In June, the advertising agency Matter & Partner (M&P) sought—and found—new copywriters in an unconventional way, using a simple surprise tactic. In a personal letter, the Zurich-based agency confirmed to each of its ten top candidates that they could start working as copywriters on July 1. Creative Director Daniel Matter would call them personally to discuss the «final minor details regarding salary and future clients.» The letter was also accompanied by new M&P business cards—bearing the name of each copywriter. With a 10 percent success rate, the campaign is Effie-worthy: Thomas Ammann has been working as a new copywriter at M&P since mid-November. New interactivity at Wirz. Wirz Interactive AG, the Wirz Group company specializing in consulting for online corporate communications, is merging with its long-standing technology partner, Endeed Interactive AG of Cham. Under the name Assai Interactive AG, the new company will launch on January 1, 2002, at the Wirz Group’s expanded headquarters in Zurich with 20 employees. Jost Wirz has been named chairman of the board of directors. For Michel Juhasz, co-founder and CEO-designate of the new company, one thing is certain: «This combination makes us the top choice for online communications.»
Three Sunday publications in one fell swoop. Ringier is expected to begin broadcasting the
Tamedia will handle the early delivery of the *SonntagsBlick*. The newspaper will distribute the paper throughout German-speaking Switzerland via the Zuvo distribution network and its partner organizations. Ringier Group spokesperson Fridolin Luchsinger confirmed this upon request. Tamedia already organizes early morning delivery for its own SonntagsZeitung and has also been commissioned by the NZZ to handle early morning delivery for its new Sunday paper starting in March. Luchsinger expressed his delight at this new development at Tamedia and Zuvo. «Discussions about joint distribution have been going on for a long time, but until now, Tamedia had been opposed to it,» he said.
Good taste, plain and simple. Since 1986, McCann-Erickson in Geneva has been advertising Martini Brut sparkling wine. The creations made from corks and wire—subtly photographed and surprising year after year—are well remembered. Eventually, Prince Charles’s wire-framed floppy ears were replaced by a black eye on former Miss Switzerland Melanie Winiger. However, the image wasn’t well-received everywhere, as it was reminiscent of a violent scene. Neither campaign succeeded in boosting the sparkling wine brand’s name recognition. That’s why the Geneva-based agency is launching a new advertising concept at the end of the year featuring two poster designs intended to highlight the drink’s good taste through images of the unremarkable. Well then, salute!
It makes sense: organic cheese made from grass. When buying organic products, consumers should be able to trust that they are getting products that are truly healthy and organically grown. To document this guarantee, the Knospe is an independent organic—
A quality seal has been introduced. Bio Suisse, based in Basel, now wants to once again raise public awareness of how consumers should interpret this quality seal. Lowe Lintas GGK visually brought the communication campaign to life with a cheese made from 100 percent organically grown grass. Or at least that’s how it appears on the B12 poster in Philippe Chrétin’s design. Creative Director Mark Stahel, Art Director Philipp Sträuli, Graphic Designer Sebastian Hugelshofer, Copywriter Alain Picard, Consultants Nicolas Edelmann and Kerstin Schnyder, Organic Specialist Cordelia Galli.
Risk at the National Bank. Since 2000, the Swiss National Bank has hosted the Museum für Gestaltung’s poster collection at its location on Stadthausquai in Zurich. Since then, the exhibitions in the bank’s display windows have changed three times a year. Since November 15, visitors have been able to view a collection of valuable posters on the theme of «Security.» The exhibition concept was developed by Kurt Thaler.

New City Guide in Zurich. Until now, various guides and brochures have been vying for visitors« attention in Zurich. Now, Zurich Tourism has decided to support only one product: the City Guide Zurich, published by Verlag Tourismus in Zurich (WW 25/01). This »key booklet« has previously been available in Zurich hotels under the name »Infoguide.” Now, in addition to its new name, the brochure is getting a new layout. Designer Kurt Schwerzmann (Facts, WoZ, Work) is responsible for Downtown Switzerland’s new visual identity. The new guide is published four times a year with a print run of 200,000 copies each time. The new official guide is also the only one authorized to use the “Zürich Downtown Switzerland” brand. The man behind the publishing house is Ursin Mirer, also known as the owner of the trendy Giesserei restaurant in Oerlikon. The head of press relations at Verlag Tourismus is none other than Bruno Bötschi, the former driving force behind Salz & Pfeffer and Cigar.
Editorial

