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Features

Intrude out. Where now for disruptive advertising?

Disruption has always been key to the advertising model. Very few people opt to be exposed to marketing messages, therefore effective advertising has traditionally intruded into the content the audience has chosen to consume - a TV show, a magazine...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

In defense of advertising.

When it comes to voicing an opinion, I don't tend towards coyness (regular readers may not be surprised to learn this). For instance, I more than happy to reveal that my political views broadly fall into the left-of-centre, liberal camp . Although,...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

Yes we Cannes! What's happening at the festival today?

Have you ever been to Cannes? Not on a cycling holiday, but the festival? No, not the movie festival - the creativity festival, The Lions? Ever been to that? Me neither - but I do find myself reading about it every year; largely because the industry...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

You're hired! Are brands really taking on celebrities as staff?

When you arrived at work this morning, did you notice a pop star sitting at a flat-screen, typing away? Was there a movie idol in the kitchen fixing some coffees? Or a minor royal handing out the mail? If not, I'm afraid your firm is way behind the...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Making assumptions. Is the creative recruitment process broken?

A friend of mine applied for a job last month. He's a talented creative professional with many years' experience in the advertising and media industries. Currently in demand as an independent consultant, he didn't apply out of necessity or...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

The Khloe effect. Has internet advertising abandoned creativity?

The Huffington Post reports that Khloe Kardashian (who?) is now being paid as much as $13,000 per tweet. The fee doesn't cover profound wisdom like "Remember sweat is fat crying" - it's for equally useful posts wherein she names brands and includes...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Whatever happened to proper advertising?

Last week I wrote a piece for Creativepool, suggesting the role of the copywriter had become sidelined to the extent that designers were now the 'creatives'. I also wondered whether this wasn't just an attack of paranoia. Well, it wasn't. The column...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

A shot in the dark. Is The Guardian wise to open a cafe?

When it comes to digital media The Guardian is certainly adventurous. Indeed, behind those doors at King's Place there's a policy/philosophy called 'digital first' - essentially a prioritisation of the newspaper's online activity, from podcasts to...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Write offs. Are copywriters being sidelined?

Over the last week, I've very much enjoyed reading a debate, prompted by one of my Creativepool columns, on LinkedIn. It's always particularly satisfying to find creative professionals reacting to a piece I've written and I'm grateful to anyone who...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

The great Google betrayal.

Like so many love affairs, our relationship with Google arrived unexpectedly, blossomed fabulously and soured rapidly and bitterly. We've thought fondly of companies before - Cadbury for their caring, socialist roots; Virgin for their casual...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Pussy galore. What's going on with the Sheba campaign?

Owning a domestic animal is a trade-off. They bring you companionship, fun and a messy carpet - in return, you give them food. Lots of food. Indeed, it can feel as though the only reason they give you all the affection and comfort is because of the...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Bidding for freelance work on websites. A mug's game?

For the jobbing freelance there can only be one priority. Ahead of the bookkeeping, email answering, blog updating and business card ordering - there's nothing more important than bringing in the work. And, when the industry is buoyant, it's not too...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Inspiration

What do 'cargo cults' tell us about marketing psychology?

If advertising is about anything, it's about influence and persuasion. So allow me to tell you a tale which perfectly illustrates the strange and mysterious ways in which the human psyche is influenced and persuaded. This is the story of a man who...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

Not 4U? How seventeen people put Channel 4 in OFCOM's bad books.

Channel 4 is in trouble with Ofcom. Not for a programme or an advertisement, but the juxtaposition of the two. The broadcasting regulator says the station broke their code on 26th December 2012 when they ran a commercial which gave the impression it...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

What the Blip? Is Independent Plus a media platform too far?

Ever get the feeling this whole digital hoopla is just being made up as we go along? Starting to suspect 'boffins' are just slinging out new widgets for a hungry world to scoop up and guzzle down, like mongrel hounds being thrown scotch eggs? Welcome...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Workshop

A guide to handling unpaid invoices and refusenik clients.

Creativepoolers in the fortunate position of holding down a fulltime staff job will be familiar with the warm glow of the monthly payslip. Sure, you'd probably like the net total to be larger, but at least your earnings show up on a predictable...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

No More. Are print magazines in crisis?

On Tuesday, More! magazine's latest edition hit the shops. With Beyonce as its cover star, it was a notable issue because it was the very last one. Visit the More! website and you'll be met with a downbeat message: more! is a well-loved brand which,...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Leaders

Should celebrities be plugging advertisers in interviews?

