Sudocrem has turned to The Minimart for a fresh approach to targeting its traditional core Mum audience by reminding them that Sudocrem is always there for all of life’s little dramas.

Airing from this week, the 40” creative features two imaginative eight year old boys, Alfie and Mitch, sitting around the kitchen table exaggerating and competing with one another over stories of past incidents involving giant snowmen, space hoppers and bouncy castles, with ad itself paying homage to the famous Jaws scene where the central characters compare scars.

“We were excited with the charm of the creative idea and are confident that this will be successful in moving the brand forward,” commented Nick Lang, senior product manager at Sudocrem.

Always in the background of the ad is Mum’s ally against Alfie and Mitch’s little dramas – Sudocrem.

Ed Chilcott, creative partner at The Minimart, added: “Being part of repositioning such a latently loved and respected brand as Sudocrem was the perfect brief. The campaign aims to reposition Sudocrem as a brand, not just a nappy rash cream, while demonstrating its personality through the humour and charm of the two boys performances.

"We look forward to a long and creative partnership with the Sudocrem team.”

Food chain Pret A Manger has unveiled its new mobile site designed and built by digital agency Essence.

The new mobile presence seeks to act as a natural extension to the brand’s in-store customer philosophy and incorporates Pret’s recognisable imagery and messaging – fresh, friendly and helpful.

Jamie McRonald, online marketing and web manager, Pret A Manger, commented: “Pret’s core values have informed each stage of the build and Essence challenged us every step of the way to explore different avenues and deliver what is best for our customers. This has all led to us creating a dynamic mobile experience that is truly innovative. I am delighted with the fantastic mobile website we have produced together.”

The website has been optimised to respond to the time of day, the user’s proximity to a Pret shop and device (e.g. smartphone or tablet). GPS functionality will display the details of the closest shop including the manager’s name, walking directions, opening hours and contact details. Once in store the site will also encourage users to leave feedback for the Pret team or check in on Facebook.

The mobile site also offers nutritional informal for the entire Pret menu including the Soup of the Day and Week.

Partner and head of creative services EMEA at Essence Alastair Cole, added: “Essence's vision for this project was to replicate the outstanding service and convenience of Pret's shops in a fully responsive site. We drew on our world-class UX, creative, technical and social disciplines to craft a category-defining mobile brand experience. The magic behind this highly contextual interface is barely noticeable and we're very proud of our work.”

Images taken from the shoot of a new advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer suggest that acid attack victim Katie Piper is the new public face of the retailer.

Starring alongside Helen Mirren and Annie Leibovitz the trio were spotted at St Katharine’s Dock on Friday filming scenes for a commercial, the latest ad campaign to be mounted by the firm.

Piper has been praised for her handling of a sulphuric acid attack by her former boyfriend in 2008, an incident which led to her being badly disfigured and blinded in one eye.

In response to this Piper established the Katie Piper Foundation to inspire others living with burns and scars.

M&S has refused to confirm or deny media speculation around their campaign at this time.

Respected Guardian blogger Roy Greenslade has released an apology following a blog post on the incident between Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson, saying he is "mortified" that his blog could have been considered a defence of domestic violence.

Professor Greenslade published a blog on Monday criticising the tabloid media reaction to the pictures and said there had been a rush to judgement that the incident was related to domestic abuse. He added that the event was deeply embarrassing for Lawson and even more embarrassing for Saatchi, leading many Twitter users to accuse him of minimising the issue of domestic violence.

The blog was released just as Saatchi, 70, broke his silence and spoke to the Evening Standard, claiming he put his hands around his wife's neck to "emphasise my point" and described it as a "playful tiff", while admitting that the couple were having an argument at the time. He later accepted a caution over the incident at Charing Cross police station in London.

Greenslade said in his apology that he and Nigella Lawson had been friends for more than 20 years and he went in the wrong direction.

"Sometimes one is too close to a story, and this is the irony: I was clearly over-compensating for the fact that I have been a friend of Nigella's ever since we were colleagues on the Sunday Times more than 20 years ago," he said.

