Are we finally witnessing a seismic change in the way advertisers
in Asia behave towards their rivals?
In recent days, we saw Richard Branson's airline leave its establishment
rival British Airways less than amused by its creative-snatching
antics.
While cheeky, the way Virgin hijacked BA's promotion to announce its own
seventh anniversary give-away of 88 per cent seats, was more or less
expected for an airline carrying Branson's audacious DNA.
What took Vine by surprise though was the rumble in the musty world of
research. Arch-rivals ACNielsen and Asia Market Intelligence have always
kept to discreet comments when talking about each other's research
projects - ATMS and PAX respectively.
Finally, one has pulled its claws out to take a swipe at the other. In a
full page ad announcing CNBC's pole position in the cable/satellite
scene, the copy reads: "Know the facts, not the PAX."
Ouch! But can we expect to see more of this, especially after BBDO
Philippines' promising start with its Pepsi-sponsored anti-drug
campaign, which simply said: "Say no to Coke".
