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118 118 Directory Enquiries has entered this week's Adwatch table at number one with a recall of 82%.

Through its TV campaign, by WCRS, 118 118 wants people to know it provides every number in the phone book, including both business and residential listings.

In this execution, the pair of 118s, in their running gear, sit at a dinner table and cut up a phone directory as if it were a cake. 118 tells his friend: 'You are what you eat 118'. When the other 118 appears to be choking, 118 asks what's wrong. He replies: "I had a chemist stuck in my throat."

With just days to go until directory enquiries are completely deregulated, the aim of the ad is to promote 118 118 as an alternative to BT's 192.

The firm has put £6m behind marketing the launch of the service.

There are another four spots in the series, all conveying the same message.

'Retirement' features the pair returning an old man, wearing '192' on his vest, to his retirement home.

The most recent ad is a spoof on the training scene from 70s cult movie Rocky. It shows the runners jogging through London. Before long, more than 30 children, all dressed as 118 118 runners, join in. The duo then recreates the scene at the end of Sylvester Stallone's run, when he thrusts his hands into the air in victory.

"The sector is as dull as dishwater," said a WCRS spokesman. "We wanted to differentiate ourselves from the others. We looked at ads from around the world in the same sector and they all featured people dressed up as numbers. We wanted to create points of difference that showed 118 118 was nothing like its monopolistic predecessor."

118 118 has been in dispute with BT after the telecoms giant ran a press ad stating 'BT Directory Enquiries is being updated. The old 192 number is being replaced. The new number is 118 500'. The ASA upheld a complaint that the ad implied the ad was a public notice.

In response to the BT poster, 118 118 began a press campaign, mimicking the copy and typeface, but using the lines 'The new number is 118 118 and not BT (thank goodness)'.

Media planning for the TV campaign was handled by Naked Communications, with buying through OMD UK.