Muse & Musse Detlef Brose What was the last cultural event you attended?
Detlef Brose: Concerts in the Berlin Symphony and at the Berlin Classic Open Air. The ambience at the Gendarmenmarkt is overwhelming, and the Berliner Sinfonie is just as impressive.
What are you reading right now?
Brose: At the moment I'm only reading non-fiction books (statistics, probability distributions, Visual Basic for Excel applications).
What CD are you currently listening to?
Brose: A self-compiled CD with famous classical pieces and a promotional CD by Sebastian Knauer, a pianist friend from Hamburg.
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Brose: "Casino" with Robert de Niro or "Cincinatti Kid" with Steve McQueen. Las Vegas and casinos fascinate me.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Brose: I would fall asleep watching soaps or "Big Brother".
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Brose: I would like to design my own homepage soon.
What could you never do without?
Brose: To sport and vacation.
What do you do in a free minute?
Brose: I don't have a free minute at the moment.
Love is...?
Brose: ...to spend a lifetime with one partner.

Is 20 Minuten Holding, which holds stakes in commuter newspaper publishers in Switzerland (100%), France (16%) and Spain (67%), going public in 2004? Other changes to the shareholder and holding structure are also possible. When they joined the company, the shareholders contractually agreed that they would jointly examine possible exit scenarios for the investors led by the A&A Group (29.1%) and Apax (27.8%) from the end of 2003. This was explained by Chris Tanner on request. He leads the investors put together by the A&A Group and is one of the board members of 20 Minuten Holding. According to Tanner, conceivable changes include the exit of one or both investors or the sale of parts of their share package. It is also possible that individual parts of the holding company (such as 20 Minuten Schweiz AG) could be sold. In any case, the Norwegian publishing house Schibsted, which holds a 41.3% stake in the holding company, has a right of first refusal. The holding management holds a further 1.8%.
"Financial investors also want to fix the exit at the start of their involvement," said Tanner, but there is no rush to do so. "Now is the wrong time for a sale, at least." Nevertheless, any offers would be examined at any time. "But we are clearly not in negotiations with anyone right now," he emphasized. He did not want to answer whether there have already been investment discussions with Ringier, Tamedia or NZZ (see page 11). At Apax Partners Beteiligungsberatung GmbH in Munich, Christian Stahl, responsible for media investments, explains that there is no pressure to exit, the funds set up will run for ten years (mk).

Daniel Comte is the new Creative Director at Advico Young & Rubicam from JulyHead of the week "The unusual attracts more attention"
The challenge is great: "Advico is a great brand that stands for extraordinarily creative advertising. That's exactly what I want to do more of again," says Daniel Comte. The newly appointed CD is not worried that he will not have an easy legacy in Gockhausen. "There are still a lot of good people at Advico with whom I worked well in the past or at McCann," he says.
Comte took his first steps into advertising at a very young age. His father was advertising manager at Biella-Neher in Biel, where little Dani was therefore already allowed to glue maquettes as a boy. After art school, Comte first worked as a graphic designer and then, at the age of 22, as a studio manager for his teacher Christian Jaquet. After four years of advertising for clients such as Berner Zeitung and Schweppes, he moved to Basel to join GGK. His "longest comic strip in the world" for Michel fruit juices stretched across 34 poster sites over 50 meters on Weinbergstrasse and earned him his first ADC gold in 1992.
When Reinhold Weber and Yvonne Hodel moved from GGK to their own offices, Daniel Comte followed them and joined the pioneering years of Weber Hodel Schmid. In 1994, he moved to Dani Matter in Zurich. As CD at Matter Leo Burnett, he was a member of the management team for four years. During this time, he won a Eurobest with the Red Bull talking poster, on which a kitten roars like a lion when you walk past it.
"The unusual attracts more attention", he says and wants to continue to "tread untrodden paths and revitalize a medium" in the future. As Executive CD at McCann, where Edi Andrist brought him in, Comte is particularly proud of the Diax mobile launch campaign and the personality photos with Lauda, Tutu and Agnelli by Richard Avedon for XL Winterthur international.
At Advico, he is now pleased "that customers are confident about the future". Internally, he wants to support the people who have stayed with Advico "and show it to those who have been able to lean out the most so far". In advertising today, Comte says, it takes much more energy to keep an idea good than to invent it in the first place. "Everything is picked apart because more and more specialists are involved in a project and want to have their say."
Daniel Comte is married, has three sons aged five, seven and nine and lives in Bern. As he has done for the past 20 years, he wants to continue to cultivate commuting on the train as a creative environment and chill-out, as a kind of "cleansing phase between work life and private life". Andreas Panzeri

