Intel wants more for its money from advertisers

Intel has said it will significantly cut the help it gives to customers if advertisers also include another company logo. Currently, OEMs receive a large amount of ad spend which can be recouped on chips. The bounty can be cut back further or stopped altogether if there are more symbols on ads. The policy is expected to apply to magazine logos printed with review quotes as well as logos for components, software and service companies.

"I can understand Intel wants to preserve the purity of the brand," said John Shepheard, Gateway 2000 UK country manager. "If I was them I would probably feel the same way too. Where I have an issue is where I want to use magazine endorsements. It doesn't mean Intel gets to decide how I do my ads. There will be a lot of smaller companies who won't be able to advertise with the same impact."

Intel was unavailable for comment.

PCDN Comment: This is yet another Intel step that will cause much hand-wringing in the industry. Users have become accustomed to ads festooned with badges but Intel is recognised as the most generous company when it comes to paying out for the precious centimetres of branding and can be a tough paymaster. Nobody wants to upset Intel but this could be a step too far by the chip maker.