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Argentinean agency Ponce (formerly VegaOlmosPonce) shows that it has lost none of its creative skill following the departure of founding partner Fernando Vega Olmos. We think this new spot for Unilever's Axe/Lynx deodorant, overseen by head honcho Hernan Ponce, could be the agency's best yet, elegant, witty and involving, without needing to resort to cheap jokes or over-sexed stereotypes. A very nice piece of work.

US mobile operator Verizon has unleashed the full force of its marketing budget on a $100m holiday marketing campaign for the new Droid handset from Motorola, powered by Google's Android operating system. Designed to establish a much-needed challenger to AT&T's all-powerful iPhone, one set of ads from McGarryBowen sets out to demonstrate the power of the Droid device; the other, from McCann New York mounts a witty assault on AT&T's notoriously unreliable network coverage. There are ten or more different spots currently in heavy rotation on US TV. See a full selection here.

Now I'm no big fan of George Clooney - wipe that smirk off your face George, you are not Cary Grant - but my love of Nespresso coffee machines conquers all (I confess to owning three). And I'm rather partial to John Malkovich too, so that swung this ad's inclusion in the week's hot four. This is the extended version of the new spot developed by McCann Paris and directed by George's pal Robert Rodriguez (of Desperado, Sin City and Spy Kids fame). Shame about the irritating subtitles, but the guys obviously had lots of fun making this ad, and the idea is cute. And I tell you, Nespresso machines really are the closest thing to heaven...

And finally, another splendid little vignette for the Volkswagen Golf from DDB Barcelona. You might need to take a beat to work out the idea here. I'll help you out with the ad's alternative title, which is "Don't be cheap when it comes to making a wish". Lovely ad.

Did you know that you can easily search back issues of Adbrands Weekly Update in descending date order? This allows you to track historical developments affecting specific companies or brands. Simply change the options at the top of the profiles search results page to select "Adbrands Weekly Updates" and Search by Date. For example, to see how the GM/Opel saga has developed over the past few months, click here for a sample search.

In the news this past week: Brands & Advertisers

General Motors may yet regret its change of heart over the sale of Opel/Vauxhall. It has faced a storm of opposition since abandoning that strategy last week, starting with a mass protest by more than 10,000 German workers, at which the head of Opel's works council vowed not to give "a single cent's worth of concessions" to assist GM's as-yet-unspecified restructuring plans. GM chief Fritz Henderson acknowledged the problems the group faces in winning back the trust of its German subsidiary. "We have some fence-mending and repair that needs to be done," he said. However his task wasn't made any easier by the sudden resignation on Friday of GM Europe chief executive Carl-Peter Forster, who had been a strong supporter of the proposed sale to Magna. Head of international Nick Reilly will take over as interim head of GM Europe until a full-time chief executive can be found. Forster was subsequently reported to be in talks to lead Land Rover Jaguar, the premium car group now owned by Tata Motors of India.

Meanwhile, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne announced further elements of his restructuring plan. In one of the most significant developments so far, he said that the group would eliminate the Chrysler and Dodge vehicle brands in Europe by the end of 2011. Instead all models, including updated versions of the Chrysler 300 sedan and Voyager MPV, will adopt the Lancia or Fiat brands. Jeep will be the only one of Chrysler Group's three existing brands to retain worldwide distribution.

Also in the auto industry, Renault could be the next big manufacturer to pull out of Formula 1 racing, following in the wake of Honda, BMW and Toyota. At a press conference last Thursday, Renault boss Carlos Ghosn refused to be drawn over his plans for the Renault F1 team. "We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1 before the end of the year," he said. "You will have to be patient." Renault is one of only three carmakers still involved in the sport. The others are Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz.

In a sizeable blow to Australian pride, Futurebrand's Country Brand Index, which ranks the status of individual nations according to international perception, placed the United States in the top spot for the first time since the annual ranking launched in 2005. Australia had held the #1 position for three straight years. This year it slipped to third place behind the US and Canada. The CBI index comes a few weeks after a similar poll compiled by Gfk and Simon Anholt, which also noted the rejuvenation of the US brand under President Obama. The CEO of Futurebrand's Asia Pacific division tried to reassure Australians. Three years in the number one position was, he said, "a remarkable achievement by any measure, [so] this new development was just a matter of time. The measurable decline of some key attributes, combined with the revitalisation of Brand USA, has resulted in the effect on Australia's ranking. It highlights the importance of keeping a country brand fresh, relevant and engaging – no small challenge in a highly competitive international marketplace."

