Band Aid 30 Vs the original Band Aid: With One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Chris Martin on board, which “Do they know it’s Christmas?” single has the most star power? November 16, 2014 Bob Geldof and Midge Ure are putting the Band (Aid) back together. 30 years after they first gathered music superstars together to raise money for famine-hit Africa, they are recreating that success to help fund the fight against Ebola. The lineup singing "Do they know its Christmas?" has evolved of course. One Direction, Ed Sheeran, [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert, forex fines, Rosetta and the Double Donut Burger: 10 things we learned this week November 14, 2014 1. Sainsbury's has stolen the Christmas ad crown from John Lewis. Maybe. But have either of them done enough to be considered for our Christmas ad hall of fame, which includes a 1950s Coca-Cola number and the 1992 Yellow Pages classic? 2. Bankers' forex rigging was £1.1bn of bad. RBS, HSBC, UBS, JPMorgan and [...]
Sainsbury’s vs John Lewis Christmas advert 2014 battle: Which is better? November 14, 2014 Sainsbury’s has come out of nowhere to apparently topple John Lewis from its position as annual bearer of Christmas tidings and try to take its festive advertising crown. Traditionally feted for creating the best Christmas ad of the year, the retailer – and viewers – have been blindsided by darkhorse Sainsbury’s which earlier this week [...]
Sainsbury’s and John Lewis unveil 2014 Christmas adverts, but before Monty the penguin there was Ronald McDonald. A short history of the festive ad November 14, 2014 * Christmas comes but once a year, but the advertising that goes around it lasts much, much longer, with some brands seeing fit to launch their festive offerings at the beginning of November. This week saw the unveiling of Sainsbury’s festive offering. The supermarket giant partnered with the Royal British Legion to tell the story [...]
FTSE bounces into positive territory as oil price plummets – London Report November 13, 2014 THE FTSE bounced back yesterday from the previous day’s fall, with holiday cruise company Carnival and retailer Dixons Carphone among the top performers. The blue chip index closed up 0.4 per cent at 6,635.45 points, continuing its recovery from 15-month lows in October and marking its highest level in around one-and-a-half months. Carnival rose 2.8 [...]
Something for the weekend November 13, 2014 On the terraces: COLOMBIA VS USA AT CRAVEN COTTAGE Your chance to see some top international action tonight, with many stars of the World Cup (including Tim Howard and Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez) expected to show up for this friendly between the USA and Colombia. Adult tickets start at £20, children at £10, visit fulhamfc.com. [...]
Amazon and Hachette give up their pricing war – just in time for Christmas November 13, 2014 It's a brave brand that takes on the might of Amazon – but US publisher Hachette gave it a good go, arguing that it should have control over the price of its ebooks. The battle was keenly observed by fellow publishers, not least because underneath, they were grumbling about the same thing. But it looks [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert 2014: Surprise WWI centenary themed TV ad steals John Lewis festive video crown November 13, 2014 Has Sainsbury's managed to steal John Lewis's crown for best Christmas advert of the year? The supermarket has created a Christmas ad just as touching, heartfelt, and beautifully told as John Lewis’ Monty the penguin, but with a far deeper sentiment. The three minute video, created with ad agency AMV BBDO, eschews Christmas trees and [...]
Burberry 2014 Christmas campaign launched as profits hurt by foreign exchange loss November 12, 2014 Burberry yesterday brushed off concerns over foreign exchange movements, saying it expected the effects to wear off in the next six months after taking its toll on first-half profit. The luxury fashion group posted a six per cent rise in underlying profit to £152m in the six months to 30 September. But [...]
Monty the Penguin buoys John Lewis sales November 11, 2014 John Lewis’ sales jumped 5.1 per cent to £95.7m in the week to Saturday 8 November, buoyed by the launch of its Christmas campaign featuring Monty the penguin. Week-on-week sales rose 3.9 per cent. Online sales were up 17 per cent, with “Monty” the most searched term on its website. The advert featuring a boy and his [...]