record Satisfied faces at the SWA meeting: record Satisfied faces at the SWA meeting: The 1999 performance report was extremely positive. In the richly laden list of demands presented two years ago, SWA President Fredi Schwab was able to describe various points as fulfilled or well on the way.
In order to make the development transparent, the SWA has drawn up a list in which all demands are evaluated in terms of progress or results already achieved. In most respects, we are much closer to achieving our goal than we were a year ago.
In the print media, Schwab praised the system change from millimeter to Swiss franc contracts introduced at the beginning of the year, the path taken towards uniform color price levels, and the tougher research data resulting from the change to LpA in the new MACH 2 from this fall. Criticism was levelled at the still higher level of advertising rates in Switzerland compared with Europe.
In billboard advertising, APG's system change earned praise. In addition to averting a second price surcharge, it has brought more performance-based prices, needs-oriented network offers, and better plannability of campaigns. According to Schwab, however, transparency vis-à-vis customers still needs to make progress. His demands: joint research on poster usage as a basis for a uniform assessment standard for all poster sites, permanent and early information on changes in offers, creation of standardized control options for the posters.
In the TV market, Schwab regretted the cancellation of the RTL/Pro-7 program window and the lack of viewer success at TV 3. The expected intensification of competition with desirable price-reducing effects on advertising rates had failed to materialize. In this context, Schwab criticized Swiss media policy, which had suffered a shipwreck, and demanded with regard to the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVG): "The disaster at private TV must be averted." Recipes for this: deletion of the advertising ban on beer and wine and a relaxation of the advertising guidelines for over-the-counter remedies. In the panel discussion, it became clear that Switzerland could soon have a more liberal advertising policy than the EU. (dse)

Peter Rudin, Internet entrepreneur from the very beginning, President of the swiss interactive media association (sima)Head of the week "Switzerland is suffering from the dispersal of activities "Peter Rudin has already founded and sold five companies in his lifetime. He brought his last company, the Internet provider pioneer Blue Window, into Swisscom. Actually, the 57-year-old Basel resident, who lives in Zurich, no longer needs to raise a sixth company. He is the entrepreneurial type, says Rudin. That's why he founded Upaq a year ago. The company specializes in the secure and reliable transport of digital data in the e-commerce market.
The start-up company is thriving. Rudin has been particularly successful in the capital market. He has found potent investors in VENTIS AG, a private Swiss venture capital firm, Tumbleweed Communications Corp., a leading provider of Internet communications services, and Chase Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corporation. Just recently, he was also able to win over the postal service. In total, more than 20 million in seed capital has been raised.
The fact that Peter Rudin has also been President of the swiss interactive media association (sima) since mid-March is therefore no coincidence: the association wants to make itself increasingly felt in the political arena. As an Internet entrepreneur from the very beginning and a founding member of sima, Peter Rudin is the ideal person for the job.
At the beginning of the year, the association, which emerged from former teletext providers and CD-ROM producers, succeeded in integrating the Internet service providers. In mid-March, half of the board was filled with new members, and now they want to step on the gas.
In the words of Peter Rudin, "Switzerland is in an excellent position to play a significant role in e-business worldwide, even though the home market is very small. But we suffer from the dispersal of individual activities. We therefore need a body that embodies this spirit of optimism to the outside world."
Of course, Rudin also knows that an association is an association and must rely on the militia system: But time is the scarcest commodity, especially in the Internet industry. "That's why we'll have to pursue a strategy of small steps," says Rudin.
The focus is on training. And on the billions that the federal government will earn through the auction of the UTMS mobile licenses. In Rudin's view, some of these should be used again for specific purposes. For example, to promote continuing education. However, he will first have to convince a prominent opponent of this idea. Namely, Federal Councilor Pascal Couchepin, who would much rather use the expected proceeds to pay off the national debt.
Thomas Brenzikofer

McCann-Erickson, Zurich, lets celebrities advertise for Diax and organized a vernissage for the campaignBy Ernst Weber A lot of celebrities met in Zurich's Inplace Inkognito in the Limmat West development. To be celebrated was a new appearance for the telecom provider Diax, designed by McCann-Erickson, Zurich, for which the stars posed. The pictures were taken by Michel Comte.
