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Apologies to users who were unable to view the Brad Pitt/Softbank ad we ran here last week. As you will remember, in our accompanying copy we made the point that movie stars who appear in Japanese ads tend to prohibit their airing outside the country. As a result, the numerous copies of this ad posted on YouTube were successively shut down over the following few days on grounds of copyright infringement. We managed to find working streams on three successive occasions to replace those which had been switched off, but the last of these was finally pulled on Monday morning. Shame but, hey, the rules is the rules.

This week, another collection of fine spots, copyright permitting. First up is another ad from Crispin Porter & Bogusky for the latest incarnation of Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero game, featuring industry character Music Steve ("actor, model, icon"). For those of you whose first reaction is to gasp "What the...?!" let us point out that this ad is actually a pastiche of the rather wonderful "Baby Baby Baby" music video from French electrobeat band Make The Girl Dance. See their original here. What an excellent day to have been shopping in the rue Montorgueil.

Grey's Copenhagen office score again with a spot for Diet Coke which has been rolled out across Europe over the last couple of weeks. Grey first got a foothold in the Coke account with the "Impossible Made Possible" ads for Coke Zero, which appear to have won them this new brief, which runs along similar lines. Rocket science it ain't, but it's a distinct improvement on that horrendous "three girls stuck in the lift" spot. We laughed.

A big Ahhhh please for this little guy who stars in the new Knorr Sidekicks ad from DDB Toronto. Lovely bit of animation. I was crying tears of salt myself by the end.

And finally, some more craziness from Wieden & Kennedy for P&G's Old Spice grooming range. It may not quite equal the general standard of arch-rival Axe/Lynx's campaigns, but these ads certainly manage to tickle our funnybone.

In the news this past week: Advertisers

According to preliminary figures from Nielsen, US advertising spend dropped by 15.4% in the first half of 2009, or by $10.3bn compared to the same period in 2008. It was the largest period on period fall since such comparative totals were introduced a decade ago. Total spend was $56.9bn. Cable TV was the only gainer, with spend up by 1.5% on English language channels and 0.6% on Hispanic broadcasters. All other media, even display internet advertising, registered a fall. Excluding the contribution from search advertising, web spend fell 1%. But worst hit were magazines and newspapers. National papers suffered a near-23% plunge; local papers did a little better with a 13% fall. But the biggest impact overall was on business-to-business magazines, where spend plummeted by almost 32%.

Online auction group eBay sold a 65% shareholding in Skype, its internet phone business, to a group of private equity investors. It will retain the remaining 35% stake. The deal was not unexpected. Ebay had previously acknowledged failure in its attempt to establish synergies between its online auction business and the Skype service, and had already announced plans to spin off the business by next year. In fact, the new deal represents something of a victory for eBay CEO John Donahoe. Despite writing off two years ago more than $1.4bn of the whopping $2.5bn it paid for Skype, eBay was able to secure a handsome price for the sale of its controlling shares. The private equity buyers are paying around $1.9bn for their stake, valuing Skype as a whole at around $2.75bn, hardly a bad deal in the current climate for a business whose revenues last year were just $525m.

Sony announced plans for the worldwide launch of a 3D LCD television in 2010. Group CEO Sir Howard Stringer told an industry conference that the same technology will be introduced into other Sony products, including Vaio computers, Playstation3 consoles and Blu-ray disc players. The group also launched its first umbrella marketing message. From now on, all Sony products will be marketed under the global brand slogan "make.believe". Stringer commented "As we move to transform Sony and integrate the very best in electronics, entertainment and technology into the homes of our customers, the importance of an all-encompassing and unified brand image is more important than ever. In addition to reigniting the innovative spirit of our employees and our products, make.believe will differentiate us from countless competitors and inspire consumers around the world to embrace all that is Sony."

Procter & Gamble signed up as a lead sponsor of the US Olympic team for the 2010 and 2012 Games in Vancouver and London respectively. Around 17 different products are covered by the deal, including Olay, Pantene and Pringles. That deal follows a similar tie-up with the NFL to establish Gillette and three other P&G grooming brands as "official products of the NFL locker room". Separately, P&G announced a change to its senior management team, with two executives swapping role. Melanie Healey was named as the new global president for P&G's North America operations. her role as head of the group's global feminine care division was filled by former North America chief Steven Bishop.

In other personnel moves, Brown-Forman named Kris Sirchio as its new chief marketing officer, overseeing a portfolio which includes the Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort and Finlandia vodka spirits brands. Elsewhere, former British Airways marketer Katherine Whitton joined Barclaycard as UK marketing director. She replaces Gary Twelvetrees who moves to the role of global brand director for Barclaycard.