Guye Benker brings vermouth out of advertising obscurityWith an appearance by Guye Benker (GB), Zurich, the Zug-based importer of Cinzano, Campari Switzerland, wants to make up for a loss of awareness for Cinzano. It is the result of almost 20 years of advertising abstinence. Because the history of the brand begins in the 16th century, the presentation positions Cinzano as the original vermouth. In terms of authentic differentiation, the low-budget campaign returns to the roots of the product, to Italianità. In presenting this content, GB relied on the power of the Cinzano logo designed in 1925.
The rectangular brand emblem is divided by the diagonal into a red and a blue triangular area. The lettering runs across the color fields. It is formed by negative, shaded small capitals outlined by a gold border and a similarly designed capital Z, which defines the center of the brand name. According to the importer's interpretation, the blue area symbolizes the Mediterranean, the red field represents passion and the diagonal represents the upswing.
The branding elevates the logo to the status of a key visual. The design and typography of the logo have been retained unchanged. Only the name has been replaced by positioning words and words with an inviting character, such as "Originale" or "CinCin".
The motifs appearing in the gastronomy trade press are broken up by the slogan "Serve the original". In subjects for consumers, the verb to serve is replaced by the verb to drink in the slogan.
"Once again, we have succeeded in finding an eye-catching approach that meets all the objectives," says Christophe Guye. (ew)

Matter & Partner promotes Hero jamHow can the rather stale range of jams be revitalized? Quite simply: with new combinations. Leading Swiss jam manufacturer Hero thought the same thing and launched a new creation on the market in June. The tried and tested flavors black cherry, apricot and plum were each enriched with almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts. Hero's in-house agency Matter & Partner (M&P) came up with something special for the launch of the new "Nut & Fruit" product line: CD Daniel Matter's team transformed the natural stones of these three fruits into the respective nuts on advertisements.
What primarily serves as an eye-catcher also stimulates the imagination and gastric juices - M&P is convinced of this. Because the consumer immediately knows what to expect in terms of taste thanks to the visual realization. The three delicious advertisements have been stimulating the taste receptors of readers of SonntagsZeitung, NZZ am Sonntag and Coop-Zeitung since mid-June (sk).