The Brand Power of Consumers: Consumption has become a universal means of communication and the most successful evangelistic movement on the planet; brands and logos are an integral part of international events. Amid this brand-centric fervor, we tend to forget that the core of a brand consists of shared values that should not be violated without good reason or without consequence. Consumers who feel connected to a brand want to see their values reflected in it. A brand that is successful in the long term must behave ethically and thus deliver on its promise. Thomas Otte refers to this as the categorical imperative of brand management. Read his interview on page 37.
«No Logo,» the polemic by Canadian author Naomi Klein, quickly became the bible of anti-globalization activists. In it, she criticizes the contradiction between inhumane production methods and the promises made by global brands. From Seattle to Genoa, her followers are taking to the streets to fight against the corporate tyranny of brands.
The excessive branding practices of major brands are now backfiring on them. When emotional brand promises fail to deliver, or when questionable production methods—such as child labor or environmental destruction—come to light, that disappointment becomes a boomerang for the corporations. During a demonstration outside Nike’s headquarters in New York, a boy from the Bronx told the news cameras: «Nike, we made you. And we can destroy you, too.»
Power-conscious consumers seem to have grasped one thing: When everything has become consumption, the world can only be changed through consumption and its opposite—the boycott—and in our affluent society, there are more than enough alternatives to both. Samuel Helbling, Editor-in-Chief

The advertising agency Weber Harbeke Alborghetti will lose the last part of its name as of January 1, 2002, and will from then on operate under the name Weber Harbeke again.The reason for this is the departure of Reto Alborghetti, who wants to reorient himself professionally. Until the end of the year, Alborghetti will train his successor Michael Breuer, who will join the agency as Client Service Director on December 1, 2001. Breuer will join the management team, but not the company name. "For the time being, this is not an issue," comments CD Thomas Harbeke. He, Weber and Breuer know each other from their mutual employer Wirz Werbeberatung. Breuer most recently worked at Lesch + Frei as a consulting group manager and in the meantime gained experience on the client side as marketing manager at Blueprimus Internet-Shoppingcenter (Switzerland). Reto Alborghetti, who had been with WHA since 1996, will take a career break for the time being. (ba)

There's no better time to place such perfectly staged ads with lots of skin than in late fall, when it's really cold and frosty outside, when even the trees are shedding their leaves, and when the chicken skin only recedes after the second Maggi Quick soup. What's the point of that now? Shoes are advertised on both ads, once topless and once bottomless. The perky-eyed Ernesto Esposito model is allowed to pose her hip curves amid newly rubberized tires, while the freshly shaved boy is just about to burst his tight-fitting pants. Still, both ads come across as so aesthetically pleasing that you don't know whether you'd rather give her a nice pat on the backside or help him unbutton his tight pants. One thing is as certain as the first fresh snow - once again only Chandra Kurt thinks of new shoes.
Column

Two twins By Dominik Imseng
An idea is "good" if it is "reduced to the essentials" and that means: "reducing to the essentials" is something that local creatives in particular never tire of proclaiming. Yes, Frank Bodin, who writes for "Kult" but is actually chairman of Euro RSCG Switzerland, goes so far as to talk about "essentialism" because he has a high school diploma.
However: Frank Bodin is mistaken, and it is mistaken with him who thinks that essentiality is suitable for the evaluation of ideas. Ideas are always essential, otherwise they would not be, because the word "idea" comes from the ancient Greek "eidos", which means "being". And in this respect, there are no "good" ideas, which is a little sad, but there are no "bad" ones either, which is comforting, especially when you can't think of anything useful.
"What did the twins look like?" "I don't know, but there were two of them." - So redundant, so unessential it is to speak of "essentialist" ideas. Which is why it is precisely those who shout "Reduced to the max" at every opportunity who have to put up with the reproach of being "doubly duplicated".
Smart-ass, you think? True, but it goes a few lines further. Because what's more, as Frank Bodin, I would be wary of providing the same definition of creativity as Danielle Lanz, for example, or Tamás Kiss. Just as I wouldn't be caught dead using the phrase "getting to the point." Or with "dramatize the product benefits in a surprising way." Or with "don't take the consumer for a fool." Instead, I'd talk about an idea bringing rain to deserts. Or cures diseases. Or reconciles enemies. Or no: I would talk about good advertising being art.
That would be something new.
[email protected]
Dominik Imseng is a copywriter at Jung von Matt/Limmat.
Language Observer