Telefonica agreed to acquire the German broadband operations of Telecom Italia for E900m. That service, which currently trades under Telecom Italia's Alice brand, includes the former AOL Germany business. Completion of the deal will establish Telefonica as Germany's third largest broadband supplier after Deutsch Telekom and United Internet. The aggressively expansive Spanish company, also the largest shareholder in Telecom Italia, is simultaneously engaged in a bidding war with Vivendi of France to acquire Brazilian fixed line operator GVT.

Elsewhere in the technology sector, HP announced a $2.7bn acquisition of networking equipment maker 3Com. That deal will establish HP as the #2 in the global sector, albeit some way behind clear market leader Cisco. Meanwhile Motorola, encouraged by the initial feedback to its new line of Droid smartphones, is to push ahead with a demerger of its set-top box and networking division, worth as much as $4.5bn. Although private equity firms are considered the most likely purchasers, the disposal could also attract the attention of Cisco, HP or another trade buyer.

Burger King's chief marketing officer Russ Klein, recently granted a six month sabbatical "for personal reasons", will not return said the company this week. Instead Peter Robinson will step into the CMO role on a temporary basis until a fulltime replacement can be found.

Anheuser-Busch InBev was reported to have centralised its marketing team for Western Europe under the leadership of Andreas Hilger, formerly marketing director for AB InBev UK. Hilger will take on regional responsibility for key brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artois and Becks.

Confirming speculation that it had suffered badly from the downturn in consumer confidence in the second half of 2008, the financial accounts of premium smoothie maker Innocent Drinks, filed this week, reveal that the business swung to an £11.2m loss last year, after a £12m profit the year before. Sales for the calendar year also slipped, from £112m in 2007 to just under £99m for 2008. The UK accounted for 86% of revenues. However, foreign sales, primarily in France, increased strongly from £8m in 2007 to £14m. Current performance is said to be well ahead of budget. The company claimed that sales have risen by 20% year-on-year for the past three months. In Spring this year, Innocent sold a stake of between 15% and 20% to Coca-Cola.

Kraft confirmed its interest in acquiring Cadbury by formally announcing a hostile bid for the business, just hours before the deadline imposed by UK regulators. However it refused to make any change in its offer of 300 pence in cash and 0.26 of a new Kraft share for each Cadbury share. Because of the fall in Kraft's own share price since an informal offer was made last month, the value of Kraft's overall bid has fallen from around £10.2bn to £9.8bn. Cadbury's board immediately turned up its nose at the deal, which it called "derisory". However the formal announcement started the clock on a new deadline, under which Cadbury shareholders have roughly 90 days to decide whether or not to sell out. Kraft is under some pressure from its existing shareholders not to sweeten the offer, but hedge funds are betting that it will up the ante, and have been piling into Cadbury shares in recent weeks in expectation of such an increase.

In the news this past week: Agencies

Publicly quoted Canadian marketing services group Cossette Communication, whose subsidiaries include the British agencies Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy and Dare Digital, is to go private in a management buyout coordinated by chairman & CEO Claude Lessard. That deal follows several months of turmoil following a hostile bid from Francois Duffar, previously co-chairman of the group and Lessard's business partner for more more than 35 years. Lessard secured the financial support of American investment fund Mill Capital, which will buy the business for around US$125m, some 50% higher than the bid tabled by Duffar. One unfortunate by-product of the deal is that Cossette will become the latest in a long line of Canadian companies to surrender local ownership in favour of financial security from the other side of the US border.