By Beat FritschIt's not for nothing that the annual advertising festival takes place in Cannes. After all, the French also invented Club Med. And the city on the Côte d'Azur presents itself in a similar way for a week in June: as an oversized club village for advertisers from all over the world! There is a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere - hello and hello everywhere, because you always bump into familiar faces as you stroll along the Croisette. Not to mention the long nights, during which you can get to know lots of new advertisers from all over the world as well as cultivating relationships, and during lunch in one of the countless beach clubs you almost always bump into fellow countrymen, even if you just wander in somewhere at random. There were a good hundred guests from Switzerland. And you are never refused a seat at the table when you sit down. Even supposed business secrets suddenly become less important in the relaxed atmosphere of Cannes.
The first official event took place on Tuesday. The awards ceremony for the Media Lions and those from the Press & Outdoor competition were on the evening's agenda. This was followed by a buffet at the Carlton Beach Club. Of all the official events, this is the best, as the festival is not yet so crowded at the beginning of the week. And the location is also unbeatable: Dining right by the sea has a sophisticated feel to it; it makes you feel like Onassis and Trump together. Among others, Otto Meier, Dani Strobel and Moreno Cavaliere from Publimedia, Martin Radelfinger and Roger Baur from Adlink, Christoph Morach from Mailprofiler and jury member Remy Fabrikant with his wife Mirjam Fabrikant enjoyed the Milliardario feeling. Also present were media specialists Karin Baatsch from Carat, Josi Bauer from Starcom Adplus, Christoph Weber from OMD Zurich-City, Christof Kaufmann from OMD Switzerland, Axel Beckmann from Mediacom, Gerry Stadler from MPG and the RMB crew with Corinne Blaser, Nicole Steinegger and Matthias Luchsinger. Speaking of Publimedia - the guys were pretty lucky: due to the French air traffic controllers' strike, they were able to enjoy an involuntary, but certainly not unwelcome, extra day.
Meanwhile, festival chairman Roger Hatchuel was fuming with rage - the strike came at the worst possible time. Entire agency crews - many guests only arrive in Cannes on Wednesday - are said to have canceled their participation at short notice due to the uncertainty surrounding air travel. Others switched to cars - and promptly got stuck in one of the numerous traffic jams. Cannes 2002 will probably be remembered as a festival that cost many people a lot of nerves - and not just because of the awards they didn't get...
Nervous tension could also be felt among the Swiss towards the end of the week. Migros advertising manager Beat Mühlemann and Exxtra CEO Christoph Bürge expressed their hopes of winning a Lion at lunch on Thursday, but these hopes were abruptly dashed in the evening. Only works by Wirz (1) and Publicis (5) were to be found on the film shortlist. However, it must be emphasized here: Just one shortlist place in Cannes is actually worth its weight in gold. And of the Swiss submissions, just under ten percent made it to the final selection - but other countries look a lot older! The USA, for example, with over a thousand submissions, won just four Gold Lions, whereas the British, with just over four hundred (and the second highest number) of submissions, won seven Gold Lions. It can therefore be said that Zurich-based Publicis, for example, seems to have a very clever festival policy: out of nine of its film submissions, five ended up on the shortlist - a very good ratio. In the end, it wasn't enough for a Lion - and the Swiss also came away empty-handed in the DM competition, which was held for the first time. We just had a bit of bad luck this year! And not just in the competition.
Rudi Haller from HA Productions had his credit card stolen. When he realized the loss three hours later, the "finder" had already treated himself to a dinner (300 euros) and a trip to the "Martinez" bar (200 euros) at someone else's expense. But that was not enough. Reiner Roduner from Absolutturnus was hit even harder. His house in Mougins was emptied on Saturday night: laptop gone, synthesizer gone, credit cards gone, passports gone, all valuables and money gone. And a lot of additional stress just before departure. Nevertheless, they still managed to catch their booked return flight. Reini's colleagues from Germany were less fortunate: they parked their rental car somewhat awkwardly, which is why it was towed away. They were only able to release the car after the police lunch break, which lasts well into the afternoon in France's Midi region. Consequence: missed flight!
Back to the more pleasant side of Cannes. The traditional Swisslunch was scheduled for Friday this year and took place on the Plage Miramar. In recent years, however, the event seemed to be a little better attended - it was precisely on this day that the outside temperatures in Cannes became unbearable. As a result, some of the invited guests probably preferred to stay in their air-conditioned hotel rooms.
The grand finale finally took place on Saturday. For security reasons, some things were handled differently than before. Care was taken to prevent large gatherings of people, which is why the gates to the Palais de Festival were opened two hours earlier than usual. Guests were scanned individually with metal detectors and ladies had to have their handbags checked. Incidentally, this procedure was also part of the procedure during the week if you wanted to get into the Palais.
Because the jury awarded fewer Lions this year than in other years, the awards ceremony went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, only four Swiss were seen at the party afterwards in the Palm Beach (including the shortlisted author). This is, of course, very bad: submitting good advertising in Cannes is simply no longer enough. You have to lobby, talk to people from other participating countries - the CD next door could be a jury member next year - in short:
Ingrid Thommen from Condor, who sat at the table with the Belgians, and Nicole Spring and Melanie Auerbach from Central Kontra Productions, who joined the Chileans, did an excellent job. So you guys: don't play the Swiss hedgehog, politicize. After everything we saw in Cannes, the Swiss have nothing to hide!
Last but not least: To the prankster who ordered the escort service to my room shortly before eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, I would like to order herewith and coram publico that he should perhaps do this a little earlier next year (when ordering, also state the credit card number!) - or just leave it at that. Because I had overslept and was really stressed to get to the airport on time, I couldn't even invite the not unattractive lady for a coffee - and if you're still thinking, you can look at the pictures on page 9 and read the text...
It remains to shake the sponsors' hands with thanks. This year's reporting and the daily shortlist on the Internet were made possible by the companies Absolutturnus, Adlink, Mailprofiler and Publimedia. And an extra thank you goes to Nicole Steinegger from RMB. She organizes the Cannes stay for many Swiss guests, including the supporting programme, with the routine perfection of a Swiss watchmaker.
Beat Fritsch

