Morning Update: McDonald’s sends customers to Burger King; Havas UK posts record profit; Google’s Project Tango; More closes
AdWeek: McDonald’s Billboard Gives Ridiculously Lengthy Directions to a Burger King Drive-Thru
Here is 2016’s most obnoxious (but fun) billboard so far.
McDonald’s has more than 1,000 drive-thru locations in France. Burger King has fewer than 20. So, McDonald’s is using this fact to flame-broil its rival in the most absurd fashion—by putting up a huge temporary billboard that gives driving directions to the nearest—very far away—BK drive-thru.
See the full ad here (in print ad form). Click to enlarge.
Yannick Bolloré – chief executive, Havas
Campaign Live: Havas claims another record year as revenue climbs 17%
The UK business recorded revenue of €286 million; an 18.7% year-on-year increase. Organic growth for the UK was 4.4% in 2015, described by the company as a strong performance against a high baseline.
Havas’ organic growth was 5.1 per cent last year globally; with Asia-Pacific/Africa showing the fastest growth at 7% and Latin America the slowest at 1.3%. Havas UK reported revenue of €81 million for the final quarter of 2015 – up 14.1% on the same period in 2014.
The Verge: Google’s secret VR weapon is Project Tango
The next few months are going to be awash with virtual reality news. In a couple weeks, we should learn a lot more about the Playstation VR. Then, nearly four years after we first tried the Oculus Rift, it’s finally going to be officially released on March 28th. Not long thereafter, HTC’s Vive will also finally be released to the public.
These three headsets represent some of the most exciting technology anybody’s tried in the last few years. They’re powerful, immersive, and may finally have games and apps that are more than just tech demos. And if that’s not enough VR for you, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 is also getting released next month. It’s the latest phone to work with the company’s Gear VR headset accessory.
AdAge: Meredith Shuts Down More Magazine
More magazine, which began publishing in 1997 and billed itself as “the magazine for women of style and substance,” is shutting down, publisher Meredith Corp. announced Thursday. In a statement, the company cited “advertising challenges in the luxury marketplace,” and said that it would instead invest the re-allocated resources in “more profitable activities.”
The magazine’s April issue will be its last. As of the magazine’s February issue, More had a rate base of 750,000. In the statement, the company said it had a “loyal audience of high-household income women,” but that its finances never recovered from declines during the recession of the late 2000s.
Mumbrella Asia: The man with two jobs: David Mayo on why Asia’s most famous agency brand needs a CMO
David Mayo, CEO of Bates CHI & Partners, was just handed the additional responsibility of heading up marketing for Asia’s most famous agency brand, WPP sister network Ogilvy & Mather, and starts on 1 March.
Why does Ogilvy APAC need a CMO, why does Bates no longer needs a full-time CEO, and what is the perception of Ogilvy in the market asked Mumbrella Asia’s editor Robin Hicks in a phone conversation yesterday afternoon.
AdWeek: 9 Times Media Changed the Outcome of a Presidential Election
Presidential candidates ignore technology at their peril. With each election, advances in media, analytics and targeting have given tech-savvy candidates a distinct advantage in the political marketplace. From Eisenhower’s TV ads to Obama’s focus on Twitter, here’s how presidential candidates became technology front-runners…
Mumbrella Asia: Haymarket Asia head of digital launches brand content venture
The former head of digital at Haymarket Asia has started his own brand content consultancy.
Ian Paynton, who moved from Singapore, where he was publishing manager for Stuff and FourFourTwo, into the digital lead role in Hong Kong in March last year, has relocated to Vietnam to start the business.