Anyone who stages a vernissage to present an advertising campaign must be pretty sure of himself: Frank Boller's voice, CEO of Diax, sounded proud as he thanked everyone who had contributed to the success of the campaign in his welcoming speech. In particular, he named the Swiss star photographer Michel Comte, the eleven celebrities - Geraldine Chaplin, Melanie Winiger, Heliane Canepa, Roger Schawinski, Roger de Weck, Bernard Pichon, Stéphane Chapuisat, Andy Hug, Alain Prost, Simon Estes and Michael von der Heide - who have given themselves up to now for Diax, as well as the agency McCann-Erickson, Zurich, which designed the celebrity appearance.
Diax, which has just become a telecom customer millionaire, considers the appearance a milestone in its still young history. "The national reference campaign is intended to turn the dry product 'telephone minute' into an experience and position Diax as an innovative and lively alternative to Swisscom," said Frank Boller before passing the floor to Peter Rothenbühler.
Tele 24's mercurial program director interviewed Michel Comte, who pointed out the considerable amount of material required for the six-week shoot because the brief called for photos steeped in Diax red. "Engagements like this," Comte said, "allow me to continue to advance the ICRC's People And Places With No Name project."
The creative fathers of the appearance are the two creative directors Claude Catsky and Daniel Comte. "The campaign," says Erwin Brunner, Managing Director McCann-Erickson, Zurich, "sums up the Diax philosophy 'Diax brings telecommunications to life'." Incidentally, the project was kept quiet for as long as possible. During the planning phase, there was a fear that Swisscom might copy the idea, which was tailored to a market leader, at the last moment.

With Bonus.net and Webmiles.de, two German Internet customer loyalty programs are coming to SwitzerlandBy Clemens Hörler Customer loyalty on the Internet often remains a buzzword and is only rudimentarily practiced. Starting this summer, two young German companies want to enable operators of Swiss websites to participate in cross-company programs.
Silva, Mondo, Keyclub and others have long been available on the Internet. According to a study by Jupiter Communications (www.jup.com), 75 percent of Web users in the U.S. already participate in a customer loyalty program. In this country, too, individual companies have launched activities in this area. Large cross-company programs like those in the real world, i.e. Mondo or Silva, are still completely lacking in the virtual arena. This is set to change.
Points against data, prices against traffic
In summer 2000, the Internet advertising company ActiveAgent (www.activeagent.ch) launched Bonus.net in Switzerland. This site (www.bonus.net) has been online in Germany since last October. The customer loyalty program is designed to enable Web site operators to research the consumer habits of Internet users and win their loyalty.
In return, participating companies give away bonus points to registered Internet users when they make purchases on their website, click on advertising banners, or tell vendors their preferences so they can draw attention to their special offers.
Consumers can use the points they collect to choose a reward from a list, with the attractiveness of the prizes increasing with the number of points: from movie tickets to a webcam to a ticket to the European soccer championship final - depending on the level of interest in the company's presence, users are spoilt for choice.
"With Bonus.net, we want to offer online companies an effective direct marketing tool," explains Peter Strassmann, Managing Director of ActiveAgent Switzerland. "The companies cover the cost of the prizes and receive traffic and paying customers in return." Negotiations between Bonus.net and Swiss providers are currently ongoing. According to Strassmann, the target audience primarily includes the large e-commerce providers from the travel, finance, shopping, telecom and IT sectors.
No marketing of the
Customer addresses
According to Stefan Holz, CEO of Bonus.net Germany, you can already collect points with seven partners with Bonus.net, but a total of thirty companies are already under contract. According to Holz, data protection is a top priority at Bonus.net: "The addresses are never marketed.