"In order to be scrupulously fair about the incident, showing no favour to a friend, I went way in the wrong direction. I therefore owe her apologies. And I apologise also to all those, including several Guardian colleagues, who thought I'd taken leave of my senses."

Greenslade added that he had expressed himself very badly and it was never his intention to defend domestic violence.

Aviva has selected Dare to launch a national social media campaign in support of its smartphone app, Aviva Drive, which offers safer drivers a better deal on their car insurance.

The social media activity has been timed to coincide with the latest Aviva TV ad starring Paul Whitehouse. Created by AMV BBDO the ad debunks some of the nation’s most common driving stereotypes.

As part of the initiative Dare will ask the nation to judge ‘Who’s the safest bet?’ by backing either a stereotypical white van man, cautious granny or busy school run mum for the chance to win a new Ford car. At the end of the campaign Dare will reveal if the driver stereotypes hold true on the Aviva Facebook and Twitter pages.

The stereotypical drivers will be put through their paces with ex-F1 driver Jonny Herbert and the Aviva Drive app, throughout the campaign Dare will share video and polls to stoke engagement as well as stimulate debate around the stereotypes.

Speaking of the activity, James Turner, brand marketing and strategy manager at Aviva, said: “This campaign will be key to reaching new audiences and encouraging debate and consideration of the App.”

Dare creative director Laura Jordan-Bambach, added: “We’re all guilty of using stereotypes from time to time and we wanted to show that Aviva, more than any other insurer, are keen to offer drivers the chance to get a premium based on their driving safety. The campaign is designed to be fun and shareable but thought provoking, encouraging drivers to try the app for themselves to find out how safe they really are.”

A survey of the global advertising market by ZenithOptimedia has painted a picture of steady recovery after concluding that growth is likely to hit 3.5 per cent in 2013, followed by 5.1 per cent in 2014 and 5.8 per cent in 2015.

The data was compiled for the ROI Agency’s latest Advertising Expenditure Forecast, which specified internet advertising as the main driver of future growth.

Looked at specifically ZenithOptimedia anticipate that internet advertising will grow by an average of 15 per cent a year through to 2015, contributing a hefty 66 per cent of growth to global ad expenditure.

Mobile remains out in front as the fastest growing component of internet advertising, expanding by an estimated 67 per cent in 2013 and averaging 51 per cent a year between 2012 and 2015 owing to the explosion in smartphone and tablet sales.

Steve King, CEO, Worldwide, ZenithOptimedia, said: “The global advertising market is continuing to show steady growth on its path of recovery. Internet advertising is driving adspend growth, and after several years of market expectation, mobile is at the forefront of this. Mobile devices are now integral parts of the lives of many consumers around the world, but still present huge untapped potential for marketers to engage with consumers in a personal, interactive and highly effective way.”

Fresh research conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau suggests that retailers are struggling to become mobile and tablet ready with just eight per cent of the UKs top 50 retailers (ranked by advertising expenditure) having a tablet optimised site – despite 74 per cent having a mobile optimised page.

This fundamental omission in the mobile economy was presented in the IAB’s Mobile Retail Audit which assessed optimised sites, apps, optimised search and in-store Wi-fi.

Tablet use now accounts for 4.4 hours of internet browsing per week, a window which most retailers are slamming shut for digital consumers.

Despite this of those brands that had a mobile optimised site, 81% had a transactional functionality built-in, significantly higher than the proportion of those brands that have an app (62%), currently standing at just 48%.

A further highlighted failing was the absence of a seamless digital experience across desktop and mobile platforms, with 90 per cent of retailers failing to provide unified account access.

IAB’s head of mobile, Alex Kozloff said: ‘This research shows that although the fashion specific retailers have grasped the essentials of mobile marketing there is still a large percentage of the top spending retailers that haven’t. With so many consumers now deciding to shop online brands can’t afford to not get this right. The IAB will be reaching out to retail brands specifically over the coming months to help educate them further about how to make the most of mobile.’

To promote the theatrical release of Despicable Me 2 Universal Pictures has mounted a mobile controlled, personalised, geo-specific digital out of home campaign spanning five European territories.

Covering the UK, France, Spain, Norway and Finland, the interactive campaign will run on Clear Channel’s network of digital screens in shopping centres and invites consumers to control and personalise the on-screen creative using their mobile phone.

