PepsiCo reviews Propel Zero business

The beverage giant is reviewing Propel Zero business. Omnicom Group agencies Fathom, New York; 180 Amsterdam; and TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, are said to be pitching for the business. The incumbent, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, also an Omnicom agency, has been left out of the pitch. Recently the agency was taken off the marketer’s Sierra Mist business. Propel has just repositioned itself as Propel Zero, eliminating the calories and targeting an active, older group rather than the competitive athletes it used to seek. The brand is about to break a new campaign as part of that repositioning and expects to significantly boost ad spending. In 2010, Propel spent only $330,000, a massive drop from the $8 million it spent in 2009.

NYT introduces digital subscriptions

The New York Times has revealed the details of its plans to charge heavy users of its digital platforms, a bid to collect more revenue from readers and depend less on advertisers. Under the plan, visitors to The New York Times Online will have access to 20 free articles a month. After that the Times will offer them a choice, the cheapest of which is $15 for four weeks of access to the site and a smartphone app. After that readers could pay $20 per for unfettered online access and its iPad app or $35 to cover all of the above. Home-delivery subscribers will get all access at no extra charge, not including the Times on the Kindle and Nook

Richard Desmond?s magazines up for sale

Richard Desmond, the founder and owner of Northern & Shell, has put its magazine titles up for sale, including his flagship celebrity-led monthly OK! Magazine. Desmond has employed investment bank Barclays Capital to oversee the sale of Northern & Shell’s magazine titles, in the UK and overseas. A confidential Barclays Capital presentation details the proposed sale of the UK and all international editions of OK!, as well as UK publications Star and New! Magazine. In the latest set of six-monthly magazine circulation figures from ABC, OK! magazine’s circulation was down 23.4% year on year to 450,946 in a quiet period for big celebrity stories. OK! is published, under licence in some cases, in 21 countries including India, Spain, Russia, Turkey and the US.

Japan shines at 14th Asia-Pac Ad Festival

Though a majority of Japanese delegates skipped Asia’s premier advertising show last weekend in Thailand, but Japanese agencies still managed to dominate the 14th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival. Attendance fell this year because of the earthquack and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. Dentsu was named Agency of the Year at the three-day festival, better known as AdFest, while Wieden & Kennedy, Tokyo won the Interactive Agency of the Year award. Tokyo agencies took home 58 awards in total, more than any other city, led by Dentsu, with 14 prizes. Hakuhodo was close behind with 11 awards. Over the years, Japanese agencies such as Dentsu, Hakuhodo and Asatsu-DK, or ADK, have been major supporters of the festival

Bacardi brings Nadal on board

Bacardi has signed up tennis star Rafael Nadal to replace Michael Schumacher as its global social responsibility ambassador. The move to sign the global tennis star comes as Bacardi ramps up its social media activity to promote its efforts to drive responsible drinking.

Bacardi’s ‘Champions Drink Responsibly’ campaign, created by 23red, runs across advertising, PR, experiential and social media.This also includes a YouTube channel and, for the first time, a ‘Champions Drink Responsibly’ Facebook page. The ads feature the Spanish tennis star educating consumers about responsible drinking. In one execution,

Nadal holds his racquet over a cocktail glass, accompanied by the message: “I’d always tell my friends where the line is.” Another uses the line “I try to beat everyone at tennis, not drinking”.