadily until the end. If, on the other hand, the winner is decided quickly, viewers switch their attention elsewhere early on.
The majority tune in not for the sport, but for the commercials.

Old apples and new pantsUS companies have always used the Super Bowl to cultivate their image or
to launch new products. Apple, for example, made advertising history when the computer manufacturer introduced the Macintosh with the "1984" commercial in the mid-1980s. This coup is still regarded as one of the most effective campaigns ever. Last year, the telephone giant AT&T introduced new services for cell phones. Jeans multinational Levi's is trying something similar this year: a campaign launched on the Internet for the "Levi's Type 1" trousers culminates in a 5 million dollar 60-second commercial during the Super Bowl (ph).
Average costs for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl
Peter Hossli, New York

Column Within weeks, Gerhard Schröder mutated from media chancellor to media victim. There are also political reasons for the serious crisis in which the German government found itself shortly after its narrow election victory. These are not the issue here. However, the massive decline in the German population's approval of their newly elected government is also a pathological communication disorder - and therefore a case for WerbeWoche.details of the German debate are probably only of marginal interest here in Germany. However, as Germany is Switzerland's largest trading partner, it makes sense to realize the extent of the uproar there. Both major parties achieved 38.5 percent of the electorate in the 2002 federal elections. Current polls put the CDU/CSU at just under 50 percent and the SPD well below 30 percent. And the country's biggest newspaper, Bild, ran the headline: "Chancellor, we've had enough."
There are several reasons for this communication failure. Firstly, the government has failed to adequately communicate its political U-turn. Since 2000
the line of austerity and tax cuts, the German chancellor is now practising a welfare state traditionalism close to the trade unions. The not dissimilar Swiss public service policy shows that this need not be unpopular. In Germany, however, people are confused by the sudden and implausible command to "turn right". The chancellor should have stood before his people and explained the new situation.
Another reason is the government's lack of ideas. Just like a company, it must pursue an "inspirational dream". Nike makes sneakers. However, 50 percent of the added value comes from the cultural impression. The "products" of a government are laws on pensions or the healthcare system. Here too, however, image and trust play a decisive role. When faith is lost, not only do value chains break down, but loyalties as well.
In the meantime, Schröder has sensed the danger. Suddenly he is offering tax evaders who have moved their money abroad (including to Switzerland) an amnesty if they pay a comparatively moderate final withholding tax of 25 percent. In addition, his office leaked a strategy paper to the public that holds out the prospect of a reform of healthcare policy. And lo and behold, the mood among the elites is already softening. This is Schröder's "inspired ad-hoccary", which roughly translates as "imaginative situationism". But you have to see: Schröder's concessions to the elites are simultaneously causing resistance within the official corps of his own party. It remains to be seen whether the Chancellor will prevail.
The German head of Saatchi & Saatchi, Hubertus von Lobenstein, recently made a very pointed comparison between two T-shirts. One from Procter & Gamble has the words "It's my fault" on the back and "I was shit as a child" on the chest. The T-shirt that von Lobenstein gives out to his own people is different. On the back it says
"I work in Saatchi & Saatchi", with "You don't" on the front. The German government would thus be the
shake your head. "You don't?" "Well, thank goodness!" people would say. We don't want to go so far as to recommend the P&G version. She still has time to fix her glitches. But she will only succeed if she analyzes her policy as a communicative process.
> Peter Glotz was Federal Secretary of the SPD and a member of the German Bundestag until 1996. Today
teaches media management at the University of St.Gallen.

Ringier is planning a German-language edition of the women's magazine Edelweiss and, as well-informed circles know, the Zollikon-based advertising agency Alex Schmid has already shot two commercials for a corresponding launch campaign. The women's magazine is currently only published in French-speaking Switzerland.

Möbel PfisterDoes a beautiful red pencil already draw a new advertising spring? Cleverly furnished opinions on the Publicis campaign for Möbel Pfister at www.werbewoche .ch/adratingWildeisen's cookingTop 31,33% Flop 68,67%
Reini Weber has to spoon up a rather oversalted soup for his cooking campaign - well, the ad raters wanted it that way.

