The Co-operative Group has retained Leo Burnett as its ad agency. The company called a review in November last year and the pitch process was handled by AAR. Leo Burnett beat WCRS in a final shoot-out. MullenLowe London and Ogilvy & Mather London also met the Co-op at the start of March. The Publicis Groupe agency also handles The Co-operative Bank, which was not part of the review. Rocket holds The Co-operative Group's media planning and buying account.

Sky has won exclusive rights to show Formula One racing from 2019, the first time that the vast majority of races will only be available to pay TV subscribers. Sky already broadcasts all 21 grands prix live, but Channel 4 also has rights to show 10 races a year after striking a three-year deal thought to be worth as much as GBP35m a year. Channel 4 had picked up the rights after the BBC exited its own deal with the sport's governing body early due to budget cuts. The new Sky deal runs until 2024.

The publisher of the Sun has recorded a loss of more than GBP250m after making a huge write-down and paying out further costs associated with phone hacking and payments to public officials. The Sun incurred one-off charges during the year ending June 2015 of GBP277m in total, once legal fees and compensation for loss of office were included. The bulk of the write-down -- some GBP204m - relates to diminution of the value of the Sun's masthead, or publishing rights going forward.

ITV and the production companies behind Britain's Got Talent have signed an estimated GBP6 million sponsorship deal with the National Lottery operator, Camelot, for the forthcoming tenth series. Vizeum and its sister content agency, The Story Lab, brokered the deal. It includes multiplatform activation and offer National Lottery players the chance to win VIP tickets to the talent show. The National Lottery will create ten "guaranteed" millionaires in a special draw to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the show.

Brands need to develop their media production skills and learn to work with media partners as young people increasingly reject traditional advertising, Vice Media CEO and co-founder Shane Smith has said. Smith argues that the rise of ad blocking, digital video recorders and online streaming services like Netflix are forcing brands to find new ways of reaching audiences beyond conventional advertising.

Android Pay will launch in the U.K. in "the next few months" as Google seeks to catch up with Apple in the mobile payments space. The launch of Google's mobile payment service has been long awaited for those with Android smartphones considering the devices have had NFC capabilities long before Apple, which managed to steal a march on Google with the launch of Apple Pay in the U.K. Apple Pay launched in the UK last July after initially debuting in the U.S.

Liverpool and Carlsberg will celebrate their 25th anniversary together next year after the two agreed to a three-year extension to their partnership. The new deal will see Carlsberg continue in its role as Liverpool's official beer until the end of the 2018/19 season. The beer giant will benefit from improved taps in the stadium as well as pitch-side LED signage and access to players and hospitality packages.

Johnston Press is planning to offload some of its local papers over the coming year amid efforts to cut debt and return to paying dividends. Ashley Highfield, the regional publisher's chief executive, said he had received approaches from small and large media companies and wanted to get going with the sell-offs to raise "tens of millions" of pounds.

Improving technology means a smartphone's features can be pushed further to engage viewers, says the EMEA managing director of mobile ad specialist Opera Mediaworks. The new iPhone SE may hark back to an earlier time in terms of screen size, but its relatively cheap price tag of GBP359 makes it affordable for those in emerging markets. As with any new Apple product, many in the advertising world are already questioning what the cheaper (and more importantly, smaller) phone means for them and their clients.

McDonald's has launched a new campaign in a bid to show off its "brand evolution" and change brand perceptions by convincing parents that the Happy Meal is healthier than ever, having reduced the average salt content by 47.4% since 2003. The "Always Working" campaign illustrates the changes made to the children's Happy Meal as part of the brand's 10-year nutrition strategy, which aims to reformulate its recipes, broaden choice and provide access to nutritional information.