Blind text (IV) for cutting off Last night Franz told me about a country - it's called Astoria or Allotria or something like that - where everything is much more beautiful and better than in all the countries he has already seen. He couldn't even tell me where this country was on the map. He was just trying to make me like his version of paradise. "And do you know what the most beautiful thing is?" he said at the end: "There, people don't drink because they are sad, but out of joy!" We're moving. The house has been too big to clean up. While washing, Simi discovers a scar under his collarbone in front of the mirror that he had not noticed before. He can't remember ever having been injured in this place and runs his hand under his sweater again and again during the course of the day. Before Anna can even address the first word to the new class, she discovers a note on her desk: "I'll never love a grown-up, even if I grow up myself one day." Last weekend I visited Alexandra, who has lunar sand at home and the logbook of Apollo 13. If you told her she could take part in an experiment on how to die in space, she would leave immediately. If one considers the material reality as real, the reality created in the computer actually seems comparatively unreal. However, if one considers that in the meantime a single incorrectly set bit can trigger a catastrophe, then this idea abruptly tips over into its opposite, and a kind of merging of two levels of reality occurs. In the evening, Yvonne doesn't want to eat the cake because there isn't enough cream on it, and when her mother says that she should just leave it, that there isn't any more cream, the little girl says gloomily, well, then she'll call the starving man now, and if she dies then, it's all her mother's fault. Robi Mahrer is now 85 and can't remember anything. The only thing he has is his body, and even there he is not quite sure. Linda is late, but she doesn't hurry, because she will be late soon enough. It's only a few minutes then. When I woke up in the morning, Mike was standing in my room, in overalls, and he was bossing around three painters, they had already covered the furniture. He said to me rather casually that if I would also get up slowly, they could start. Karin writes that little Simon has begun to divide the world into things with motors, things with voices, flowers and unimportant things. Joukie looks for a job. She sits on a chair that doesn't belong to her, at a table that doesn't belong to her, eats an apple that doesn't belong to her, nothing belongs to her, but she's allowed to be here, she works here, she's told, on machines that don't belong to her, the others say it too, and she goes on saying it, because they pay her for it, she marvels herself, it's really incredible. In the parking lot in the underpass Andi, Role and Sybil argue about the name of an actor. Parents, Bude, Tom, Märk, Pesche, Anna, Sonja, Petra, X is written next to the keys of the phone, and of course she presses X to see who that might be. "Well?" she marvels, because the display shows her own number, and in the evening she asks him, "You, why am I only an X on your phone?" He replies, "that's a crossed-out nothing." - "That's another thing about evolution," Hubi picks up the thread again and points to the sky, "that's really the idea of an aging major, a senile old gentleman. The stronger eats the weaker - what catastrophic nonsense!" Colleague Kurer is now in his ninth year of studying at the University of Zurich, and still no degree, not even a small midterm, is in sight. What he is actually studying is impossible to get out of him. Presumably he has embarked on the difficult career of the Jenachdemiker. We were standing on a hill, leaning against the trunks of a group of sunlit trees, there was snow, someone was smoking, shots were popping now and then in the valley, their echoes echoing off the Jura ranges, there was a tank barricade somewhere, someone was saying something, someone was laughing, and I suddenly understood why the Swiss sense of home is so inextricably linked to the military. "As soon as they get a Porsche," Tom says, "I'll be a member of the car cooperative, too." - "No, Evi, you can't do that, you already canceled last week and the week before last, too ..." - "So what. Listen, it really can't be done, this is very important to me, and we can meet next week, what's the big deal?" - "I ... you are by far the most cancelled name in my agenda ..."
((run through without a paragraph and when space is used up, cut off in mid-sentence; no signature))