Bonus.net's most important German competitor is Munich-based webmiles AG, which has been online since July 1999 and is now represented in several European countries. webmiles (www.webmiles.de) currently has around 25 partner Web sites online; according to Katrin Teufelberger, who is responsible for Switzerland and Austria, a further 25 are in the process of being technically connected. A separate website for Switzerland will be launched in the summer (www.webmiles.ch). Depending on how business develops in Switzerland, the company may also consider opening its own Swiss branch, Teufelberger said. Until then, Switzerland, just like Austria, will be served from Munich.
DM agencies want to integrate Internet into their work
Swiss direct marketing agencies also want to deal more intensively than before with the subject of the Internet. The Swiss Direct Marketing Association will very soon be launching the Internet/E-commerce theme group, announced Friedhelm Lammoth of Lammoth Mailkonzept in St. Gallen.
It is already clear from the homepage of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association (www.sdv-direktmarketing.ch) that the industry has at least recognized the importance of the Internet: "The Internet and e-commerce enrich the options for dialog with customers and prospects. Technology and new media are unstoppable and represent historic challenges that the industry must meet."
"The Internet must be integrated into our work," demands Christian Huldi of RBC Group Meilen, but at the same time raises the question of whether it is too early for purely virtual customer loyalty programs.
Despite doubts, Huldi is convinced that there will be more and more such programs. "This will mean that the individual providers will have to differentiate themselves more clearly from one another." This is also the conclusion of the Jupiter study mentioned above: customer loyalty programs must offer more than points; customer loyalty should be rewarded with special services tailored to personal needs.
E-commerce and customer loyaltyThe importance of customer loyalty efforts is also underlined by the latest study on e-commerce in Switzerland by the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Bern. It can be viewed at http://ec.unibe.ch.

While the beauties of the film industry meet at the Croisette in Cannes, the celebrities of the local film and advertising industry met last week at Absolut Film in Zurich's Giesshübel district.The By Beat Fritsch
You don't have to jet off to the south of France for a bit of glamour. Local film parties also have their moments - nowhere else can you meet so many beautiful women, funny guys, weird birds and crooked dogs as in Zurich.
Because luck belongs to the brave, Absolut Film owner Reiner Roduner was also spoiled with the weather. Jelmoli's Gourmet Factory was responsible for the catering. The abundance of beer, wine and drinks did the rest. The risotto was cooked at the risk of one's life. The gas rechaud burst into flames twice, which briefly caused some unrest, and the hard-working cook lost part of his beard. Besides the involuntary fire artist, there was also other entertainment. Live jazz was heard during the meal, and when the caipirinha bar opened later, a DJ got the party crowd moving.
By the way, the Roduners are real celluloid freaks. Reiner's sister, Bea Roduner, is also in the film business. As a producer, she is always on the lookout for potent financiers for film projects of all kinds in her office on Zurich's Neugasse. So if you want to feel the real thrill, you can invest a few francs with Bea. That's certainly more exciting than playing dull options poker on the stock exchange.
Also coming from the film: Condor boss Martin Fueter, producer Simone Krebs, documentary filmmakers Marlies Röthlisberger and Jürg Neuenschwander, make-up artist Helen Rinderknecht and Bettina Bussey from Primetime, whose photogenic likeness can now be seen not only on the shortlist but also on her employer's advertisements.
Because the sound is almost as important as the image in film, the sound producers naturally also belonged at the party. For example, music producer Raymond Anderegg or Peach Keiser from Twinonemusic, who has already produced spots for BMW, Nestlé and Kuoni. He came accompanied by Susan Orus, who said goodbye to her life as an advertising assistant and marketing planner to start a career as a singer. The CD and a single release worth listening to have just been launched.
Although Albi Steffen is not a lighting technician on productions, he still provides some illumination at Absolut Film. All the lighting objects in Roduner's studios come from Steffen's Lichthalle in Zurich's West End.
But it was not only filmmakers and dedicated places that bustled about at the festival. Reini has been in the industry for a long time, is known like a colorful dog and is extremely popular not only with the female sex. Hans Bébié of Zürich Express, the former communications manager of Walter Rentsch AG, Beat Hefermehl, Idée president Heinz Egli, Piero Schäfer and many others also paid their respects. Manuela Gadient from Wirz Identity and Fabienne Lovisa, head of promotions at Reader's Digest, attended the event from the neighborhood. It was also thanks to Caroline Braun that no one ended up in the role of an extra. As the second member of the Absolut Film team, she took care of the guests in an exemplary manner, always in a good mood and charming, so that no one had to sit on dry land the whole evening. Thus one amused oneself with pleasant temperatures until deeply into the night.