David Roddick, Clear Channel International’s sales director, said of the campaign: “This kind of creative execution shows the potential multimedia campaigns have when using out-of-home to engage, stimulate and interact with audiences via mobile devices. It captures the personality of the minions and brings the movie's character to life for cinema-goers of all ages, communicating a compelling message about how much fun the Despicable Me franchise is.”

Conceived by Clear Channel, planned and coordinated by TED@MediaCom and powered by an app designed and built by Grand Visual, the interactive campaign links input from the users SMS or web app to prompt more than 30 animated sequences to create the interactive experience.

“Clever use of technology is at the heart of this bespoke Pan European campaign. The execution combines interactivity, personalisation, and fun whilst generating user-centric content for social media sharing. It's a massively complex project but demonstrates truly ambitious use of the medium,” commented Dan Dawson, creative and technology director at Grand Visual.

The creative itself features Gru’s mischievous Minions who tap their feet impatiently whilst waiting for someone to command them. The Minions appear with a call to action asking passers-by to text to see them dance, wrestle, play, build or boogie.

To interact with the Minions users need to text any command along with their name to a shortcode and minutes later the Minions will act out the instruction accordingly along with an on-screen thanks to the participant. Users will also be rewarded with a text linking them to a copy of the personalised Minion film which they can then share via social media.

Digital out of home campaign management dashboard OpenLoop has been employed to power the real time interaction as well as personalising the copy and playout with location specific geotargeted responses.

A total of 259 digital screens in 51 shopping centres will run the creative with the interactive experience supported by additional static and digital formats. Social and online channels will also support the out of home experience with an online version also running.

BlueGlass has acquired performance marketing agency Spades Media in a move which will take Spades Media founder Jim Banks and his team of staff over to Blueglass to create a new biddable media team.

The two companies already have a number of clients in common and Spades Media clients, including Truly Travel, will move across.

Managing director of BlueGlass, Kevin Gibbons, said: "We believe that you can no longer operate digital marketing effectively in silos, so this is an acquisition of key people to allow us to combine skillsets to offer a full set of paid, earned and owned media services as an all-in-one digital strategy.

"Content marketing, SEO and biddable media are just some of the services our clients have been demanding from us. By acquiring Spades media, we are now able to provide a complete in-house solution to our existing and future clients and ensure that brand values are delivered consistently across multiple distribution channels."

Jim Banks added: "After 14 years of leading-edge digital marketing I was looking for the next big challence and the acquisition by Blueglass UK helps widen the footprint of services we can offer premium brands from our bigger resource and knowledge pool, and together we can work towards the creation of the UK's leading digital marketing agency."

Spades Media was founded in 1999 to capture demand for RTB/programmatic and performance-based PPC management and moved from consulting to campaign management and delivery.

Recent client wins for BlueGlass include Healthspan, Momondo and vinspired.

Media firm The Agency, currently ranked 45 in the Drum’s UK’s Top 100 Agencies, have promoted planning director Matt Rees to Agency partner following a 36 per cent increase in gross profit. Additionally, Jon Dunbar, co-founder of­ firm The Big Story, has been appointed as client services director.

Incorporated in 2008 by partners Saman Mansourpour and Amy Stobie, The Agency has seen continual growth despite the economic downturn. The firm won big accounts from BT, Del Monte, SlimSticks and Bristol City Council in 2009 which helped ensure growth.

Managing partner of The Agency, Saman Mansourpour, said: “­I have known Jon Dunbar for many years, and we have looked for the opportunity to work together again for a while now. His intrinsic understanding of brands and how to leverage them for commercial success is an essential part of what we do here at The Agency for our clients.

“Jon has the talent to build business relationships that last a lifetime. His focus on providing an uncompromisingly high level of service coupled with his experience of growing and motivating account management teams in a fast growth environment is well suited to our agency”.

Amy Stobie, the second founding partner, attributed the firm’s prosperity to trying to find its niche in the modern world, she said: “The clients who we partner with and the brands that we are responsible for are testament to our success as a team. As our client’s businesses grow, so do we, so attracting and retaining exceptional people like Matt Rees and Jon Dunbar is the key to our future”.

