displaying 1 - 36 of 96 results
by Magnus Shaw. In this age of fitness fanaticism and dire public transport, it's not unusual to see people arriving at the office on a bicycle. How they find the stamina, I can’t begin to guess, but I don’t think they take the Lance...
Posted by: Creativepool
by Magnus Shaw. If you're going to be rumbled loading beefburgers with something other than beef, try to ensure it's not horse. Oats would be better. Or sweets. But, not cat or hamster - and definitely not horse. As Tesco has discovered, people...
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by Magnus Shaw. First a clarification. One would think from the chatter across news outlets and social media that the HMV retail chain is in the process of locking the doors and boarding up its stores. It's isn't, but the news is not good. The...
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by Magnus Shaw. It doesn't matter if Sky TV project their logo onto the moon for three months. If Tesco book Al Pacino to front their 2013 campaign, it will make no difference. Should Galaxy build a scale model of the Hoover Dam from solid milk...
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by Magnus Shaw. I'm well aware of my tendency to be a grouch. Blame it on old age, blame it on a personality flaw, blame it on the boogie - whatever the reason, I absolute concede the point. When I find something unsatisfactory, foolish or flawed,...
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by Magnus Shaw. Examine the figures and social media boggles the mind. Facebook boasts over one billion users - a seventh of the entire planet; Twitter has more than 100 million users. Even music-streaming app Spotify, carries 18 million...
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by Magnus Shaw. Very little is certain in this life, but the mad rush of predictions for the year ahead is a rock on which we can depend in the awkward gap between Christmas and New Year. Unfortunately, most of them will be wildly inaccurate - with...
Posted by: Creativepool
Merry Christmas Creativepoolers everywhere. As this piece arrives on Christmas Day, you'll have seen that Santa has completed his work. But, have you ever wondered what Father Christmas goes through every year? Well, we have. Which is why we set...
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by Magnus Shaw. Dear Santa, I'm not sure if you're aware, but Christmas is coming. Next week, apparently. With this in mind, I thought I'd better drop you a note to outline some of the stuff I'd like you to provide. I suggest you take the Harley...
Posted by: Creativepool
by Magnus Shaw. Earlier this year I wrote a piece for Creativepool, arguing the Red Cross had undermined their advertising by using a woman and her dog to represent the concept of 'crisis'. I agreed the ad was attractively directed, but was...
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by Magnus Shaw. At this time of generosity and giving, who could resist the wide-eyed pleading of a little doggie, hungry for a simple bone? Well, alcopop brand WKD think their customers would quite happily ignore Fido if there was a blue drink in...
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by Magnus Shaw. Almost 2013 and the general appetite for celebrity displays no signs of abating. Not only do we have a voracious interest in those who are famous, but we're carrying an insatiable hunger to be well-known ourselves. Forget...
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by Magnus Shaw. There's only one thing that surprises me about the Starbucks saga, and it isn't their reluctance to pay tax. As large corporations are only really answerable to shareholders, that is to be expected. No, it's the fact they thought...
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by Magnus Shaw. Do you read The Daily? Unless you own an iPad style tablet you probably don't. Even if you do, you won't for very much longer. The Daily is a digital newspaper, published by Rupert Murdoch, available on tablets and closing any day...
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by Magnus Shaw. Perhaps surprisingly, I've only ever worked on a couple of campaigns which have attracted public complaints. One was a press piece for a now defunct cable TV network. At the time, it was the only service carrying the Disney Channel...
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by Magnus Shaw. A couple of years ago an ailing roadside restaurant chain called in a radical TV chef to boost their menu and therefore their revenues. They refurbished some tired looking outlets, hired new people and ran a fairly hefty marketing...
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by Magnus Shaw. Perhaps surprisingly, there's only been an official ITV logo since 1989. Until then, the network was divided into autonomous regions, each with their own brand. If you're in your thirties or forties you'll remember your own - Thames...