Beat Fritsch wanted to start a new career, got several film roles and immediately had to lend a hand at Absolut Film. Conclusion: All beginnings are hard, film roles even harder.
Who else in the advertising scene deserves starlet or star status is spotted at a wide variety of industry events. But it's the editorial team that decides who will make the final leap onto the coveted shortlist. Do you actually already have something to report? Then you seize times fast to the listener (01 296 97 98) or mailen you to [email protected]. Online, you can find event tips at www.werbewoche.ch

Last year, the location of the Bernese agency Contexta on the banks of the Aare was its undoing: the devastating storms submerged the agency's studio in the Matten district of Bern and caused total damage.For Contexta, the adversity presented an opportunity to expand its location. Just a hundred meters away, the agency was able to set up a new studio in an old print shop. The creative department and a complete consulting group will work there.
Moving into the new quarters went hand in hand with Contexta's growth. "We used the opportunity to expand the agency," says CD and co-owner Hannes Weber. "We now employ around 40 people - new people have joined across all areas."
After a year of improvisation, Weber is glad to have a permanent studio location again with Contexta II. The former premises will remain under the name Contexta I. "The location is ideal," says Weber, "we can easily move from one building to the other by kickboard." (ba)

WPP's acquisition of Young & Rubicam has been finalized since May 12. WPP is paying USD 4.7 billion in assets for the deal.Fax WPP: world's largest advertising group
Y&R and its subsidiaries will remain as independent units. The previous CEO, Tom Bell, who had long resisted the takeover, will become Chairman of Y&R. Ex-chief financial officer Michael Dolan will become the new CEO. If the shareholders of the two companies approve the takeover, it is expected to be completed in the fall. Insiders suspect that Bell will leave the agency after that.
Palm chooses independent agencyIn early May, FCB Worldwide passed on pocket PC maker Palm's budget because it clashed with its newly won Compaq budget. Now Palm is unveiling its new agency: Citron Haligman Bedecarré, a San Francisco-based independent advertising and marketing agency specializing in branding Internet companies. With a budget of $70 million, Palm is its weightiest client.
Fat people against discriminatory advertisingThe city of San Francisco has passed a law prohibiting discrimination against fat people. The reason was a poster of a fitness center chain. It showed aliens with the headline, "When they come, they will eat the fat people first." Protests by overweight people forced the company to stop the campaign and led to the discrimination ban.
Flowers for McCann ParisThe Paris office of McCann-Erickson secured the pan-European budget of Aquarelle.com. Aquarelle is a French florist looking to expand its online business into several European markets. Advertising funds of around 24 million Swiss francs are available for this purpose. McCann prevailed in the pitch against local competitors from BDDP@TBWA, FCB and Callegari Berville.

NZZ and Chur-based Gasser Group tussle over BuchsMedienBy Markus Knöpfli Over the past 18 months, share packages of BuchsMedien AG have been traded as turbulently as options. In the meantime, it has become clear: The NZZ has consolidated its position in the Buchs SG area, not least to put a stop to Hanspeter Lebrument's Südostschweiz. But Lebrument was also able to acquire a stake in BuchsMedien and thus build a bridgehead into the Rhine Valley.
At the latest since BuchsMedien, publisher of the Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger (WO, circulation 10300 copies), integrated its paper into Hanspeter Lebrument's newspaper group Südostschweiz, BuchsMedien shareholders divided into two camps. For political and profit reasons, opponents of Südostschweiz sold a 27.5 percent stake to NZZ at the end of 1998, whereupon the other camp offered its shares to Lebrument, a board delegate of the Chur-based Gasser Group - for obvious reasons: The WO already cooperates with Lebrument's Südostschweiz via a jacket agreement; moreover, Gasser is the strongest publisher in the region.