Irish drinks group C&C, best known for its Magners Irish Cider brand, agreed to acquire various brewery assets in Scotland and Ireland from Anheuser-Busch InBev. C&C will take over ownership of Scottish-based lager brand Tennent's and will manage distribution of selected AB InBev brands in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

Sepracor, the US-based drug company behind high-profile sleeping pill Lunesta, is to be acquired for $2.6bn by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co of Japan. Sumitomo has been seeking a platform for the US launch of several of its own products including schizophrenia drug Lurasidone.

Philip Morris International announced the launch of a new Marlboro variant in the UK, to be known as Marlboro Bright Leaf. The new product will target the mid-priced cigarette market, competing against Benson & Hedges Silver and other brands.

In the news this past week: Agencies

Aegis and Havas both reported financial results for the first half, completing the set of publicly quoted marketing services groups. Aegis reported an 11% fall in organic revenues prompted by falling media prices and client budget cuts. Reported revenues, including the effects of currency fluctuation, rose 5% to £637m for the first six months. However there was a dramatic plunge in profits, down by 86% as a result of restructuring charges and increased operating expenses. Havas also suffered the effects of recession, with organic revenues down by 9% for the half-year. Revenues dropped 8% for the first half to E700m, while net profits fell 19%. Separately, British marketing services group Engine, best-known for its WCRS ad agency, said it would consider an IPO early next year if markets improve. It is currently looking for additional private equity funds to allow for expansion outside the UK.

In an interview with the WSJ, Tatsuyoshi Takashima, CEO of Japanese marketing services giant Dentsu, signalled that he is actively considering international acquisitions, not just in the US, but also in Europe and Asia. "As Japan's domestic market shrinks and Japanese companies consolidate, a strong network of clients overseas becomes even more important," he said. "We're not just targeting firms with digital technology, but also firms in other aspects of marketing communications, though we have no specific target yet." In July, Dentsu appointed Jim Kelly, one of the founders of what is now RKCR/Y&R in the UK, as regional director for Europe, with a brief to boost the group's low profile in the region. Last month, Dentsu came close to acquiring digital network Razorfish, but was pipped to the post by Publicis, the French group in which it already has a 15% shareholding. Said Takashima, "We continue collaborating on projects with Publicis while also looking into growth opportunities of our respective entities, such as in the case of Razorfish. What is important is that one of us got the deal."

Leo Burnett named Susan Credle, formerly executive creative director at BBDO NY, as the new chief creative officer for the US, reporting to global CCO Mark Tutssel. Credle is best-known for her work at BBDO on the M&Ms account. She replaces John Condon, who stepped down earlier in the year. Separately, Brand Republic reports today that Grey's long-serving EMEA chief Carolyn Carter is to leave at the end of the year after two decades with the agency.

Confounding press reports that it was about to consolidate its global media budget with WPP, Vodafone picked OMD instead to handle the business in around 20 markets worldwide where the phone giant has a direct presence. The only country that seems to have been excluded from the appointment was Australia, where Vodafone is in the process of absorbing the local operations of Hutchison's 3. For now at least, media stays with Ikon Communications, a unit of local group STW, part-owned by WPP. Also this week OMD collected US media for Virgin Atlantic. In other account assignments, Mars called a review of UK media, currently split between ZenithOptimedia and MediaCom. For all other appointments, subscribers can access the full Adbrands Account Assignments database here. 

In the news this past week: Media

Walt Disney unveiled one of the biggest entertainment deals of the year with the $4bn acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, the media group which controls rights to an extensive collection of comic book superheroes including Spider-man, X-Men, the Hulk and Iron Man. The attraction to Disney is not so much the potential for movie development - Marvel's best-known characters already have well-established franchise contracts with other studios - but for ancillary products ranging from toys and apparel to theme park attractions. The deal will round out a weak spot in an otherwise unrivalled portfolio of character licenses. Disney's existing character brands include inhouse creations such as Mickey Mouse, Hannah Montana and High School Musical, as well as acquired franchises such as the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House. However most of these licenses appeal mainly to pre-schoolers or tween girls. The addition of Marvel will allow Disney to tap into a whole new market of teen and older boys. The movie route is not entirely closed off either. Even if Disney is unable to disentangle the likes of Spider-man and X-Men from rival studios, there are plenty more superheroes to choose from. The entire Marvel collection is thought to include as many as 5,000 different characters. Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter stands to make around $1.4bn in cash and shares from the deal, becoming Disney's second largest individual shareholder after former Pixar Studios boss Steve Jobs.

As always, if you haven't already done so, please confirm your subscription to the free Adbrands Weekly Update by clicking here or on the link at the foot of this email. Thank you for your assistance! 

Simon Tesler
Publisher, Adbrands

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