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by Magnus Shaw. Here's a problem which only came to my attention this week. Actually I think it has been lingering in the back of my mind for a couple of decades, but it only came into focus a couple of days ago. Because I write columns here and...
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by Magnus Shaw. The last time I worked on a major print campaign, we employed a piece of software to automate the production process. It was a clever bit of kit. Once the parameters had been set by a designer (ad sizes, logo clearance, calls to...
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by Magnus Shaw. There are so many religions, beliefs, creeds and philosophies we can't really be sure what hell would be like. But it's a reasonable assumption a motorway service station would be involved. I don't know what it is about these...
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by Magnus Shaw. I'm going to write about a new piece of technology, but it will involve some intimate body stuff. I'm pre-supposing you guys are broad-minded enough to handle references to sexy-time, but I'm a card-carrying, awkward, repressed...
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by Magnus Shaw. If you've always been keen to see the very cornerstone of capitalism; a seething hub of avarice and a perfect mechanism for prising people's hard earned cash from their pockets, Las Vegas is for you. I've just returned from a...
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by Magnus Shaw. Working in an ad agency in Fleet Street in 1995, I was called into a first-floor office to be shown something very impressive - an email account. Visually it was quite modest, just some browser windows with names and messages in...
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by Magnus Shaw. In the distant past, I trained to be a croupier. A roulette dealer, to be accurate. Roulette is fairly complicated and the dealer must be aware of every aspect of the game in progress - monitoring when the bets go down, who has won,...
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by Magnus Shaw. Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction writer. A popular author, he is more widely known for his 'revelation' or law. It's a simple proposition which Sturgeon devised after spending years defending science fiction...
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by Magnus Shaw. I work as a copywriter and blogger. I also do something I call consultancy - advising people on their writing, marketing or branding, really. Sometimes, I produce or present radio programmes too. These are all very enjoyable and...
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Watching the ridiculously good 'Homeland' last week, I was struck by how absorbed and tense I was - transfixed as Carrie ducked and hid to avoid her pursuers in the alleyways of Beirut. The aroma of exotic spices, heat and sandy dust almost filled my...
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by Magnus Shaw. Animated GIFs - the curse of the internet. In spite of the myriad possibilities of HTML5 and the rise of some truly brilliant digital designers, there's still a tendency for the keen amateur website builder to become very excited...
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1. 79 A.D. Billboards in Pompeii Ah! The glory of the ancient Roman empire. Olive skinned, muscular men striding the avenues, clad in togas, debating the great issues of the day. Beautiful, raven-haired maidens bearing baskets laden with the...
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by Magnus Shaw. Do you remember Kiss? Of course you do. Ludicrous American band - wore loads of black and white make-up. Well, they're back. Sort of. The new campaign for Costa Coffee features their track 'I Was Made For Loving You. The song...
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by Magnus Shaw. This week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a scheme whereby employees will be invited to give up some of their employment rights in exchange for company shares. You may think this is a tremendous idea or the most cynical...
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by Magnus Shaw There is much to like about charity advertising. Freed from the constraints of pack-shots and multi-buys, agencies have the chance to show off their creative chops and tell real human stories - often quite brilliantly. One only has to...
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by Magnus Shaw If you read my columns with any regularity, you'll have noticed a little ad in the footer inviting you to buy "ADVICE" - a collection of my writing on advertising (it's very good, by the way). Those kind enough to have clicked through...
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by Magnus Shaw Special K eternally pitched as a "healthy" food, it's now at the centre of an "eat this and wear smaller jeans" campaign. It must be going well, because a line of Special K snacks has been launched named "Cracker Crisps." It's no...
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by Magnus Shaw "Like all forms of design, visual design is about problem solving, not about personal preference or unsupported opinion." Bob Baxley It's funny. Art directors and copywriters work so closely together, for so much of the time, and...
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by Magnus Shaw Creativepoolers, welcome back to our list of ten of products advertising told us we couldn't live without (when, in fact, we absolutely could). Please feel free to use the comment box to let us know if there's anything we've omitted....
Posted by: Creativepool