TV advertising Gabriela Böcker-Flamm, Deputy Managing Director at Mediacom, on the mistakes made by private TV broadcasters and on crisis talk.WW Do you consider the TeleNewsCombi (TNC) or Infopool for your TV campaigns?Gabriela Böcker-Flamm The local and regional TV stations have developed very well. Therefore, they are certainly recommendable for support in individual regions. However, this attractiveness is somewhat clouded by the fact that local TV stations tend to have older viewers. So if one is looking for a supplement of younger people, which is often the point, the regional stations are less suitable. The exception is Tele Züri, which successfully reaches out to young people with a number of channels.
That is, you don't think of the TeleNewsCombi as a whole, but of individual regions that you pick out.
Exactly. If so, then it's about amplifying individual regions, then we look at the individual station.
Viewer figures for regional TV are rising across the board. The broadcasters say that acceptance in the advertising industry is now on the verge of a breakthrough. Is that how you see it?
Rising viewer numbers definitely help, because they are an expression of an increase in the attractiveness of the offerings. However, I don't think local TV has been sold below its value so far. It is already being used for local support where it makes sense. So I don't think there's a huge breakthrough coming now.
Where does the offer of the regionals make most sense?It would certainly make no sense to want to plan full coverage with local and regional stations. It can only be a question of where reinforcement in individual areas would make a difference. Regions like Zurich with great potential are certainly a good place to start. And if I can efficiently buy additional pressure in my target group with a regional station, then that's certainly attractive.
Do you rate Tele Züri higher than the other regional stations because its audience is somewhat younger?
My point is not to pit the individual stations against each other. Each program has its own justification in its own region. We mustn't forget that the regions and their audiences each have different characteristics and needs. Of course, the local and regional stations have to take this fact into account. Tele Züri has the advantage of broadcasting in Switzerland's most populous conurbation. With its quite high viewer numbers, it offers the possibility to additionally penetrate the audience in this important area.
What advice would you give to regional TVs: Where should they focus their offerings even more?
You must continue to work hard on quality. Our customers consistently expect professionally made environments. Accordingly, they have the same high expectations in the local and regional area. Of course, progress has already been made there, especially with those that have been in the market for six or seven years. But for many stations, quality is still an issue that needs to be carefully monitored.
Do you consider the announced fee-splitting for regional TV stations to be a sensible instrument for further improving the quality of the programs?No, I don't believe in it. In my opinion, fee-splitting is not the right way to go. One should have the necessary means or leave it alone. Subsidies without a public mandate, as in the case of public TV, are the wrong approach from an entrepreneurial point of view.
Can the various local and regional stations expect a breakthrough when the current crisis is over and advertising spending picks up again?
I don't expect to see a marked movement of advertising dollars toward regional and local TV stations, even after the crisis ends. It will be a slow development. The better the stations get and the more viewers they attract, the more they will be called upon to reinforce media plans in the individual regions. But I really don't see an imminent dramatic breakthrough.
And in the case of TV advertising in Switzerland in general: Is the current crisis now signaling the shift towards TV advertising that has long been invoked but has still not materialized?TV can clearly hold its own better than other media such as newspapers, which are suffering particularly badly. In such times, advertising money is most likely to stay invested in efficient media. And for international customers in particular, that is television. Unabated advertising pressure in mass media is very important, especially in times of crisis. That's why we tend to see somewhat less of a decline in TV. But shifts in the media mix are still a very slow development. In the long term, advertising spending in the traditional media will continue to move toward TV in Switzerland as well. But that's taking longer than anyone thought.
Regional TV broadcasters: Second choice for spot placements.

Interview: Daniel Schifferle

Tele Ostschweiz (TVO) is not allowed to cover the entire canton of Thurgau: The Federal Council has rejected an appeal by TVO operator St.Galler Tagblatt AG and definitively confirmed the license areas of TVO, Tele Top, Radio Aktuell and Radio Top, which have been in force for over a year.

