ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!

Displaying 181 - 216 of 520 results

*

Inspiration

Just how important is an agency's name?

Sited just off Fleet Street, the very first agency for which I worked was called 'Riley' and it was great. Inevitably though, I eventually moved on (sooner than I should have, actually) and 'Riley' changed too. In a large-scale, late nineties...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Beware, the ad blooper is alive and well.

You're familiar with the notion of 'bloopers', I'm sure. 'It'll Be Alright On The Night' has been cataloguing the trips and slips of TV production for decades, while 'You've Been Framed' records disasters on the home front - usually involving elderly...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Is 'AdBlock' software unfair to the advertising industry?

You know 'Mozilla', don't you? The people who make the Firefox web browser? Well, it turns out they also make a thing called 'AdBlock Plus'. And, if you're using it, you're getting right up the noses of some advertising big-wigs. For the...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Inspiration

Powder power. Ariel's stroke of advertising genius.

Do I moan a bit in my Creativepool columns? Don't answer that. As a fully paid-up, grumpy old copywriter, I know I probably do. But you can relax, because today I'm discussing something I really, really like. And handily, it's an...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Go home. Why the Government's ad vans were such a failure.

Our friends at the ASA have announced they are investigating the Government-backed campaign which saw vans driving through London, calling on 'illegal immigrants' to leave the country or face arrest. This follows 60 complaints and, despite some...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

A Doctor Who movie? Don't hold your breath.

Peter Capaldi is to be the new Doctor and I couldn't be more delighted. Apart from the fact I consider 'The Thick Of It' to be a television comedy so accomplished is resembles high art, Capaldi just has the face and demeanour of a Time Lord. Yes, I...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Get happy. Is Arianna talking total Huff?

First, a bit of background. The Huffington Post is an online newspaper and it's rather successful. Actually it calls itself a 'news aggregator and blog' - but considering that is less clear than 'online newspaper', we'll stick with the latter. It was...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Shhhh. What did the Twitter Silence achieve?

Today I learned an inquest has been opened into the death of a young girl, bullied to suicide by users of social media. This dreadful story adds a terrible darkness to the storm surrounding the abusive use of the internet. And, as happened with...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Inspiration

The terminology trap. Is jargon bad for us?

Other than persuading an audience to act, a copywriter's mission is to deliver clear and concise communication. Writers claim this is an underappreciated art, so it's always useful to examine the ways in which language can be used for the opposite...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Inspiration

Core blimey. Why is Apple's new ad so flavourless?

Apple used to do great ads. The silhouettes of iPod users, offsetting the machine's white wires, were tremendously vivid, recognisable and memorable - classy and classic brand design. Then there were the dancing, multi-coloured iMacs, animated to...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Features

High anxiety on the high street. What is the future of retail?

References to the 'high-street' in political and sociological debate have been frequent for well over a decade now. Sadly, mentioning a problem frequently doesn't bring solutions. Many towns are plagued by empty retail units on their central...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

Media will eat itself.

Here's a story so bizarre, so post-modern, that it's hard to believe Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci are not involved. They're not though, because this is something that has actually happened; it involves two major television stations attempting to...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

Leaders

The Loan Arrangers. Is It High Noon For Wonga And Friends?

At some point, perhaps four years ago, doorstep lending ('The Tallyman', as my grandmother would have termed it) suddenly became terribly old fashioned and parochial. Recession and financial misery inflated the market for non-bank lending at a...

Posted by: Magnus Shaw
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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
*

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

Back to Magazine

ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!