Is a St. Gallen media stew emerging in the Rhine Valley?
Lebrument took the plunge and bought a total of 18 percent of the shares. But NZZ also sought additional shares and came to 58 percent. Since April 29, the board of directors of BuchsMedien has therefore consisted of board president Jakob Rhyner (Buchs), Willy Schib (NZZ), hotelier Roland Stump (all three up to now), as well as Kurt Ringer and Jean-Philippe Rickenbach (both NZZ), Hanspeter Lebrument and St. Gallen lawyer Adrian Rüesch.
The fact that the NZZ now holds a majority stake in BuchsMedien could have far-reaching consequences for the region: There is a threat of a media stew like in St. Gallen, possibly even under St. Gallen's wing. Because through BuchsMedien, the NZZ not only controls WO, but also holds 30 percent of Tele Rheintal and nine percent of Radio Ri. The NZZ has a further 35 percent stake in Radio Ri through the St. Galler Tagblatt.
Moreover, Radio Ri and Radio Aktuell, which belongs to the NZZ Group, have long been linked via an advertising pool and want to cooperate even more closely in marketing and programming. More intensive forms of cooperation are also currently being discussed between Tele Ostschweiz (also part of the NZZ Group) and Tele Rheintal.
NZZ wants to hold on to the jacket agreement with Südostschweiz
Schib, Rhyner and Lebrument do not dispute that the development could go in the direction of "media stew. They all also emphasize that they understand and appreciate each other well. However, Schib puts the above scenario into perspective: The NZZ wants to keep the contract with Südostschweiz, which has been extended until the end of 2006, in any case; that is the best thing for the WO anyway.
And in the radio and TV sector, there will be major cooperations in eastern Switzerland in the next few years one way or another for economic reasons. Rhyner, who sees the new situation as "positive," only wants to prevent WO from degenerating into the head paper of one side or the other.
Lebrument comments soberly on the situation: "BuchsMedien is on the edge of our sphere of influence. The NZZ has put a shoe on our territory there, but we have put one on theirs. Should a dispute ever arise, we are in the weaker position there, but we still have Graubünden as a secure réduit."

Guye & Partner shows: Visits to winner.ch turn frustration into pleasureTA-Media AG wants to know: To launch its online marketplace winner.ch, the publishing house is putting up a seven-figure sum of money in May and June alone. A second wave of advertising, which will be launched in the fall and is intended to anchor the brand in the minds of consumers, will not be entirely free either. The campaign was conceived by the Zurich agency Guye & Partner. It has succeeded in implementing an idea that attracts more attention and achieves more impact than numerous other campaigns that have been labeled "above-average creative". Our report seeks answers to the question of what the success of this appearance is based on. page 6

The takeover of Young & Rubicam by WPP is going ahead. According to press reports, the merger is to be announced this week.Fax WPP and Y & R about to merge
The initiative to resume talks had come from Y & R after negotiations with Publicis had broken down. This will create the world's largest advertising agency.
CLT-Ufa wants to acquire Super RTL completelyCLT-Ufa wants to acquire 100 percent of Super RTL. So far, CLT-Ufa and Disney each hold half of the German station, which specializes in children's programming. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, CLT-Ufa wants to put up DM 200 to 250 million. Disney, however, is asking for more than DM 300 million.
Metro or 20 Minutes in Vienna?Starting October 3, a free metro newspaper is to be published in Vienna. The initiator Hans Auer, owner of the graphic service Auer, told APA that he is negotiating with Metro, Schibsted and other foreign companies. Auer wants to hold 26 % of the paper, whose name is yet to be determined.
Losses for FCB because of CompaqCompaq's $350 million budget brings losses to FCB Worldwide: FCB must return pocket PC maker Palm's budget ($70 million) because of the June 2000 launch of Compaq's iPaq. Computer maker Unisys is also considering pulling its budget ($20 million) from FCB's sister agency, Bozell. In markets where Bozell and FCB have merged, there is also customer conflict. In Switzerland, for example, both groups would be served by FCB Leutenegger Krüll.

