Regulator bars Gazprom from calling itself 'national treasure' in ads
MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) head Igor Artemyev said he has made gas giant Gazprom remove references about the company being a national treasure from its advertisements.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Artemyev said that people, gas and the like could be a national treasure, but not Gazprom.
He said he raised this issue at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Gazprom removed this assertion from its ads about six months ago, Artemyev said.
A series of TV ads called "Gazprom - A National Treasure" was released in 2003. It was initially broadcast only on NTV, which was part of Gazprom Media, and later by other leading channels as well. In 2006, national channels broadcast Gazprom ads under the slogan "Dreams Come True!" as part of a program to support children's sports, and now Gazprom is running ads about the Power of Siberia pipeline project.
Gazprom made its debut in TV advertising in 1997 with a series of ads filmed by director Timur Bekmambetov. The main character in those ads was Dobrynya Nikitich, who told TV viewers how important it was to pay for gas.