There have been many comments and prognostications about the joys of social media. Like almost every new marketing idea I can recall it has been hailed as the answer to a maiden’s prayer. Legions of experts have sprung, full-grown, almost …
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Watch out, PREYER about – “The devil can quote scripture for his purposes”
Leo Burnett used to have a little notepad on which he wrote down phrases he heard that struck him. I am an avid collector of bits and pieces – I have God knows how many I mean to comment on …
Read MoreMore of all that jazz
I’m sitting in Montclair New Jersey where I come regularly to see my youngest – and naturally being a boringly boastful parent I’m smug because she just got straight As in her exams. This success is quite inexplicable as insofar …
Read MoreRare David Ogilvy video – the old magician “making love”
Before I tell you about this video – another I found lurking in my office – I should tell you about something stupid I nearly did. A year or so ago I got my trusty partner Al to make me …
Read MoreWill they ever learn? I doubt it.
Let me ask you. When you see this picture for a couple of seconds, what do you think of? Could it possibly be cocktails? I thought so. Now, remember, most marketing messages are only seen for a couple of seconds. …
Read MoreA strange sad feeling: part of my life gone for ever …
This will mean nothing to you unless you love jazz, but Johnny Dankworth has died. He was Sir John Dankworth, actually – one of the few who deserved that honour amongst the plethora of thieving bankers, big business graspers and …
Read MoreWhat’s it like working with Richard Branson? A little video clip tells you
Years ago Richard Branson rang me. I had just written a very rude article about a mailing Virgin Airlines had done jointly with American Express. He rang and left a message giving his number if I wanted to talk about …
Read MoreAnother change from all that stuff about marketing
Stop if you’re read it before. It’s a touching story about the bond formed between a little girl and a group of building workers. It really makes you want to believe in the goodness of people and that there is …
Read MoreA little Antipodean humour: Bundy Rum and King Brown
My esteemed Aussie colleague Malcolm Auld sent me this. Bundy Rum – Bundaberg Rum – is Queensland’s famous product. Forget Jamaica or all that other stuff. A King Brown is one of the deadliest snakes on earth. Out of the …
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