The organisers of the 55th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have declared Procter & Gamble as the Advertiser of the Year for 2008. This Award is presented to advertisers who have distinguished themselves for inspiring innovative marketing of their products.  more...

Preet Bedi has put in his papers as CEO at Percept Picture Company (PPC). Though Bedi couldn’t be contacted for comments at the time of filing this report, a release issued by Percept Picture Company said that Bedi would be stepping down with immediate effect citing personal obligations as his reason for leaving.  more...

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is mulling allowing FM radio operators to air news in the Phase III licensing, which is in the formulating stage. There was more such good news as sessions unfolded and discussions were held at the two-day Radio Duniya Conference 2008, which kicked off in the Capital on February 11, 2008.  more...

The morning sessions of the two-day Radio Duniya Conference 2008, being held in the Capital on February 11-12, focussed on various important issues, including the dearth of trained and experienced personnel in the radio industry. Speakers also discussed the problem of ‘unethical poaching’ of professional talent going on in the industry.  more...

The afternoon sessions of the two-day Radio Duniya Conference 2008, being held in the Capital on February 11-12, saw discussions being held on the power and responsibility of radio, striking a balance between business models and social responsibilities, as well as radio content.  more...

Pratik Basu, Executive Director with BAG Films and Media Ltd, has recently put in his papers. Basu, who was not on the payrolls of BAG, would continue with his independent consultancy in non-conflict areas, including being Executive Director with INX Executive Search Services, the HR company run by Indrani Mukerjea.  more...

They are just one film old each, but are being touted as the new face of Bollywood. They are the latest Kapoor on the silver screen – Ranbir – and OSO girl Deepika Padukone. The two youngsters are joining the ever-growing starcast of Pepsi brand ambassadors that includes Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Dhoni, Yuvi, Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa.  more...

Sunil Lulla, who is transitioning from his current role as CEO of Times Global Broadcasting Company Ltd, is set to join Alva Brothers as Director on the Board of three of its companies – the holding company of Alva Brothers, Miditech Pvt Ltd and the soon-to-be-launched general entertainment broadcasting network with Turner International. On March 1, 2008, Lulla will additionally take on the role of Group CEO across the Alva Brothers group and its subsidiaries.  more...

BharatMatrimony has called for a creative pitch and the agencies in contention for the account include Lowe, O&M, JWT and Grey Worldwide, according to highly placed sources. The media duty of the matrimonial portal is handled by Starcom.  more...

Zeta Interactive, a full-service interactive marketing agency, has announced the appointment of 11 senior management team members. This announcement follows significant progress within Zeta Interactive over the past three months, since its launch in November 2007.  more...

Goa Tourism is going all out to attract shoppers through a new campaign specifically created for the in-store medium. The creatives for the campaign have been designed by AMO Communications, and would be promoted by Future Media through its offerings like Future TV, Future Visual Spaces, Future Activations and Future Print.  more...

Yahoo! Inc on February 11, 2008 rejected the $44.6 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp for being ‘too low’, setting up a potential showdown with the world’s largest software maker.  more...

LeagueOne Marketing Services has embarked on an extensive tasting initiative for Chyawan Active, an Ayurvedic proprietary medicine developed by Ranbaxy’s Herbal Drug Research unit. The initiative, which covers 75 pharma in Delhi and the NCR, is being held between February 8 and 15, 2008.  more...

Perspectrum Consultancy, a Percept company, has been roped in by Benefit Film Academy to handle their integrated marketing communications. The new film academy will have Bollywood stalwarts Saroj Khan, Ismail Darbar and Roshan Taneja imparting training to its students in the field of performing arts.  more...

McDonald’s India is setting up a food processing plant in the northern region. Though the location is yet to be finalised, the proposed plant is likely to be set up either in Punjab or Haryana with an investment of Rs 100 crore. Also, it has plans to set up a distribution centre in this region in addition to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Banglore.  more...