Wow, can you believe it? Our new minister of communications, Roy Padayachie, has actually withdrawn the controversial Public Service Broadcasting Bill. And last week it was reported that the scope of the contentious Protection of Information Bill would be scaled down, too. Now let's hope that the mess at the SABC gets sorted out properly. On the advertising front, not only does Y&R refuse to comment on the recent sudden resignation of Fraser Lamb, it turns out that the group of companies will be restructured into two units by January 2011 - a move apparently prompted by the need to avoid conflicts of interest while digital abilities are beefed up (and we'll see the introduction of VML into the country). On the awards side (which I was trying to avoid in this column since it seems to be all I ever write about recently), TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg reports in its Bizcommunity press office that it is has been ranked as the third best agency in the world. This is according to the Annual 2010 Report published by Advertising Age's Creativity magazine - based on the results of seven top global creative awards shows (ADC, AICP, Andy Awards, Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD and One Show). Other big news is the further cancelling of huge sports sponsorship accounts, this time by Standard Bank with respect to cricket and soccer. Now that was not unexpected, wouldn't you say? (Think recession, retrenchments, sports administration...) Have a great week Simone Puterman (@SimoneBiz) Managing editor PS Fifteen daily newsletters and three weeklies left until year-end after this one goes out! It's sure been a long year but, still, where did it go? PPS This week's Ornico Ad Showcase features TV ads for Sunlight 2 in 1, M-Net, Windhoek Lager, SABC1 and Hugo Boss, and radio ads for Hollard, Virgin Mobile, All Gold, Telkom Mobile and Kulula.
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