Displaying 469 - 504 of 1001 results
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
I'm going to let you into a secret. Not a massive one, like I know that Pop Idol was fixed back in 2002 and Gareth Gates should have beaten Will Young into second place. No, I'm talking about something really, really insignificant. My minimum word...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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 catching up on a lot of DVDs. All those TV shows that people told me I had to watch but I just never found the time for them: 24, The Wire, The Killing. Lots of death - lovely. Part of the reason for this is that I am pretty...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
It was announced yesterday by Hironobu 'Chief' Kitajima, JWT Japan's managing director, that the award-winning creative Go Sohara would be joining JWT Japan as executive creative director from TBWA/Media Arts Lab in Los Angeles, where he currently...
Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
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
I recently read that if the average person was lucky enough to be granted three wishes by a genie, the number one choice was actually “world peace” rather than “a massive amount of money”. Presumably “an infinite number...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
Today sees the start of my favourite time of year: Wimbledon fortnight. And with Andy Murray defending his title and the intrigue surrounding his appointment of 2006 Ladies Champion, Amélie Mauresmo, there's a lot to be excited about. What does...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
Last week, I wrote a blog post entitled, Why on earth do I need a copywriter? I speak English and own a computer. As I'd hoped, the blog caught the attention of a lot of you - but not just copywriters, as it turned out. From designers to marketing...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
JWT has named former DDB New York chief creative officer Matt Eastwood as worldwide chief creative officer, in a statement released yesterday, a role which has been left vacant since Craig Davis left the agency in 2009. DDB New York appeared to enjoy...
Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
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
One of the advertising industry's most respected figures passed away suddenly on Saturday at the age of 75. David Abbott was a founding member of the London-based Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, an agency which has created countless award-winning campaigns...
Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
"Oh that's shit, that's shit!" No, not a line from a rap song or a complaint from some disaffected yoof that they're misunderstood...or even Charlie Brooker commenting on something or other that actually does demand a bit of snorty ridicule. No, the...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
I don't know about you but I've noticed that an increasing amount of people are chucking in their day jobs to embark on a career as a freelance copywriter. I'm not entirely sure why so many fancy their chances. I guess they believe they can write a...
Posted by: Creativepool
Last week, Jeremy Clarkson was forced to apologise for having said a bad thing. A very bad thing. It is the only word in the whole English language that I can think of that is 100%, totally and utterly off limits. The word is “n****r”....
Posted by: Ashley Morrison
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
Taking a primetime advertising spot last Saturday night during Britain’s Got Talent, the new television commercial celebrating John Lewis’ 150th anniversary was revealed. Created by Adam & Eve/DDB, the ad is called Never Standing Still,...
Posted by: Ashley Morrison