WPP continues to keep its legal department busy with separate court cases in Australia and the UK. In Australia, the first phase of a skirmish with private equity fund Pacific Equity Partners was settled this week, although further action is likely. That case concerned secret payments made by Pacific in 2005 to two senior executives at the former George Patterson Bates agency to tie them into an additional one-year term with the company while it negotiated the sale of the business to WPP. As a result, Pacific was able to secure a higher price from WPP than it would otherwise have achieved. The two executives subsequently left the rebranded George Patterson Y&R as soon as their extended contracts expired. Pacific and the two executives issued a full apology to WPP, and paid around A$10m in damages. Meanwhile, WPP's suit against the founders of London independent Adam & Eve gets its day in court in two weeks. WPP argues that Adam & Eve's three founders, who jumped ship from RKC&R/Y&R in London, were in breach of contract when they set up their new shop because they approached other staff and clients before the expiry of their gardening leave. WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell is notoriously strict about enforcing contractual obligations for departing staff.

The fallout from restructuring at General Motors and Chrysler is affecting their agencies as well. BBDO was reported by Ad Age to have begun planning for the closure of its Detroit outpost, where the account is currently managed. That could lead to the loss of most of BBDO Detroit's 485 employees. According to AdAge, BBDO CEO Andrew Robertson called an emergency meeting of staff and told them to "plan for a life without Chrysler from February 2010". Across town, GM announced the shortlist of agencies it's considering for the Cadillac account, and McCann, previously considered the favourite to win the business, was not included. Instead, the group is looking outside its current roster to shops as diverse as Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Publicis, DDB Chicago and McKinney, as well as Interpublic's Gotham and Martin Agency.

It was great week for French group Havas this week, as it picked up a number of important assignments. The most significant of these was global media for the Hyundai and Kia car brands, awarded to MPG. Not far behind came lead role on global digital services for IBM, awarded to Euro RSCG 4D. Euro RSCG also picked up above-the-line work for Akzo Nobel's paints division, led by the Dulux brand.

In other account assignments, Mars consolidated UK media for its existing brands as well as recently acquired Wrigley's at ZenithOptimedia. In the US, Wrigley's dropped Digitas, Tribal DDB and Agency.com from its US creative roster, and put the account up for pitch, mainly to a collection of independent shops. Once of these, Firstborn, also secured the role as creative agency of record for the PepsiCo-owned SoBe Beverages business, replacing Arnell. ING Direct called a review of global media, currently split between several suppliers including PHD and MPG. For all other appointments, subscribers can access the full Adbrands Account Assignments database here. 

In the news this past week: Media

US cable giant Comcast moved a step closer towards the acquisition of a controlling stake in entertainment group NBC Universal after agreeing a valuation of the business with owner General Electric. The two sides put a price of $30bn on the media conglomerate whose choice assets include the NBC TV network and Universal Pictures movie business. Terms of a deal could come as soon as this week. Comcast is thought to be negotiating the purchase of a 51% stake in the business through the buyout of minority shareholder Vivendi as well as part of GE's stake. (One major casualty of any deal could be hit comedy series 30 Rock. How could that show survive without being able to poke fun at NBC's ownership by GE?).

Industry sources are also predicting the likely demise of "mini-major" wannabe MGM. The company had attempted to restart its inhouse movie production division last year, but its only release in 2009, the remake of Fame, turned out to be an unexpected flop, grossing less than $25m in the US. According to trade bible Variety, the debt-laden business, whose main assets are a large movie library and its iconic lion logo, is likely to be carved up between multiple buyers.

Google pushed aggressively into the mobile advertising sector with a $750m deal to acquire AdMob, the US market leader in that segment. The mobile advertising market has experienced sharp growth since the arrival of iPhone and other web-enabled handsets. AdMob said that the volumes of mobile messages it sent in September alone had doubled year-on-year to more than 10.2m.

ITV is understood to be close to a deal to become the exclusive UK broadcast partner for video-on-demand service Hulu, whose US arm is jointly owned by NBC Universal, News Corp, Disney and investment fund Providence Equity Partners. The UK launch of Hulu is expected imminently, and ITV is thought to be negotiating the purchase of a 25% stake in the business. In return, it will make full-length episodes of its most popular shows available via the platform. BBC already offers a similar service via its iPlayer site, and Channel 4 recently agreed a deal with YouTube. Also coming soon is third-party service SeeSaw, controlled by the company which manages the UK's broadcast transmitter network.

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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