When many beautiful people meet in a very beautiful place to honor beauty products - then it can only be the Annabelle "Prix de Beauté". Every year, the women's magazine awards prizes in eleven categories for newly launched beauty products. There are awards for perfumes, make-up, facial care for ladies and gentlemen, hair care and sun care.
In contrast to previous awards ceremonies, which were held in the "Giardino Verde", this year the "Terrasse" was chosen as the venue. There was no table arrangement - as Annabelle editor-in-chief Christa Löpfe-Feldmann explained in her welcoming speech that a mix of guests was desired.
The exchange between the tables also took place when the first gaps in the seating opened up after the meal. Table riots were the rule, and rarely have you had the opportunity to get to know so many different people at an event with gala seating.
Lolita Morena, who was of course at the forefront as the presenter, also knew how to take advantage of this. She recommended herself as a test person with a bon mot for each of the winners among the very fine cosmetics. Pretty clever, that lady - and budget-conscious too: Individual care products from the luxury segment can easily cost up to three hundred francs. For a small jar, of course, not for half a liter! Beauty has its price.
Winning an "Anna" - the name of the "Annabelle Oscar" - naturally pleases the marketing managers, advertising managers and product managers of the respective manufacturing companies. Hands on the cream jar: What makes the award so valuable is not the cute trophy, but the free PR
in the editorial section of the women's magazine, which results in a nomination or even a win in a category. The fact that two of the four award-winning products for men can also be found in the beauty case of the shortlisted author clearly speaks for the extremely competent assessment of the jury. And makes the author of these lines a potential jury member for the next "Prix de Beauté", as Christa Löpfe-Feldmann laughingly replied.
Even if there were no "Bhaltis" at the end of the event: Nevertheless, the guests were spoiled at the highest level. The tramezzini with caviar foam that were served with the aperitif were not to everyone's taste. But from the starter onwards, there was nothing more to complain about. Pumpkin soup with curry, smoked tuna carpaccio, ricotta and marjoram triangoli, veal fillet with lime sauce and passion fruit mousse satisfied even the most critical diners. The fact that the wines were also excellent and even the most expensive digestifs were offered at the bar put the icing on the cake of the culinary experience. Singer Jessy Howe was also a feast for the eyes and ears on stage. The event agency owner Stefan Merz, who was responsible for coordinating the event, fulfilled his task - as expected - with flying colors.
A naming ceremony and an agency party were also on the agenda last week. The former KO AG, which was founded in 1976 under the name Atelier für Kommunikation, is now operating under the new name Intosens. The name had gradually started to itch in the throat - and the company no longer wanted to be constantly knocked out, explained
Ayda Ergez officially welcoming the guests.
The name change is also accompanied by an internal reshuffle. As part of a succession plan, Maria Luise Hilber handed over the management of the company to her agency partner Ayda Ergez. The third member of the team is still co-owner Patrick Blum. With its core area of clients from the fields of finance, ethical investment, health, real estate and architecture, the agency has certainly not positioned itself in a creatively priced segment in its history, but in a segment that is all the more financially strong. The cool business premises in the Enge district certainly don't give the impression that the agency is in need. Incidentally, Intosens is the abbreviation for "Intoxication of senses". "Five senses" would also have been an alternative, joked one guest. However, there would then have been a certain potential for confusion with another agency.
The Sulzer Sutter agency run by Francis Sulzer and Roland Sutter did not change its name, but simply celebrated its annual party for clients and friends. The Fiesta Española in the "Bodega" has now achieved something like cult status. The palatable "Bodega" house wine and the various tapas buffets, which are almost indecently sumptuous, create the incomparable atmosphere that can only be found in Zurich in the cellar of the traditional Spanish restaurant in the old town.
The historic "Bodega" cellar with its narrow, winding corridors offered guests just enough space to avoid too much of a crowd. Apart from the entrance, where people stand on each other's feet. This is the only place where people are allowed to indulge in tobacco - out of consideration for the stored wines.
Presenting "Anna" to our readers: hair and make-up stylist Bettina Haas, jury member and co-owner of Medusa Hairdressers in Bern.

These and other characters can be admired at the parties and aperitifs in the wine cellar of the "Bodega".

Beat Fritsch with Lolita Morena at the "Prix de Beauté" in Zurich's "Terrasse". She hosted the event and proved to be a real charmer, and not just on stage. She immediately had the men in the bag, but it took a little longer with the women. But even they couldn't resist the charisma of the enchanting presenter and applauded along vigorously.

