A lady running a cafe in Stockport has been told by council fuckwits to stop serving bacon because it might cause offence to Muslims next door. It is “unacceptable on the grounds of residential amenity”. I cannot say that Stockport …
Read MoreCategory: Uncategorized
At last! Crap creative makes its entrance, a good joke from Slovenia – and a quick preview for you
My colleague Carol, who has put up with me for over a decade now, has an eagle eye for the ludicrous. So I must thank her for showing me this example of how not to advertise. As so often the …
Read More“You there in the back row, pay attention. You are at the magic crossroads”.
I just got an email from not one, but two of my old clients, making a big mistake. It read: Tell Us What You Think At American Express, we want to know what you think of our service – and …
Read MoreMy second Lucky Owl at David Ogilvy’s Chateau
I apologise for the quality of the pictures: they were taken with my mobile phone, an antique by today’s standards – four years old. I keep asking my colleagues for a new one with all the trimmings, but they refuse …
Read MoreWhy monkeys are smarter than people
My friend Ian Ramsden is a very able direct marketer who lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I was hoping to visit him last year to entertain the locals with voice and gesture, but they have even less money to spend …
Read More“My father called it art. I call it child abuse.”
Yesterday I saw an article about an avant garde Scandinavian artist who has “created” what I suppose they call an installation consisting of all the furniture of her apartment. How much talent did that take? How much thought? Have a …
Read MoreDoes the Internet make idiots of us all? My answer is a resounding “I need no help in that department”
Here’s a good insult for you. My great favourite Dr. Johnson said unkindly of the playwright Sheridan (who was actually brilliant) : “Why, Sir, Sherry is dull, naturally dull. But it must have taken a deal of effort to become …
Read MoreMore on marketing buffoonery from the entirely wonderful Tom Fishburne
Few people comment more perceptively or hilariously than Tom Fishburne on the assorted lunacies of marketing. One, of course, is that promotions are a quick fix – but, like cocaine, a long-term killer – with one exception, which I shall …
Read MoreHow jargon (with a dash of political correctness) killed a nice man
Last year I did a talk to some Syracuse University students about Ethics in Advertising. Quite a challenge. I had to start by confessing to having done a few things in my time that I am ashamed of, but then …
Read More