with "Wilbert the Great", producer and airplane passer from Germany, at Reiner Roduner's garden party in Cannes. But that was just one of the countless events that took place on the festival stages on the Côte last week. In addition, people not only meet up at fiestas, but also for a final nightcap on the "Martinez" terrace. And these are very late nightcaps (or early, depending on your sense of time), because the Martinez doesn't really get going until two o'clock in the morning. Which is why some Cannes visitors are likely to have been out and about this week with dark circles under their eyes.
We find out which advertisers meet up at parties, festivals or simply for a drink at various industry events. Do you already have something exciting to report? Pick up the phone (01
296 97 98) or into the keyboard ([email protected]). For event tips and more pictures from Cannes: www.werbewoche.ch

WHS Zurich stages celebrities at the gaming table for the Grand Casino BadenBy Ernst Weber It is not for the sake of filthy lucre that one should visit the Grand Casino Baden, which opens on July 5, but to be happy in the world of the rich and beautiful. This is what an opening campaign designed by Weber Hodel Schmid (WHS), Zurich, is calling for.
Casino Baden has become a Grand Casino by Federal Council decree. As such, the casino is allowed to offer all the games of chance commonly found in classic European casinos, such as baccarat, blackjack, boules, poker, roulette and wheel of fortune.
Detlef Brose, CEO of the Grand Casino since February, reckons that this offering will attract around 1,500 visitors a day. He estimates that the casino will generate an annual profit of around 100 million Swiss francs with 300 employees - 200 of whom work in the casino and 100 in the catering.
Even if you lose, you win: a distinguished pleasure
Because the Grand Casino Baden does not want to be a place for soldiers of fortune and gambling addicts, a launch appearance designed by WHS, Zurich, implements the positioning "the other upscale night out".
Ad motifs and poster subjects show celebrities as you have hardly ever seen them: a white-clad H.R. Giger, for example, who represents himself, Mephisto and Marlon Brando at the same time, or a Polo Pokerface Hofer who still has an ace up his tuxedo sleeve.
"Usually you work with celebrities because they are prominent. In this case, the idea was compelling. If you didn't know the person in the picture, you wouldn't be able to say what was different about them," explains WHS CD Reinhold Weber.
Photographed in the style of autograph cards used by Hollywood stars in the 1930s and 1940s, the portrait-format motifs transport the viewer into a world of desire and glamour. The idea is supported by the campaign headline "Going out differently for once".
"The motifs express gaming pleasure. But it would have been too one-dimensional if we had made the game and playing the focus of the presentation," says Weber.
The casino must also protect the gambling addicts
Instead of dwelling too much on obvious visual and verbal references to the casino, the shots mystify gambling. In particular, the shady motif with H.R. Giger expresses the fact that, while luck may smile on the visitor at the gambling table, doom may just as well lurk. Detlef Brose adds: "The award of the concession was also conditional on a social concept for the early detection and protection of gambling addicts. For us, gambling addiction is an important issue."
AD Rating

Grand Casino Baden campaign Heavy knockout in the first round for Appenzeller advertising! This week Reini Weber steps into the ring for Grand Casino Baden. The ratings, as always, please visit www.werbe woche.ch/adrating
Appenzeller campaignTop: 3,87%
Flop: 96,13%
Praise and criticism of ad-raters summarized at www.werbewoche .ch/adrating/comments

WHS places the Grand Casino Baden somewhere between good and badLast November, following a recommendation by the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESK), the Federal Council granted an A license to Casino Baden, which has been in existence for 125 years. The casino in the canton of Aargau will now commence operations as a Grand Casino on July 5. A total of four applications for a Grand Casino license were submitted to the ESK from the concession region of north-eastern Switzerland, which also includes the city and region of Zurich.
The casino will only be definitively granted a license once the casino has been approved by the ESK in the next few days. However, hardly any objections are likely to stop the Baden roulette balls from rolling.
A launch campaign by Zurich agency Weber Hodel Schmid (WHS), which also created the casino's corporate design and logo, is intended to position the gambling venue as a sophisticated, sizzling nightlife experience.
The motifs, in which celebrities appear as gamblers, attempt to convey a sense of distinction rather than create the impression of a Las Vegas-style gambling den. For the same reason, the campaign is not aimed at chronic table gamblers, gambling addicts and people arriving by car in droves to the slot machine casino. "We are trying to appeal to those who have perhaps never been to a casino before," says WHS CD Reinhold Weber. page 6

