Displaying 109 - 144 of 519 results
I think I've only ever met two people who never swore. One for moral and religious reasons, the other had taught herself not to, because she thought she was doing it too much. I admired them both for their self-control and adhering to something they...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
'Solve a problem.' That's what they teach you at advertising school - and it's not a bad lesson. If one can identify, spotlight and fix a problem a consumer is enduring, then you really have a selling point. Really it's the 'What's in it for me?'...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Other than reckless and reluctant banks, what would you say is the biggest hindrance to small business, in the UK? High rents? Punitive rates? How about broadband? You would imagine the internet has been nothing but a boon to business, what with the...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
The CEO of Tesco, Philip Clarke, is now the ex-CEO of Tesco. He left the job last week, having failed to turn the retailer's fortunes around. Indeed, some would argue that he was actually the catalyst for the decline in the store's success. These...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
The late Douglas Adams wrote one of the smartest, most intriguing and funniest books of the 20th century. It was called 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'. For the uninitiated, it features an electronic book (before they were real things), also...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Spaghetti hoops, luxury cars, whisky, compact discs, bleach - if you can think of it, somebody has advertised it. And that's fair enough. As long as it's legal, any producer of a service or product has the right to attempt to persuade us to buy it;...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Recently, I've been hosting some copywriting seminars. And I'm delighted to say the participants have all been attentive, smart and enthusiastic.That's not always the case, however. So, if you're due to deliver a pitch, presentation or training...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
How about this for a pitch. A new social network - only you pay for this one. For your money, you are guaranteed the opportunity to interact with celebrities, leading business people, sport stars and top technology people. Essentially, you're buying...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Haven't you heard? Online advertising doesn't work. All those banners, buttons and MPUs? Waste of time. Those pre-play spots on YouTube, and those Facebook campaigns? Completely useless. Google Adwords and sponsored tweets? Utterly worthless. Sorry,...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
That which was designed to save us, is spoiling our lives. Which is a fancy way of saying that passwords have become a terrible pain in the elbow. About fifteen years ago, when most of us began our connection to the sprawling internet beast, we only...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Something has gone terribly wrong with the strapline. Not just a particular strapline, but straplines in general. And I don't mean they're just not much cop these days (although as American 'Realise The Potential' Express will tell you, they're not)....
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Following a lengthy process and an awful lot of money, we now know Andy Coulson is guilty of conspiring to intercept voice-mail messages; he is also to be retried on the remaining charges. Rebekah Brooks has been acquitted though - and this is not...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Recently it was announced that Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra would be shedding a cross section of their DJs. Controller Ben Cooper has handed Mike Davies, Jen Long, Ally McCrae, CJ Beatz, Crissy Criss and Robbo Ranx their cards, and his actions are blamed...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
One in three Britons is now overweight. One in five is obese. As far as one can trust statistics, that's the picture giving rise to some hefty soul searching this week. How did this happen? What is to be done about it? And who's to blame? That's the...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
By way of distraction from the work I was supposed to be doing today, I clicked on a link to a piece of writing on a reputable music website. About a paragraph into the article an unexpected thing happened. The webpage was suddenly obscured by a...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
In much the same way as cinemas now use the lure of movies to sell popcorn at vast profit, so the World Cup can be seen as deploying football games as a lure to sell enormous quantities of advertising. Which is absolutely fine by me as I find...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Since an art director colleague introduced me to Banksy many years ago, I’ve enjoyed his stuff enormously. In that time he has painted throughout the world, from Sydney to Camden, LA to Palestine. The art critics bemoan him - too obvious, too...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Nobody likes being patronised. Even small infants boil with fury when some dough-faced adult leers into their pushchair and makes 'woo-woo' noises at them. Probably. I think being patronised takes us back to school, when we were bound by the...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
From Cicero to Aubrey Beardsley, human beings have never had to look too far for individuals touched by the hand of creative genius. But finding intellects so inspired, profound and insightful they actually manage to predict the future, is more of a...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
It's 'No Tobacco Day 2014'. Hooray. It is often said there are too many 'days' dedicated to this that and the other. And I think this rather proves the point. Not because the World Health Organisation (who are behind the event) shouldn't have an...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Above is a photograph by Steven Meisel. For many years, in my head, this was also the front cover of Madonna’s second LP, ‘Like A Virgin’. If your memory is better than mine, you’ll already know it’s the image which...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
‘Nobody knows anything’. So goes the famous quote from screenwriter William Goldman, suggesting that it’s impossible to predict public taste. It’s a theory that would certainly be supported by the haphazard history of the...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
How much would you pay for a copy of Nik Kershaw’s album ‘The Riddle’? Should you wish to add it to your iTunes collection via Apple’s store, it would cost you about £5.50. On Amazon’s marketplace, you could pick up...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
On page one of 'The Bumper Book Of Branding' (which doesn't exist), we're told that a successful brand starts with a successful name. Y'know, something memorable, something that resonates with the audience. Crack the name and half the battle is won....
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
As you may have noticed, there's an election on the way. It's not one of those important ones, where we get to choose a bunch of be-suited clowns to spend five years making a wholesale mess of everything. It's one of those other ones, where we get to...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
As the footer of this column will tell you, I’m a copywriter. And a blogger. I also dabble in journalism and podcasting. These are all quite enjoyable and satisfying things - at least from time-to-time - and I’m pretty lucky to do them...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Here’s an odd thing about rock music: the more frightening it tries to be, the more hilariously ludicrous it becomes. Ozzy can bark at the moon till the end of time, but he’ll still be more golden retriever than werewolf. Ronnie James Dio...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
I don't know whether it's because I'm a writer, but when I watch a movie, the script and screenplay always take my attention. A great concept with a terrible script can really spoil things; likewise a thumping good screenplay can lift an average...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Late last year, a picture of Cheryl Cole appeared on the internet and in various newspapers. Nothing particularly odd about that; Ms. Cole is a constant media fixture. Only this picture, which she had released herself, was of her backside, newly...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
The BBC notwithstanding, and a peppering of community outfits aside, there aren’t really any independent radio stations left in the UK. It’s all ‘networks’ - which is a rather overexcited way of saying a large corporation...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Is there anything wrong with a writer reviewing a logo? After all, very few of us know our way around Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, and I've never met a writer who went to design school. If then, you do think we have no business sounding off about...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
On 11 December 2008, Project Canvas was announced. A joint venture between the BBC, BT and ITV, it replaced the failed Project Kangaroo, a proposed video-on-demand service which was refused a licence on competition grounds and ended up as the SeeSaw...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Easter, eh? Not as big as Christmas, and yet more substantial than Pancake Day. Still, a very good time to slow down and kick back. Here's what you'll need: some high-quality family members or friends, and small amounts of chocolate crafted to look...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
When it comes to the minutiae of modern life, I'm prone to getting things wrong. Go to the shop, come back with the wrong size batteries; turn up for an event on the wrong day; forget to put the clocks back - all that sort of thing, hopeless. But on...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
Getting an advertisement completely and utterly wrong is quite an art. For starters, it takes two parties who at least profess to know what they're doing: the client and the agency. Then the brief must wildly misunderstand the nature of the audience...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw
In the advertising business, there's only one thing worse than the most prestigious account on the planet going horribly sour - and that's the most prestigious account on the planet going horribly sour and it all leaking out across the web. So spare...
Posted by: Magnus Shaw