Our secret envy of Lords: Why we shouldn’t expect – or insist – on our Lords being more lordly than us Only the media and legions of middle England curtain-twitchers appear to have taken a sharp and judgemental intake of breath at the ‘shocking’ revelations that guess what – another over privileged life peer likes a line and spending company with ladies of the night. And Lord Sewel accompanied his session by openly taking the [...]
Those who moan about brand Band Aid are missing the point Like many, I was – and still am – the proud owner of the 1984 original “Do They Know It’s Christmas” seven-inch. I was 10 years old, and had in that year been bombarded with harrowing pictures of far-off communities, visuals of malnourished dying children, babies, adults and animals with the backdrop of arid land; [...]
Sex, drugs and EU tolls: Why that £1.7bn bill is a gift to politicians Whichever way you look at it, the £1.7bn EU ‘toll-tax-bill’ is a fabulous win-win-win. The EU gets more revenue, the UK gets an increased rebate and the UK political parties have a PR gift from which to debate what the EU really means for the people and economy of the UK. The child in me [...]
Can brands bring about the next summer of love? October 31, 2014 I count myself very lucky. I was a "yoot" in the second summer of love, that heady blip in the late eighties when we revelled in the utopian vision that 10,000 people and 10,000 watts of belly-rumbling bass could actually signify a change in the human state: love could indeed save the day. It was [...]
In pursuit of premium – City & Gild August 29, 2014 As brand consultants, our singular task when all other non-constants shift like the sands – taxation, distribution, clients, EBITDA target – is to unearth that golden nugget of truth from which a body of rich and juicy “reasons to believe” can be crafted. These can in turn inspire and inform the essence of the brand; [...]
Make rogue businesses pay at the point of sale – City & Gild August 22, 2014 Many a quinoa-based dinner party has boiled and fizzed in anger at the apparent lack of accountability, the sheer brazen-ness of rogue businesses or politicians to carry on without regret or punishment. In this mood, people believe such scoundrels can flog a horse, burn a factory, miss-sell the assets, miss-sell the products, generally miss-sell, miss-sell, [...]
Supermarket price wars: Money can’t buy me love…or can it? July 24, 2014 As another CEO falls on his multi-million pound sword this week; the convenient simplification of the problem into pricing and the rampant value-retailer onslaught seems to deliver a somewhat myopic view of the task facing the brooding monoliths that are the big retailers. While Mr. Clarke was seemingly handed a metaphorical deuce to seven [...]
Free sex, no strings: The role of twerking in building a brand July 11, 2014 Gotya… As a client said to me last week [not related to free sex…], “Craig, I need brand sizzle” – baffled and with the scent of a juicy sausage in mind [references to sausage and shameless innuendo will be present throughout this article], ignoring the eternal client desire for brand fame became futile. [...]