Waitrose is venturing into the great outdoors with the launch of a gardening TV channel this week.

The new channel will feature Waitrose’s own ‘secret garden’ at the Leckford Estate in Hampshire which will serve as the location where brand ambassador Alan Titchmarsh will give hints and horticultural tips to viewers.

Much of the content will be filmed at a garden at Longstock nursery, part of the supermarket’s 4000 acre Leckford estate. The garden itself is being created by Waitrose’s head gardener to resemble a series of ‘rooms’ including a cottage garden, vegetable plot and wildlife area.

Of the project, Titchmarsh said: “I’m really excited to be involved in the launch of Waitrose Gardening TV and the new Waitrose garden. It’s a great opportunity for me to share my gardening knowledge with Waitrose customers. It’s a unique idea for a supermarket to launch its own garden and it really gives me the freedom to show how a garden changes throughout the year with the seasons.”

TV gardener Matt James will also be filming a series of videos for Waitrose TV showing viewers how to recreate the Waitrose garden in their own backyards. The series of 12 short ‘how to videos’ will launch fortnightly from July to October this year.

The launch of the gardening channel on waitrose.tv coincides with a new TV advert featuring Titchmarsh. The advert focuses on British seasonal favourite strawberries and tells the story of the sweeter strawberry.

Waitrose marketing director, Rupert Thomas, commented: “We’ve always known that our customers enjoy gardening. Horticulture is a key area for growth within our business and we have expanded the range of plants and gardening tools in our shops and online. Alan's authority and knowledge really comes to the fore through this new channel, which will provide trustworthy advice to seasoned gardeners and horticultural novices alike.”

Consumer relations firm Frank PR is aiding brewing industry leaders to combat negative perceptions regarding beer consumption in the UK with a new campaign called ‘Let There Be Beer’.

The initiative launches on 29 June and has the backing of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Beer, lagers, ales, bitters, pilsners and stouts will be celebrated through national TV ad campaigns, broadcast partnerships, celebrity associations and a social media content programme.

A ‘Let There Be Beer’ spokesperson said: "This coalition is a first for the brewing industry and we are united in our passion for beer. ‘Let There Be Beer’ is a rallying cry to the nation to remember just how good it is to have a beer, getting Brits rediscovering beer all over again and giving it whirl on occasions which they might not have considered before.

"We are pleased to be working with Frank PR, who share this enthusiasm and can deliver a creative, behaviour change campaign for us."

Andrew Bloch, group managing director and founder of Frank PR, said: "Being for the entire beer category rather than anyone type or brand, ‘Let There Be Beer’ poses an exciting opportunity for us as we aim to bring the nation back to beer, benefiting the beer category as a whole.

"Beer and the brewing industry are rich in tradition and of great economic importance in the UK so we of course jumped at the chance to be part of a campaign that is set to be an iconic moment in British beer history."

Energy drink brand V Energy is relaunching the brand with a campaign urging people to direct the trolls in their lives towards some V-Hab recovery and silence them with positivity.

Created by Albion London, the campaign is supported by the V-Hab microsite - on which users can download a 'de-troller' browser extension which "converts all troll comments on websites to something so pleasant even your gran can read it without blushing" and make use of the 'troll intervention' Facebook app to combat trolling friends and win free V.

The site offers a range of features mocking the infamous internet troll and the campaign is accompanied by a 90-second Silence The Troll video spot. Goodstuff is handling the media account and the first online slot will air on 12 June.

Cameron Strahorn, V Energy European marketing manager (Frucor), said: "Given the widespread rise of internet trolling behaviour in the UK, we thought it was time to do something about it in a positive way and the V-Hab campaign is our way of doing that."

Executive creative director of Albion, Nick Darken, added: "With this campaign we wanted to take a completely different approach to engaging consumers online in a way that anyone who has ever read the comment section on YouTube or the national newspaper websites can relate to. Above all, we wanted to keep it positive and tongue in cheek."

The campaign aims to launch the brand in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Sainsbury's video on demand platform has adopted British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) ratings, giving parents more controls over protecting their children from unsuitable content.