The documentary "All-American Ads" rediscovers the fifties as a source of ideasBy Andreas Panzeri Advertising in the fifties was characterized above all by America. As the Cold War escalated, US families, driven by a spending spree, set off into the age of modern technology. A rewarding challenge for the advertising industry, as the imaginative anthology "All-American Ads" shows in over a thousand pages of images.
The advertising of the 1950s reflects American pride and a sense of security. Soviet-style communism is contrasted with the land of unlimited opportunity. Shortly after the war, the capitalist system promised society a new attitude to life with thousands of new products. A flood of advertisements poured over readers from the then endless variety of increasingly colorful magazines.
"There was no product in the 1950s that was not advertised," writes Jim Heimann in the foreword to his book "All-American Ads". The graphic designer, author and historian lives in Los Angeles and teaches at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Heimann has made a name for himself with numerous books on architecture, popular culture and the history of Hollywood.
Last year, Heimann published the illustrated book "All-American Ads" with advertising from the 1940s. After the Fifties, this year will also see the collection of ads and posters from the Sixties and Thirties, and next year the "Ads" from the Twenties and Seventies.
These valuable documentaries for creatives and those interested in cultural history are published by the German Taschen Verlag. The Cologne-based publishing couple Angelika and Benedikt Taschen - who now also live in Los Angeles - are regarded as the "pop stars of the industry" and enjoy worldwide success with their art and erotic books.
It all began in 1980 with a non-functioning comic book store. Four years after it was founded, 24-year-old owner Benedikt Taschen was on the verge of bankruptcy. As luck would have it, however, he was able to get hold of 40000 American Magritte books for one dollar each from a bankruptcy estate. Two months later, they were all sold again for 9.95 marks.
This gave the publisher a taste for it. Taschen produced art books by Renoir, Chagall and Picasso and brought them all onto the market at rock-bottom prices of between 9.95 and 49.95 marks. The secret of its success: Taschen used quality printing plates to print editions of up to 100,000 copies. An unprecedented figure in the art book market. But Taschen was able to deliver the cheap books by the pallet to the major bookshops.
Today, Taschen sells around 15 million books a year in the fields of architecture, design, lifestyle, art and erotica. "With this mass business, Taschen has abolished the boundary between trivial and high culture," acknowledge renowned cultural critics. At the same time, with the 30-kilogram "Sumo" photo book by Helmut Newton, Taschen has not only launched the heaviest new publication on the market, but also one of the most expensive at 5,000 marks.
Lots of creativity for just a few centimes per idea
"All-American Ads" costs 49.95 francs per volume or just under a centime per advertising subject illustrated, as Jim Heimann has compiled several ads on the same topic on many pages. In the book, these advertisements and posters are not commented on, but are sensibly divided into chapters such as Alcohol&Tobacco, Atomic/Defense, Automobiles, Consumer Products, Entertainment, Fashion & Beauty, Food and Beverage, Industry, Interiors and Travel.
The advertisements with dreams and everyday scenes from the Fifties literally immerse the viewer in other times and worlds. For the advertiser, the subjects are not only an overflowing documentation of the history of style. They are also a tempting suggestion for stealing ideas or at least basic material for amusing and further brainstorming sessions. "All-American Ads", Taschen Verlag, www.taschen.com

It's quite astonishing: at a time when some web agencies have reacted to the internet crisis by going bankrupt or cutting staff, St.Gallen-based Spherix has been able to grow consistently since it was founded almost two years ago. Its success is based on its positioning as a multimedia and design agency. With the opening of the Zurich office, business founder and director Pasquale de Sapio has come full circle. His career began in the early nineties just a few doors down at Radio 24. Back then, the trained sound engineer supported Patrizia Boser with the launch of the Friday evening program "Trends". Work in various recording studios and involvement in BMG Ariola music productions for artists such as Michael von der Heide followed before de Sapio, back in eastern Switzerland, was responsible for the soundtracks of SF-DRS productions such as "Fascht e Familie" and "Mannezimmer" at Videcom. The acquisition of innovative multimedia technologies came naturally.
Fascinated by Flash, he recognized the potential of the tool early on and promoted it in various productions. Thanks to the increasing number of orders and his expertise in audio vision, two years ago he ventured into self-employment. De Sapio founded a multimedia and design agency in St.Gallen, which has found its niche in visual aesthetic orientation and is successfully cultivating it. "This USP facilitates the integration of the customer in all production phases of digital communication media," says de Sapio.
With "high-end packages" such as the "Aua Extrema" CD-ROM for the Expo.02 presentation of the eastern Swiss cantons, Spherix has helped many customers to create interactive media presentations. And the company's own website has already won international design awards. This also explains the client list of well-known companies - from Avis to several cantonal banks and Warner Music. Since the eight-strong team of designers and programmers is handling more and more mandates from the Mittelland and Zurich, the opening of the branch office was the logical consequence of the upswing.
Spherix generates its main revenue from online business and the enhancement of existing sites. Thanks to its audiovisual style awareness, the agency sees market potential in image and lifestyle-oriented orders. The fact that the expansion took place during a difficult economic phase does not worry de Sapio, because: "We are not running out of visions..." Luca Aloisi