Where the communications, media and publishing industries meet for their events, we locate the most diverse events in the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (telephone
01 296 97 98) or hit the keys ([email protected]). Event tips and occasional shortlist images can be found online at www.werbewoche.ch.

Karin Müller is now the sole managing director and partner at Mosaik, Marketing + People AG, where she learned to work hard on her parents' farm. As a girl, Karin Müller had to dig up potatoes and pick grapes in Weiningen before she was allowed to start an apprenticeship as a ladies' clothing saleswoman in Zurich at the age of 15. Then "the country girl" actually wanted to become a buyer, but because of the fashion shows she had already walked at Gassmann's at the age of 18, she had "a
lucrative offer as a model". She moved to Milan and Florence for a while, where she also financed her language school by modeling. "I realized that modeling wasn't everything. I wanted to be appreciated for what I do and not for how I look."
Karin Müller entered the promotional industry by chance after working as a freelancer in the back office of various promotional and modeling agencies. After completing a second commercial apprenticeship, she received various offers in the promotion and event sector, including from Mosaik. Marc Schürmann had taken over this agency in 1998 and was looking for someone for his major client JPI, then still Reynolds Tobacco.
Karin Müller decided to join Mosaik because she believed that this agency, which was the smallest at the time, had the greatest potential for expansion. "The chemistry with Marc Schürmann was just right." He represented Mosaik externally, she organized the back office. Mosaik achieved a turnover of almost one million francs in its very first year. The initial pool of 100 people has now grown to 1200 available employees in the promotion area. The number of customers has grown from 3 to over 80, with JPI and important brands such as Escolette still on board.
Following this rapid growth, Marc Schürmann founded various sub-companies and brought all these service providers for events, the Internet and marketing together in a tool center on Winterthurerstrasse. Mosaik was spun off again under the motto "Back to the Roots". The promotion agency has moved into new offices on Scheuchzerstrasse, Karin Müller has been the sole managing director since mid-2002 and has also been a partner with a minority holding since December.
"I want to cultivate the mosaic groove again, as it was there before the boom," says the 27-year-old. In the meantime, she has not only studied Schürmann's textbooks to become a federally certified marketing planner, but has also completed training as a human resources specialist. Together with Schürmann's marketing company, Müller now offers holistic advice "below the line".
In her private life, she is interested in different cultures and religions and enjoys reading books about them. She lives in Zurich and now goes out "a bit more moderately and purposefully", having previously been "on the streets enough" as a promotional hostess on the front line.
27 and washed with all promotional waters: Karin Müller.

Andreas Panzeri

The advertising agency Stoz in Pfäffikon ZH is taking over the overall communication for the MZ furniture center in Volketswil. old acquaintances for Stoz are the Zürcher Oberländer and the Anzeiger von Uster, whose accounts Zürcher Oberland Medien AG entrusted to the Pfäffikon agency. Both were previously advertised by Stoz before they switched to Honegger von Matt in the summer of 2000 following a pitch.

Lowe Corporate is starting the new year with the Swiss Florists' Association as a new client. The Lowe AG business unit won a pitch and the contract includes the revision of the association's logo and the entire visual identity. In a further step, various tools and measures will be further developed in line with the new corporate design. The first results will be presented in early summer.

Nothing is more provocative and enduring than the ultimate, striking contradiction, and no one has mastered this art of affront as perfectly as Oliviero Toscani. Aids, war, the death penalty and sweaters: in his style-defining Benetton campaigns, the Milanese anti-icon staged the most irreconcilable of all communicative opposites, that between advertising and world improvement - itching or nausea - the same opportunistic anger as Toscani's visuals is also the source of his pamphlet "Advertising is a smiling carrion", first published in 1995. Nevertheless, this hate-filled homage to the evangelists of our economicized times is one of the most inspiring pieces of self-reflection that advertisers (themselves) have achieved in the nineties. "I scratch public opinion where it itches the most." We could certainly learn a thing or two from Toscani's unerring instincts in this respect today. And be it only that you contradict her from the bottom of your advertising heart.
> Advertising is a smiling carrion by Oliviero Toscani. Bollmann Verlag, Mannheim 1996. 196 pages, Fr. 28.40.
(oc)