Sainsbury's ventured into the VOD market in May with the launch of the service, which currently offers more than 400 films for stream or download.

BBFC director, David Cooke, said: "In 2011 we asked the public whether they wanted to see BBFC age ratings on video on demand platforms and 85 per cent said they consider it important to have consistent classifications available for film downloads. This figure rises to 90 per cent among those with children under 16."

The service allows Sainsbury's to attach the BBFC's widely recognised age rating categories of U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 to its movies.

The Samsung Electronics brand will be boosted by its broadcast exposure to an anticipated audience of six million as a result of the electronic giant’s sponsorship of the World Rowing Cup 2013.

One of the international rowing competition’s three legs, will be hosted by London for the first time in eight years, with additional heats being held in Switzerland and Australia.

The Japanese firm plan to erect large screens, offer VIP hospitality, have a full page advert in the event programme as part of an extensive branding campaign.

London’s Eton Dorney Lake which was built for the 2012 London Olympics - where Samsung was also an official sponsor - saw crowds in excess of 200,000. A Samsung spokesperson admitted they would like to see similar numbers at the World Rowing Cup 2013 with the firm looking to emulate the atmosphere of the games.

Visitors will be able to view Samsung’s latest range of digital appliances, in addition to refrigeration, cooking, laundry and vacuum cleaners in its on-site showroom.

Andy Griffiths, managing director of Samsung Electronics commented: “We are honoured to be sponsoring the Rowing World Cup Series for a third year; it marks Samsung’s continuing commitment to elite sport and allows us to showcase our premium products to consumers.”

Property partnership Strutt & Parker has announced the appointment of Total Media to handle its SEO activity and drive online visibility.

The agency, which currently manages Strutt & Parker’s media planning and buying, including PPC, will help to grow the property partnership’s online reach and profile.

Strutt & Parker’s head of digital marketing, Kiersty Long, said: “We have long recognised buyers’ reliance on social endorsements and online and mobile search to help inform their purchasing-decisions. We want to ensure that Strutt & Parker is at the forefront of any decision-making process and the best way to achieve this goal is through holistic SEO activity that also benefits from above the line activity.

“We were impressed with Total Media’s SEO offering as well as the transparency and insight of their analytics reporting. We are delighted to be furthering our marketing and media work with Total Media.”

Total Media’s SEO team will work in collaboration with Strutt & Parker’s internal PR and social teams to grow the estate agent’s website authority, and will start immediately.

Total Media’s head of SEO, Yesmin Celis, added: “We know from external studies and our own analysis that buyers increasingly start the house hunting process using both online and mobile search, before moving on to local maps and social media channels towards the end of their search.

“Local optimisation is key for Strutt & Parker, so for them it’s about continuing to develop and optimise quality content so we can target and reach these users at precise points during their user journey.”

Lavazza has been announced as the official coffee of the Wimbledon for the third year running.

Under the deal Lavazza will be available to spectators, as well as to athletes and staff, and even those forming the world’s most famous queue at the Lavazza Q Café.

To support the partnership Lavazza is launching an online competition offering the chance to win a host of prizes including Wimbledon tickets. To take part consumers must create their perfect match between Lavazza coffee specialities and contemporary British traditions.

Lavazza is also hosting an expanded blogger challenge with 15 food, lifestyle and fashion bloggers who will be encouraged to engage with their followers about Lavazza and their ‘New Tradition’ for the chance to attend Wimbledon as special guests of Lavazza, the top blogger will also win a luxury trip to the home of the brand, Turin, Italy.

Lavazza VP Giuseppe Lavazza will be visiting from Italy with members of the Lavazza family to host a round table discussion on 26 June, with a number of tennis celebrities.

Toxic magazine, a three-weekly publication for teenage boys, has launched its first two apps games on iPad and iPhone in a bid to reward readers and raise the brand’s exposure.

As part of a campaign to establish a presence on multiple platforms, especially with the release of the first interactive issue of the magazine earlier this year, the Toxic brand is to be extended into entertainment and apps.

The games entitled Bug Blatter and Meerkat Me are accessible to readers for free from the iTunes store.

