ITV's pre-tax profits soared by 23% last year, with the broadcaster reporting strong demand from advertisers in the first quarter of 2015. The company posted pre-tax profits of GBP712m for last year, compared with a forecast of GBP681m, according to Thomson Reuters data. The home of Downton Abbey said it had started 2015 well, with net advertising revenue now forecast to be up 11% in the first quarter, and up 4% to 7% in April. That compares to the 6% net advertising growth it recorded in 2014.

Marketing is dead. Strategy is dead. Management is dead. So says Kevin Roberts, the man who ran the UK's most famous advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi for 17 years, until his recent move upstairs to become executive chairman. If that seems like a rather pessimistic message for somebody in his relentlessly upbeat trade, then think again. Roberts is just about the most positive man in adland. Business is now all about creating a "movement" of people with shared values, he enthuses.

A major transatlantic policy split over the future of the Internet has opened, with European officials preparing new rules around so-called "net neutrality" that are likely to be strongly resisted by US Internet companies such as Google and Netflix. Advocates of net neutrality argue that operators should treat all traffic equally. But at Mobile World Congress, an industry gathering in Barcelona, EU officials indicated they are preparing regulations that will allow operators to charge sources of Internet traffic for faster access to consumers.

Always, the P&G-owned feminine care brand, launched the campaign last June with a film that showed how the phrase can have a significant effect on girls' self-confidence when used as an insult. It was viewed more than 85 million times in 150 countries, according to P&G, and featured in Marketing's Top 10 Marketing Moments of 2014. The new video is titled 'Like A Girl -- Stronger Together' and is designed to inspire girls to "rewrite the meaning of 'like a girl'," according to Always Global Vice President Fama Francisco.

Most consumers have not yet bought into the hype surrounding wearable devices, according to research seen exclusively by "Marketing Week." Wearable technology is set to be one of the hottest trends at Mobile World Congress this week, with a host of brands unveiling new devices, yet 61% of UK adults say they would not buy one. The survey of 2,000 people, carried out by One Poll and commissioned by experiential agency Fizz, reveals that 37% of consumers believe they have no need for a wearable product.

Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday morning, KT chairman Chang-Gyu Hwang said the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, of which KT is a sponsor, would be "the first ever 5G Olympics." Other industry figures have predicted that the 5G infrastructure, which is vital to facilitating the burgeoning 'internet of things,' will not be ready on a large scale until 2020.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has stamped out misleading pricing claims from Poundland on the discount retailer's Web site. The ASA investigation was prompted by two complaints regarding misleading claims about the outlet's product pricing in its 'About Us' section, on its website. The ruling concluded that statements claiming all items were GBP1, that prices hadn't changed and that the store offered "a single price" of GBP1 was misleading to consumers. Poundland said items breaching the GBP1 limit were "clearly marked."

The ad was released late yesterday. It features the image of a wrecking ball and the text, "A recovering economy. Don't let Labour wreck it." Senior M&C Saatchi executives such as Jeremy Sinclair have worked with the Conservative Party since the 1979 "Labour isn't working" poster when they were at Saatchi & Saatchi.

AOL UK has hired Hamish Nicklin, Google UK's director of agency sales, as its new managing director. Reporting to AOL's head of international, Graham Moysey, Nicklin will be tasked with overseeing the company's strategic direction, while also aiming to drive new business development for the company's content, programmatic and video brands. He will take on the role following the departure of Noel Penzer to become managing director for Europe for Time Out Group last week.

The premium Scottish whisky brand launched a week long takeover of the famous Wellington Arch in Hyde Park Sunday night with David Beckham and Simon Fuller. The landmark has been transformed into a modern interpretation of the British private clubs that were featured in Haig Club adverts from the 1920s and turned blue. The interior has been transformed by designer Amanda Sheppard to include a "whisky snug" and Michelin starred chefs designed a menu suited to pair with the "clean fresh notes" of the spirit.