Golf & Country withdraws the French-language edition from the marketGolf & Country (G & C) is discontinuing its French-language version at the beginning of 2002. The reason for the end after five years: The competitor Golf Suisse has poached too many readers in French-speaking Switzerland.With the double issue for the months of November and December, the French-language version of Golf & Country will appear for the last time. The edition for French-speaking Switzerland was no longer profitable, explains publisher Urs H. Dillier. "The translation costs alone were higher than the additional income that could be generated in the French-speaking Swiss market," says Dillier.
However, the negative development was also due to a drop in demand from readers. In the best of times, G & C had sold more than 1,000 subscriptions in French-speaking Switzerland. Now it has slipped well below that figure.
Dillier has achieved its sales targets in the advertising market
He sees the main reason for the dwindling interest in the competing product Golf Suisse. The members' magazine of the Swiss Golf Association ASG, which Piero Schäfer has been producing on behalf of the Volketswil-based media publisher Meier since the spring of 1998, has dampened the appetite of many subscribers for a paid-for magazine.
According to Dillier, however, the French-speaking Swiss subscribers will not simply be abandoned. "A large proportion also accept the German-language version, which we will supply them with in the future," he says.
However, Dillier does not confirm that things have become financially tight for the lifestyle title Golf & Country. "We have even exceeded our sales targets in the advertising market this year," continues the publisher. "And this is despite the fact that since April, the monthly magazine Drive has also been fishing for advertisements in the same pond." Daniel Schifferle

After only three issues, Suzanne Fournier, publisher of the French-speaking Swiss women's magazine Blandice, has already discontinued the German-language version.News Blandices retour in Romandie The publisher was not prepared to comment. However, it is suspected that the magazine was not tailored enough to the needs of German-speaking Swiss readers and did not meet the quality demands of advertisers. In addition, the marketer Mediax in St.Gallen, which was responsible for acquiring the advertisements, is considering legal action against Blandice. In western Switzerland, Blandice is well established alongside Edelweiss from Ringier Romandie and Profil Femme from Audace Publishing. As recently as spring, Suzanne Fournier had been convinced that her product would set new standards in the Swiss German market (WW 6/01).

By Beat Fritsch Curling can't be, it's "Gut Stein!"; in ice hockey, at best you shout "Gut Stockbruch!"; "Timber!" the lumberjacks shout, and in golf - you shout "Fooooooor!"is, we think, the encouraging wish that stock exchange traders, foreign exchange brokers and derivatives gurus, Ospels and Mühlemanns shout to each other before they plunge into their daily battle in the stock and foreign exchange jungle.
The expression was certainly apt last week when the Swiss investor magazine of the same name called to LakeSide Zürihorn for the Stocks Awards ceremony. And at the same time to the party for the first anniversary of the weekly title of the HandelsZeitung publishing group, which provides investors with stock market information. In his birthday speech, publisher Ralph Büchi recalled the market mood at the time of the launch, which was still characterized by fat profits and an exuberant boom.
"If we had known what was going to happen this year, and not just on the money markets - our knees would have been weak, to say the least," Büchi said in his speech to 250 guests. While the headline of the first Stocks cover was still "Stocks for winners," only one year later the teaser "Stocks for the nervous" would have been much more appropriate. Nevertheless: Stocks has correlated negatively with the market this year, and for once this is a negative development that gives pleasure, Büchi reported. While the stock market crumbled more and more over the year, Stocks continuously gained.
Publishing director Patrizia Serra and advertising manager Musti Asaf therefore also had reason to be pleased, and they probably made a significant contribution to the success. And with them also the advertisers Daniel Matter and Erich Baumgartner from Matter & Partner, who look after the Stocks advertising budget. Soon, the latest campaign will be on display.
Considering that it was a bankers' event, the line-up of advertisers and media people was impressive. Apparently, word has spread in party circles about the quality of the Stocks and HandelsZeitungs events. This was reflected not least in the speedy and professional handling of the award ceremony. The three best individual analysts, the three best analyst teams and a stock of the year selected by the readers were honored. Stocks Editor-in-Chief Reto Lipp and the event manager of the HandelsZeitung publishing group, Bettina Möhr, managed to get the award ceremony through at a brisk pace in half an hour. This was appreciated by the bankers present, who share a common trait with the advertising profession: they don't like to listen for too long. Especially not when an aperitif buffet is waiting outside. Möhr received special compliments for her moderation - a score of 10 out of 10. If a TV trend scout had been sitting in the audience, the publishing house would probably soon have to fear for the event manager's future.
Gebi Schregenberger didn't like the whole thing very much. He first sat at the bar on the lower floor, but then took pity on the croupier at the lonely riverboat table and therefore lost himself a little with the dice.
Beat Fritsch