Bug Blatter requires users to crush bugs upon a window using different techniques to destroy different bugs. Meerkat Me allows users to transpose their faces onto the heads meerkats, the resulting image can be shared on social networks.

Both apps will be extensively promoted in the print and online editions of the publication
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Siobhan Galvin, publisher of Toxic Magazine said: “We know from our audience research that apps are really popular with Toxic readers. We are hugely excited to be able to bring Toxic to the app world, extending the brand digitally in what is a very natural space for us.

“This move will enhance and deepen the experience for our readers while at the same time open up Toxic as a magazine to a wider group of potential readers.”

TV Licensing has released a series of animations, based on real excuses given by households which have not paid their licensing fee.

Created by Scottish animation collective White Robot, the series of videos include excuses such as ‘I’ve just has a lethal injection’ and ‘I stole the TV, so why pay for a license?’

Stephen Farmer, TV Licensing spokesperson, said: “Some of the excuses are simply hilarious whilst others show a great deal of imagination and creativity, but being caught without a valid TV Licence is a criminal offence and no laughing matter. Joking and wacky excuses apart, it's breaking the law to watch live television without a licence so anybody doing this risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.”

Co-writer and director of the short films, Will Anderson, added: “Our style of animation really lends itself to TV Licensing’s excuses. Using bold, vibrant animation we are able to develop the nature of the excuses, and abstract them with our sense of humour. The excuses were naturally funny, so it was all about how we could bring them to life. All of our work is particularly conversational, so it’s a good match.”

The top 12 excuses of the year are:

1: Why would I need a TV Licence for a TV I stole? Nobody knows I’ve got it.

2: I have lost weight recently and had to buy new clothes. That’s why I could not afford to buy a TV Licence.

3: I had not paid as I received a lethal injection.

4: Apparently my dog, which is a corgi, was related to the Queen’s dog so I didn’t think I needed a TV Licence.

5: I don’t want to pay for a licence for a full year. Knowing my luck I’ll be dead in six months and won’t get value for money.

6: I could not pay for my TV Licence because the Olympic torch was coming down my road and I could not get to the shop as the road was too busy.

7: I only use my TV as a lamp. If you switch it on it gives a good glow which allows me to read my book.

8: The only way I can afford to pay for my TV Licence is if I sell my hamster, is that what you want me to do?

9: Only my three year old son watches the TV. Can you take it out of the family allowance I receive for him? He watches it so he should pay.

10: [Customer a presented half a torn paper licence to a visiting Enquiry Officer] I spend so much time at my neighbour’s house, we thought we would just share a TV Licence. My neighbour has the other half.

11: I could not pay as I only have two pairs of pants and they were both in the wash.

12: I got caught shoplifting so I’m barred from the shop that takes PayPoint payments.

Ad Pano, a new way to implement ads in apps similar to Apple's iAd, was released in the UK and the USA today, with the intention of it being in use with all Windows 8 computers in the future.

The software is available to all advertisers and publishers who use the Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows 8. Microsoft’s new approach aims to advertise goods to the user in the least intrusive manner, unlike the more traditional pop ups which are badly suited for use on mobile devices.

Jennifer Creegan, general manager of the display advertising experiences business group for Microsoft said on her blog: “Last year at Cannes we said that that the goal of our co-ideation sessions was to brainstorm and create custom concepts for display ad experiences on the Ads in Apps platform.

“Our goal then, as it is today, was to explore the potential of the rich ads in Apps for Windows 8 canvas and by doing that, re-think what digital advertising can deliver to consumers and marketers.”

Eventually, the technology will be in use across all first-party apps for Windows 8 - including Bing, Xbox, and Skype - and apps that integrate the Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows 8.

Toyota, who ran one of the first ads in Apps for Windows 8 campaigns, was one of the first users of Ad Pano. Dionne Colvin, national marketing media manager for Toyota, said: “We were very happy with the beautiful experience that the Ad Pano brought to our ‘Let’s Go Places’ campaign, one of our first brand initiatives in many years.

“We were looking for an online platform that would really spotlight our Toyota brand in a forward-thinking way, and Windows 8 was the right fit.”