It’s well known that Daniel E. Eggli is no stranger to good food. It would therefore have been completely unbelievable if he had reprinted the original ads featuring Dr. Luzi Fehr’s health tips from the Swiss Foundation for Health Promotion in his magazine *Salz & Pfeffer*. Where the Wirz agency wrote the ironic tagline «Eat twice as much,» Eggli counters in a fake ad: «Live terribly healthily.» And doubling down on the irony by substituting «Dr. Fuzzi» for «Luzi,» he adds: «Beware of top chefs and that daily glass of wine.» TV 3 is considering «Taxi Talk.» Negotiations between TV 3 and the Dutch production company Endemol for a Swiss version of «Big Brother» are dragging on. The decision, which has been announced for weeks, is still pending. The station’s programming starting this fall depends on it. Among other things, a revival of the “Taxi-TV” format—a classic of Zurich’s private television scene that most recently aired on Star-TV—is being considered. The 30-minute talk show, titled “Taxi Talk,” could launch in September.
Handelszeitung Plans Relaunch. Handelszeitung will be published on September 6 with a revamped content and visual concept. According to Handelszeitung publisher Ralph Büchi, after nearly ten years with an unchanged basic layout, a comprehensive overhaul is now necessary. The relaunch is based on a reader survey conducted by Demoscope this fall as well as an internal concept paper. Anja Horn of the German parent publisher Axel Springer is leading the visual redesign. Horn and her team were recently honored for their redesign of *Die Welt*.
Blue Job Section for Eastern Switzerland. The Kombi 1B, comprising the Landbote, Thurgauer Zeitung, and Schaffhauser Nachrichten, is launching a job section printed on blue paper. In the market between Zurich and St. Gallen, the «blue job section» achieves a reach of 60 percent, and with the Thurgauer Zeitung’s large Wednesday edition, even a reach of over 72 percent.
"Schweizer Gastronomie" Becomes "Gastro Journal." "Schweizer Gastronomie," the official publication of the Swiss Hotel and Restaurant Association (Gastro Suisse), has been relaunched. Under the name "Gastro Journal," the weekly newspaper is now published in two languages (French and German), with a new layout and on higher-quality paper. The publication aims to foster close reader engagement through online services and information. Gastro Journal is aimed at business owners and senior managers, with its mix of topics focusing on day-to-day professional life.
Online-PC-Zeitung is seeing red. To mark its fifteenth anniversary, Online-PC-Zeitung is revamping its look and expanding its content. The new issue places greater emphasis on e-commerce and business, while the sections on online topics, reviews, and new hardware and software are more clearly organized. Visually, Online-PC-Zeitung stands out with its title header, which is now in red instead of the previous blue.
I love you. Not only did millions of computers get infected by the «Iloveyou» virus, but so did the creative team at Guye & Partner. When the advertisers realized that the Zurich-based company open systems—one of the leading providers of Internet security solutions—had installed an anti-spam email gateway for its clients within minutes, they shared the success story with a wider audience. The successful ad appeared in the Tages-Anzeiger and is well-received thanks to its practical benefits. Unfortunately, WerbeWoche (full of Apple!) was unable to receive an email by press time confirming whether Guyes’s gag also pleased open systems’ in-house agency.
Gloor’s Most Beautiful Words. After six years and 273 articles as a «language observer» for *WerbeWoche*, Beat Gloor has compiled his collection of writings into a book: «staat sex amen,» now in its second edition, was awarded the «Switzerland’s Most Beautiful Books» prize at the Geneva Book Fair. The volume was published by the Zurich-based publisher Kontrast. The artistic design is by Alberto Vieceli. Production was managed by Tatjana Wagenbach-Stephan at Die Buchherstellung in Zurich. Regarding the content itself, the author says: «I copied. From newspapers and television, from old masters and young rebels.» Was he perhaps referring to the copywriters at a certain agency? The answer can be found under ISBN 3-952121287-5-9. And in bookstores.
