Prehistoric times and the time of the Knights are two of the periods in Maltese history which are documented in the new Yellow Pages advertisements to be aired locally in the coming weeks, managing director Niki Soler said yesterday.

Speaking during the launch of the 12th edition of the Yellow Pages, Mr Soler said the advertising takes a historical local theme, with a humouristic stance. One of the series of four advertisements will be launched every quarter.

The new book revolves around the theme of ‘shadows’, marketing manager Carmen Camilleri Ciantar explained, reflecting the Yellow Pages slogan ‘always by your side’, as the shadow is the one thing which accompanies us wherever we go.

It was given a fresher look, and a new twist was given to the ‘walking fingers’ theme’, a characteristic which everyone associates with Yellow Pages. Yellow Pages 2010/2011 is also equipped with a user friendly restaurant guide, which guides people to restaurants by cuisine and by locality.

People will also have the opportunity to access maps, she said, which are based on the latest GPS technology, which will indicate the exact location of the business or restaurant.

The website has been revamped, Ms Camilleri Ciantar said, with the intention of making it more user-friendly, as the usage of the site continues to increase.

Mr Soler went on to explain how the company, which is a subsidiary of Ark Publishing, has come a long way since its inception in 1988. This was particularly true when it came to marketing.

At the beginning the company had six full-time employees, and half these were family members. “We realised that we had to invest in people, so the business could continue to grow in a prudent manner,” he said.

Since then the company has grown, and today employs some 80 people, all having different strengths and backgrounds. Most of the management team has grown with the company, since they have been there at least 10 years, he said.

The company is also extremely environmentally conscious, he said, as the fact that they collect previous directory editions free of charge demonstrates. Moreover they also collect the phone directory, should people want to dispose of them.

Over the coming 10 days some 100 people will be distributing copies of Yellow Pages 2010/2011 to households across Malta and Gozo.