Oscar Pistorius, the South African running star charged with murder, is the latest of several Nike-sponsored stars to fall from grace. Does Nike need to pivot on its marketing? Matthew Futterman joins Markets Hub.

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You may dream about this, but no one ever does it. Until now. Frank Jonen, who runs his own small Web design company, claims he wasn't paid properly by Fitness SF, one of his clients. So, he went and replaced the Fitness SF website with an angry letter about how evil the bastards at Fitness SF are. Amazing.

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Ikea, BT and Tesco are among the brands hoping to get lucky this Valentine's Day in our round-up of love-themed ads and brand activity.

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I hate it when this happens, but I'm having a controversial opinion, and I won't rest until it's out. It's about this Primedia "Stop Rape" campaign, and before I start ranting, I better state some things clearly.

The first is that I am (rather obviously, I should hope) vehemently horrified by the rape situation in this country, and by Anene Booysen's death, and by the atrocities women locally and internationally are suffering.

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At a time when many global banks face pressures of undercapitalisation and a challenge to renew consumer confidence, Malaysian banks are expected to grow this year but with a caveat that they must do their portfolio balancing perfectly.

“The key challenge in 2013 would be the delicate portfolio-balancing act between volume and quality to achieve targeted growth,” Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) Malaysia partner Chan Hooi Lam (financial services and country leader for financial accounting advisory services) told The Malaysian Reserve recently.

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The Gregorian year of 2012 started with an ominous ring to it. But 2012 waltzed along anyway, and so did December 21. And here we are, at the cusp of a global new year.

Before you young folks party the night away, we thought it good to school you in the happenings of the Asian tech startup scene over the last 12 months. Or, if you’re reading this in 2013, welcome to the past.

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Mandarin is notoriously hard to learn, especially for Westerners who often get tripped up on Chinese intonation. It’s a real problem, since varying tones of a same-sounding word can actually have different meanings.

But if there’s anything close to a global lingua franca — and I mean among straight guys — it’s hot women. It turns out that one such siren, 26-year-old Japanese model Kaoru Kikuchi, has combined the world of language learning and soft porn to create a product that is weird, offensive, and wonderful — all at the same time.

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Osaka-based Aussie expat VFX artist Roger Bolton, who has worked in Australia at The Moving Picture Company and Emerald City Design, and put the flames and reflection on the ring in the first Lord of the Rings film, has posted a stinging attack on ad agencies on his Facebook page, accusing them of ripping off clients and treating him like scum.

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ADVERTISING and branding agency People N Rich-H Sdn Bhd, which is part of Japan's worldwide Hakuhodo group, achieved a strong 20% growth last year thanks to new business wins.

People N Rich-H also spearheaded the launch of a series of Hitachi home appliances from refrigerators to air-conditioners and washing machines, and the Suzuki Nex a fun, trendy, and spirited scooter targeted at the younger generation.

The agency's expanded scope of services for existing clients ranged from Fujifilm's launch of Fujifilm Instax, Fujifilm X-Pro1, and Fujifilm X-E1 Premium interchangeable lens camera.

It says in a statement that the wins included National Gas Company, KL Metropolis by Naza TTDI, Saito Academy of Security Management, Saito College, Astalift, and Meditag.

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He says local advertising agencies, with their local market understanding and skill sets, have sufficient avenues to strengthen the advertising market.

“There is a tremendous potential to build and promote Sarawak products and services, with an upside in creating a global presence by adhering to proper branding principles.”

4As president Tony Savarimuthu says: “The Sarawak economy is well poised for real growth with SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) playing a leading role with indigenous brands, arts and culture, festivals, travel and tourism all thriving.

The association, which has about 130 members, currently has no Sarawak-based member agency.

THE Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) plans to attract agencies in Sarawak as members with a view of establishing a local chapter there, it says in a statement.

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