Nicolas G. Hayek is awarded "Advertiser of the year" at the International Advertising Festival in CannesThe "Advertiser of the year" award is presented in Cannes to Nicolas G. Hayek for Swatch's innovative product development and creative advertising. At the presentation of Swatch's 2004 Olympic commitment in Athens, WerbeWoche interviewed Nicolas G. Hayek, Nick Hayek junior and Swatch President Michele Sofisti about the secret of Swatch advertising. The "Advertiser of the year" in Cannes is considered to have the best advertising of all global players. Why does this award go to you, of all people, and therefore to advertising for Swatch?
Nicolas G. Hayek: Because we are very close to the people. We have a dynamic message that we convey ourselves. This message is understandable for everyone, provocative and truthful.
As Chairman and CEO, to what extent do you take care of the advertising concepts yourself?
N. G. Hayek: A lot. One hundred percent at our prestige brand Breguet, fifty percent at Swatch and around seventy percent at Omega. I am just as involved in product design as I am in technical product design and, of course, in advertising.
What makes the everyday watch a lifestyle product?
N. G. Hayek: Watches are like paintings, sculptures and music: watches are art. When you look at the Breguet on my wrist, it's a work of art like a Picasso. It also costs a similar amount. Watches are emotional consumer goods and not normal objects. And as a watch manufacturer, you have to communicate that.
What is so special about Swatch advertising that your father was awarded international "Advertiser of the year" in Cannes?
Nick Hayek junior: Because we are not advertisers, but because we have a real message, and because we always do extraordinary and innovative things - without advertising agencies.
Everything in-house?
N. Hayek jr.: Yes, everything in-house. The entire concept for this event here in Athens or the recent proclamation of the 27th canton on Star TV as part of Expo.02 were developed in-house. We don't need advertising agencies.
So advertising agencies are too bad for you as suppliers of ideas?
N. Hayek jr.: Not at all. Advertising agencies are good. It's just that many of them don't help a company to develop its message, but have their own interests. The advertising agency wants to market itself first - and only then the client. Of course, we also work with advertising agencies at an advanced stage of a project. But the advertising agencies are not the ones who tell us what is important for Swatch. We only engage them for specific tasks.
How big is your internal team?
N. Hayek jr.: Initially, it could be five people, then all the specialists in the countries that will later be involved in the campaign will be included. In the end, we might be a team of 20 to 30 creative people.
In Athens, you are now working with the connection between sport and art. What is the message here?
N. Hayek jr.: Art can move and touch people. Sport does the same. In sport, we see performances by individuals and teams that inspire and inspire people all over the world. If we now bring art to the people, the effect is the same. People are inspired and drawn into the event.
The event runs under the name "Kaleidoscope". What does this name mean?
N. Hayek jr.: It's more a connection to Swatch than to Athens. In other words, you can look at something from different angles. The 150 invited artists and personalities such as Peter Fonda, Vivienne Westwood, Claude Nobs, No Angels and many international sports stars had to transform sports equipment into works of art with the help of various components from our watches.
Is Athens the biggest event in this style so far?
N. Hayek jr.: No, Athens is in line with other events. We launched Internet Time on a glacier. In Sicily, we once presented our Olympic commitment with horse racing in the style of "Ben Hur". We were at the Château de Versailles with our luxury brand Breguet. Swatch always looks for unusual locations for its events.
How much does the Swatch sponsorship of the Athens Olympics cost?
N. Hayek jr.: It's a give and take. Swatch works on two levels here. With Swiss Timing, we supply the data for official timekeeping. That is a contract. We have a contract as timekeeper and data trader until 2010 and are responsible for the official timekeeping for Athens, Turin in winter 2006 and the Summer Games in Beijing in 2008, as well as for the yet to be determined winter city in 2010. We are paid for this. At the same time, we are making a sponsorship contribution with Swatch. But this will also pay off, because in return we can sell Swatch watches specially developed for Athens worldwide.
You won the pitch against the Japanese competition.
N. Hayek jr.: Switzerland has long been responsible for official timekeeping. In addition, there is no other brand that can guarantee the perfect functioning of timekeeping and at the same time offer a marketing concept around it that appeals to people.
Your Olympic ambassador will be Carl Lewis. What do you expect from the nine-time Olympic gold medal winner and fastest man in the world to date?
N. Hayek jr: Carl Lewis is the ideal ambassador for us. He conveys the message because he is an exceptional sportsman who has triggered a great deal of emotion and positive provocation. He is also a man who has always paid attention to design and style. He stands out. He is not only our figurehead, but is also involved in the design and styling of events. He will also be involved in timekeeping as an expert. We have been working with him since 1984. His club in Los Angeles tests our facilities during training and gives us feedback for further development. So Carl Lewis isn't just coming to sign autographs.
When will you sign your first autograph as CEO of the Swatch Group?
N. Hayek jr.: Titles are not important to us. But I will probably take over as CEO on January 1, 2003.
Many companies around the world sell everyday watches - but only Swatch has the image of a lifestyle accessory. Nicolas G. Hayek didn't want to tell us: What is the secret of this branding, Mr. Sofisti?
Michele Sofisti: The secret is emotion and a lot of creativity. This has been the case since the first day of Swatch and will always be the case. In addition to the watches, we give our customers certain emotions and colors that they can be happy about. We want to get straight into people's hearts with our watches and with everything we do.
Swatch organizes such events in-house, without external advertising agencies. What do you personally think of this do-it-yourself concept?
Sofisti: Everyone who works at Swatch is a collector of our watches or at least very passionate about them. So it's a pleasure for our staff when we organize a meeting where everyone can participate with their skills. The whole idea for this event here in Athens was born and grew within us, and for something like this, I believe - without being arrogant - that you can work internally at least on the same level as an advertising agency. We have the passion and the heart for our product. We also work in direct contact with Nick Hayek senior and junior. I don't think there are more creative people to work with in an agency.
How much of Swatch is emotion and image in relation to the pure material of the watch?
Sofisti: I believe that emotion is the main thing. The emotion through the product. You can work with advertising from this point. But the emotion remains the main thing. Interview: Andreas Panzeri

