Nearly 15m viewers for the Great British Bake Off Final on the BBC.  More than a quarter of everyone in the UK tuned in to Nadiya’s heartfelt speech (all audience figures used in blog are Source: AdvantEdge (BARB) – Individual Max TVRs). I personally have my doubts about marshmallow fondant with lemon drizzle but none…

“I would rather be a devil in alliance with truth, than an angel in alliance with falsehood.” ― Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity Sky One’s new comedy drama, “You, Me and the Apocalypse” gives a starring role to Rob Lowe as the Devil’s Advocate. What a job, I mean the actual job.  I hadn’t realised until…

“Friendly is the new cool” Journalist Jess Cartner-Morley is talking about Fashion. “Smiling is the new pouting, friendly the new cool and softly-softly the new sell.” She calls Instagram the new heart of fashion, replacing the catwalks of London, Milan and New York.  She comments that to shine on Instagram a fashion brand needs to…

The nation is hooked on watching people watch TV.  Once you start watching Gogglebox, it’s hard to stop.  Do we even know how we feel about XFactor, The last night of the Proms and This is England until we’ve heard from Sandy and Sandra, June and Leon and the inimitable, and wise beyond her years,…

In a recent Sunday Times article business writer Adrian Furnham proposes the idea of a “Restoration Day” at work.  A time when the wronged confront those that have acted against them.  A day every year when the wrongdoers make things right. According to some surveys three quarters of people who leave their jobs do so…

Last week I was videoed answering a set of questions aimed at giving advice to this year’s delegates at The Media Business Course. Who know what will survive the edit? In case of harsh editing I will say here that I mentioned the need to follow the money through the planning process in answer to…

The new president of the British Science Association, Dame Athene Donald, has suggested that girls’ toys are reinforcing gender stereotypes.  Barbie leads to “passivity – combing the hair of Barbie for instance – not building, imagining or being creative with Lego or Meccano.” Gender stereotypes are very hard to shift. Every effort to do so…

Good leaders have good communication skills; that goes without saying.  Yet anyone can learn to repeat a well written speech or to spout positive management cliches.  Communication does not just lie in conscious verbal speech.  Truly great leaders have the skill to understand, interpret and communicate not just what they hear, but also what they…

A New York agency man writes here that “the very act of investing in TV, buying a premium billboard, taking an ad in Vogue, became brand building … because of the cost, not despite” and he regrets the “spiral of decline” that online investment represents. Expensive advertising versus cheap advertising? This is not of course…

What is the spirit of these times? Being able to pinpoint the emerging Zeitgeist can have a powerful impact on brands and media channels.  Current predictions include:  mobile is everything; the quantified self; transparency (as I pointed out in my book “Tell the Truth, Honesty is your most Powerful Marketing Tool”); personalisation (see recent blog);…

A client of my acquaintance once confided that when they were out visiting agencies they sometimes used a “Bullshit Bingo” card to pass the time in meetings.  “Programmatic” scores highly of course and I’d guess that “pace of change is breath taking” would be on there too. Change is now a constant.  Stuff doesn’t always…

“Blue like my boyfriend’s eyes or golden like my personality?” Jen is choosing her new car specifications.  Most of it has been simple: of course she needs heated seats and black leather interior trim; fancy wheels and the best possible sound system.  All of that took just moments.  The tough question is the exterior colour. …