The old adage asserts, 'Word of mouth is the best advertising'. And there's a lot of truth in that. When a satisfied customer recommends a product or service to a potential customer, a form of potent and cost-free advertising has taken place and it's...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
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Features

Twist and shout. How a town gained a brand from a happy accident.

To create a brand for a new building is to take on one of the most challenging projects in the industry. Once the brick dust has settled and the scaffolding rolled away, there's a need to create an identity and personality for a new development....

Posted by: Creativepool
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Inspiration

Should creatives ever work for free?

Have you been to a supermarket recently? If you have, did you ask the till operator whether you could take the contents of your trolley for nothing? Of course you didn’t. The very suggestion you might be entitled to free groceries would be...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Leaders

The naked truth. American Apparel versus the ASA.

Brace yourself, I have some shocking news. An advertiser has used sexually provocative imagery to sell their goods. I know, it seems incredible, but I think you deserve the facts. Don't panic though. Fortunately the moral might of the Advertising...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Leaders

Is creativity a dirty word to Government?

by Magnus Shaw As the coalition continues to press citizens to find jobs, while simultaneously conspiring to reduce the opportunities available, jobseekers face further indignity. In recent weeks I've heard many opinion formers and politicians...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Leaders

Nobody's fool? How The Guardian built the best April Fool's gag ever.

It has been suggested that working in the media is a fool's errand. Usually by people who would like to work in the media but believed those 'Traffic Warden - a lifetime of adventure' recruitment ads. However, once a year, their derogatory snipe has...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Inspiration

Building reputations.

I don't know how you feel about old science-fiction b-movies, but I positively love them. Perhaps it's those predictable, repeated tropes that make them so reliably comfortable and comforting. The unconvincing, plastic creature always carries the...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Inspiration

Where the heart is. Is 'working from home' a dying art?

You may have noticed Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo!, kicking up some dust last month, when she announced a complete ban on working from home. This, she claimed, was to encourage collaborative working and collective thinking. However, there was a...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

Skin up. Has E45 made a mistake in treating customers like addicts?

Skincare advertising isn't renowned for pushing the bounds of creativity. Indeed, the industry's campaigns tend to be as formulaic as the various unctions they peddle. Occasionally these ads drift into the realms of the ridiculous - I've mentioned...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Leaders

ASDA's comms guy says websites are dead. Is he right?

At yesterday's Social Media World Forum, Dominic Burch - Head of Communications and Social Media for ASDA - said “Stop thinking about websites - they’re dead - just think about the content and getting that right for mobile. As reported...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Workshop

And the punch line is…

by Ashley Morrison. I love comedy. I love the craft of it. I love how a skilled performer can take you one way, only to throw you in a completely opposite direction - which is the one that gets the bigger laugh. Being a successful stand-up comedian...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

Feel the Hepburn. Why the new Galaxy ad is just plain lazy.

We like Galaxy chocolate bars, I think we're all agreed on that. Lovely, creamy, sugary sledges of tooth rotting gorgeousness, all bundled in delightfully gold foil - wonderful stuff. Mind you, we shouldn't be surprised we think this way, because for...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Inspiration

Guns to guitars – an introduction to the work of Pedro Reyes.

You may think creative studios are combatitive places - loaded with friction and fierce opnion - but comparatively speaking, they're rather tranquil. Which sadly, is more than can be said for Mexico. With a rampant drug trade, corruption in high...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

Get your kit off for a can of pop?

by Ashley Morrison Last week, I was watching some film or other on TV with a few friends. Naturally, we engaged in some pseudo hoity-toity rah-rah intellectual badinage about such-and-such a character’s motivation during the ad breaks. That...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

Hot to trot. Why we've been waiting a decade for the 3 pony.

By Magnus Shaw I remember when the 3 mobile network was the new kid on the 3G block (will there be a 4 network soon, I wonder?). Keen to make its mark in a crowded marketplace, the brand introduced itself with a rather brave TV campaign. I say...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

What did you just call me? The tricky art of naming brands.

By Magnus Shaw Have you used your Tripod today? How about your Mobi? There's a very good chance you have, but you knew it as your iPhone. It seems the obvious name for Apple's mobile handset doesn't it? After all, they already the iPod and its...

Posted by: Creativepool
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Features

Something for nothing

by Ashley Morrison. I never thought I’d say it, but I have some sympathy with guests on the Jeremy Kyle Show. Not that I sit around watching daytime TV all day, of course. Well, apart from a triple-bill of Frasier to get me going in the...

Posted by: Creativepool

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