The Football World Cup is becoming a ratings hit for Sat 1 Switzerland.World Cup ratings top According to Sat 1 marketer RMB Switzerland, the private channel now has the largest market share (MA). In the 24-hour average (15-49-year-olds), Sat 1 achieved 15.7%, leaving the private channels (RTL 9.3%, Pro 7 8.9%, RTL 2 5.6%) and the SRG channels (SF 1 14.2%, SF 2 6%) behind. RMB did not specify the period for which these figures apply. As the viewer figures for the World Cup were far higher than expected, advertising booked with Sat 1 currently recorded 25% more performance.
The end of Meyer's The publishing house Meyer AG (VM) is definitively discontinuing its women's magazine Meyer's. 55 employees are made redundant. Tamedia takes over the address base of Meyer's; subscribers will in future receive Schweizer Familie as a replacement for the women's magazine. Meyer's is published for the last time this week.
Bertelsmann wants to sell specialist publishers German media giant Bertelsmann apparently wants to get rid of its specialist publishing group BertelsmannSpringer. This was announced by CEO Thomas Middelhoff in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Businesses that do not fulfill our claim to market leadership and do not fit into the concept of an integrated media group are being put to the test," he said. It is clear that BertelsmannSpringer does not fulfill these criteria. In Switzerland, BertelsmannSpringer includes Birkhäuser Verlag, MVS Baumarketing, Schück Söhne AG and Media-Daten AG, which publishes WerbeWoche.
European news agencies in Bern The European Alliance of News Agencies (Eana) chose Bern as its headquarters at an extraordinary general meeting. The association brings together 28 national European news agencies, including the Swiss News Agency.