went "long" at the Stocks investor magazine party. And in stock market jargon, that means a strong commitment (buy) in a stock or commodity. Red wine flowed however none, only white wine and champagne. And that means in stock market jargon that one went "short" with the red, because that is the short form for a so-called short sale.
Those who otherwise celebrate birthdays, hand out awards or enjoy fine dining are located at a wide variety of events on the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or in
the keys ([email protected]). Event tips as well as further shortlist pictures are available online at www.wer bewoche.ch.

The EU takes another run at a Europe-wide ban on tobacco advertising in the press and on the radio.Fax EU attacks tobacco advertising again
In an initial debate among EU health ministers, a broad majority emerged in favor of the EU Commission's proposals. Only Germany, Luxembourg and Greece want to exclude local and regional newspapers and local radio from an EU-wide regulation. A first ban on tobacco advertising failed last fall due to a lawsuit filed by the red-green German government.
Malone wants to join Premiere World The U.S. media group Liberty Media is looking to buy into Kirch's pay TV station Premiere World. Liberty wants to acquire Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. stake (22.03 percent). Murdoch had announced several times in the past that he would divest Premiere World if the channel failed to meet its subscriber targets this year. The Kirch Group has confirmed initial talks with Liberty Media.
Havas dissolves network The French advertising group Havas Advertising is dissolving its Diversified Agencies Group agency network. Most of the member companies will be integrated into Havas' three future main brands, Euro RSCG, Arnold Worldwide and Media Planning Group. The Group's most important agency, the direct marketing company Brann, will in future be part of Arnold Worldwide.
Grey wins Mars in Europe The chocolate bar Mars will be handled by Grey Worldwide in Europe in the future. Grey won the pitch against budget holder D'Arcy and BBDO Worldwide. All three agencies already look after other Mars Inc. brands. D'Arcy has already lost its second Mars Inc. budget in just a short time. At the beginning of October, the agency already had to cede the European budget of Uncle Ben's Rice to BBDO.

In addition, Dominik Kaiser has been appointed managing director of the music TV channel Viva Plus. Under this name, Viva Media AG will relaunch its channel Viva Zwei in early 2002 as part of a joint venture with AOL Time Warner.
The SonntagsZeitung is losing its Trend section editor. Jeroen van Roojien is leaving the paper after just three months and will return to freelance work.
At the end of January, Urs Paul Engeler will move from the SonntagsZeitung to Roger Köppel’s new weekly magazine. Engeler had only joined the SonntagsZeitung in September from the Weltwoche, where he was a Federal Parliament correspondent.
A change in partnership at the Zurich-based advertising agency Matter & Partner: Erich Baumgartner, head of consulting, plans to pursue a new career path and will leave the agency as of December 31. Andy Schlatter will become a new partner and, as managing partner, will be responsible for consulting starting in January 2002.
After about two years—first as editor-in-chief and later as head of product development—Reto Wüthrich is leaving the content provider Swisscontent.
Barbara Rutschi has been the new Head of Services and Spokesperson for Swiss Youth Hostels since November. She succeeds Nic Kaufmann.
Beat Stähli, deputy editor-in-chief of the Bieler Tagblatt, will take over as head of the Communications Office of the Reformed Church of Bern at the beginning of February. Stähli will succeed Hermann Battaglia, who will retire at the end of May.

