• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 11, 2015

As we all celebrate the merging of Mullen and Lowe and Partners, there's another bit of Lowe-related news going on that isn't so pleasing. A story in Asia's Mumbrella describes the placement of two Lowe Singapore-created ads for Unilever's detergent Persil and 3M's Scotchguard in a small, freely distributed newspaper called Tabla. 

The ads ran in the April 17 and 24 issues of the publication. The deadline for Cannes was April 24. Coincidence? Not according to a commenter on a story about a recent Ogilvy campaign who wrote: "Did anyone else notice that TABLA is now the new IS magazine for scam ads? Flip through the pages of Tabla this month, and you’ll see the ScotchGuard print ad (2 or 3 of them in one issue too!) and 2 half page print ads for some detergent brand."

The commenter continues: "And this is TABLA. A freakin’ weekly newspaper with a circulation rate of close to 0, I am assuming. I only flipped through it as it came free with our morning coffee. Which client in their right state of non-scam mind would pay for an insertion in Tabla? In comparison, there were 0 scam ads in the April issue of IS (or rather, the newly named SG). Slow claps, people, slow claps."

The ads are of the usual judge-pleasing variety with large, dynamic visuals accompanied by a small logo. You can see the ads here. They have not run in the publication before. Is Lowe gaming the system for Cannes Lions fame? You decide .