Radio DRS is on the rise again. Good news for Radio DRS in the first quarter of 2000: For the first time in 25 years, the daily reach figures for SRG radio stations are trending upward again. According to Radio Director Walter Rüegg, the DRS stations achieved a daily reach of 50.2 percent, 2.2 percent more than in the fourth quarter of 1999. DRS 3 saw the strongest growth, rising from 9 to 11 percent. DRS 2 increased by about a quarter to 4 percent.
Ringier Scraps Lifestyle Magazine. Ringier has scrapped its planned lifestyle magazine aimed at readers over 50. Although the concept developed by former *Glückspost* editor-in-chief Beatrice Merlotti was well-received, the potential in the reader market was deemed too low. «»The magazine would have had to reach a circulation of 80,000 to 100,000 copies,« says Ringier spokesperson Fridolin Luchsinger, »but that proved unrealistic.” It’s a shame, because the project had been well received by the advertising market, says Luchsinger.
Editorial: The Real Hero Is «La Macchina»
«Men need religion,» a Ferrari enthusiast once told me, «and for some of us, Ferrari is that religion.» Even Pope John Paul II couldn’t resist making a pilgrimage to Maranello to visit the Italian sports car manufacturer and bless the icons of the automotive world. There’s no doubt that Formula 1 is a successful entertainment enterprise with a massive fan base. Last year, over five billion fans are said to have followed the 16 races either in person or on TV. The global appeal of the premier class of auto racing is matched only by the Summer Olympics and the World Cup. No wonder Formula 1 is considered the most powerful image-building machine the world has ever seen. Its teams promise sportiness, dynamism, and high-tech. (See the interview with Marco Feser, head of marketing for Peter Sauber’s Formula 1 team, on page 33.)
The racing circuit has shed its proletarian image and evolved into one of the most effective marketing tools. Formula 1 is also one of the few global media events with mythical qualities: success and defeat, the battle of man against machine, life and death—every Grand Prix ticket bears the warning: «Racing is dangerous!»…These universal myths and dreams are a media treasure trove that can be exploited according to all the rules of the art of marketing. No wonder Formula 1 is considered the fastest way to achieve worldwide brand recognition.
Mario Illien takes a more level-headed view. For the Graubünden-based racing engine builder, the McLaren-Mercedes drivers Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard are merely cogs in a finely tuned precision gearbox, as he recently explained to *Weltwoche*. These heroes of the masses are employees who have to do their jobs and «fortunately don’t think about the fact that, while working, they’re perched on a barrel full of fuel as dangerous as dynamite.».
This does nothing to diminish the appeal of this sport. On the contrary. After all, every Ferrari fan knows that the real hero is «la macchina»—the car. Samuel Helbling

On May 27, the gay magazine "Felix" starts on SF 2 as part of PTV. The production company Basilea Film wants to create a mouthpiece for gays and lesbians.According to managing director Walter Liechti, that's about ten percent of the Swiss population.PTV and Network Switzerland, an interest group of gay executives, are covering the costs of the pilot show. After that, funding will be secured mainly through sponsorship. "We haven't specifically scoured the market in advance," explains Walter Liechti, "because we wanted to wait for the audience figures of the pilot show first."
His list of sponsors includes major companies such as Migros, Ikea and Mobitare. "Ikea, for example, has already run gay ads abroad," Liechti says, "and Mobitare has also published images along these lines."
Basilea Film does not want to get involved in niche advertising, but wants to attract renowned customers. This is not an impossibility: Companies like Sunrise, for example, have also advertised in gay magazines like aK.
Andreas Lehner, who launched the gay magazine Bliss in the fall of 2000, also has no concerns about advertising revenue: "The days of stigmatizing gay media are over." Or to put it another way: If the readership figures are right, the advertising will come too.
However, the gay scene has not yet been discovered in German-speaking Switzerland as a young, affluent and therefore attractive target group. "You don't sense any interest from the customer side," comments Pierre C. Meier, Managing Director of the media agency Initiative Media Western. Andy Lehmann of Optimedia assesses the situation similarly: "Gay media are hardly perceived as a separate category. Specific advertising is not wanted." (ba)