Branders.ch has recently been operating in Speicher, Aargau, as a sales and purchasing platform for brands on the Internet.Branders.de's sister company assumes that more and more brand names will be needed (new products and services, start-ups and mergers). However, the search for new names is becoming increasingly difficult, because many are already protected or the domain names are taken. Branders.ch offers names that are already protected and registered, mostly with the corresponding domain names, and soon also names with a past in the commercial register. "We bring companies looking for a name together with the companies or people who want to sell a name," says CEO Jörg Pohlmann. At the same time, Branders offers service to anyone who wants to protect, buy or sell a name. This includes a database connection for research or advice on registering names.Branders.ch, which currently consists of a team of three, already has over 100 registered companies, according to Pohlmann. (dz)

U.S. airlines relaunch first TV ads after September 11By Thérèse Balduzzi Less than two months after the attacks on America, U.S. airlines have launched new image campaigns. United Airlines stands out because it is personalized and makes explicit reference to the September 11 disaster.
Since the beginning of November, various airlines have started to launch image campaigns again. The move was necessary because airlines are still suffering from a 25 percent drop in passenger numbers. Media companies have also lost millions due to the absence of this source of revenue.
In the Delta campaign "Person to Person," created by Leo Burnett, Chicago, potential passengers are reminded of reasons to travel. In the first spot launched, airline passengers explain their reason for flying: "This is not the kind of contract you can fax," says one man. Other motifs include homesickness. The spot for "Homesick" ends with the words: "Everyone has a reason to see somebody. That's the reason Delta flies." The small, young airline Jetblue, which has so far set itself apart from the big airlines with cheeky campaigns, also advertises with reasons to travel.
Spots that press strongly on the tear glands
Among airline campaigns, United Airlines' stands out for its personal touch. In its six 60-second spots, United Airlines employees in uniform have their say. Five spots are composed of short statements.
In the first spot, employees talk about how they are dealing with the September 11 tragedy, and in the second spot, a number of employees describe their bond with United by telling how long they have worked for the airline. At the end, the United logo appears and an off-camera voice says, "We are United." In three more, a captain, a flight attendant and a technician each talk about how they make passengers' flights comfortable and safe.
The most touching spot is "Welcome," in which a flight attendant tells of a couple on their honeymoon to Hawaii. The husband is a firefighter in New York and his wife didn't know if this trip would ever happen. The captain gave a speech in the couple's honor. He said there was a hero on board, to which all the passengers clapped.
Lastly, she mentions a nun who stood up to wish the couple a happy future. At the end of this spot, the words also appear, "To the two million people who have gotten back on board. Welcome back." The spots were created by Fallon of Minneapolis. They were filmed by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris.
While Delta says it is still unclear when and if it will resume its just-launched campaign, United says the Nov. 12 accident has no impact on its new campaign.

X-Art, the private school for applied design founded in 1986 by graphic designer and lecturer Hanspeter Paoli in Fahrweid ZH, is celebrating its 15th anniversary on November 26 with an Open Day, during which Paoli will present the new two-year course in copywriting/design for marketing communication, which is due to start next February. With X-Art, Paoli wants to close the gap between art schools, where he has noticed an underemphasis on computer applications, and computer schools, where technical rather than creative skills are taught. The Pièce de Résistance, the Electronic Publisher diploma course and the Multimedia Designer and Creative Year courses will be supplemented by the new course.
According to Paoli, the course content includes "everything prospective professionals need to know and be able to do for the development and implementation of advertising campaigns in print and AV media". Together they attend the specialist blocks marketing and advertising planning, communication science, creativity techniques, law and visualization. In addition, there is specific course content such as vision/design, typography or interactive systems/multimedia for the designers and linguistics, language design or texts for various media and applications for the copywriters. Luca Aloisi

McCann-Erickson uses incontinence humor to advertise the new Nico yearbookWhen garlands of lights guide shoppers' steps into shopping arcades, the time has come: Nico's collected cartoons are published as a yearbook by Werd Verlag. Once again this year, the volume is accompanied by an advertising campaign, which has now been designed for the seventh time by the Tagi cartoonist's son: Claude Catsky, freelance CD at McCann-Erickson. And because he always knows how to give the advertising appearance a new, brilliant concept, all the campaigns have made it into the ADC yearbook, last year's even into the Cannes shortlist. Catsky explains his success by the fact that he always tries to top his father's benchmark. With the "Pee Campaign", he seems to have succeeded again. When looking at the tape, all continence is lost, which could have unaesthetic consequences. The warning on page 10.