UK Advertising

Has Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO Really Made a 'Big, Fat, Marketing Mistake'?

Nicola Carter | Posted 16.05.2013 | UK
Nicola Carter

This latest development hasn't made him any friends, but is this really a 'Big, Fat, Marketing mistake' (Fox News), or brand management in action?

How to Be a Real Man: Bare Balls

Neil Boorman | Posted 16.05.2013 | UK Lifestyle
Neil Boorman

This new and disturbing male trend is nothing if not a taste of our own medicine. Women have been required to maintain punishing deforestation routines since cosmetic companies began to manufacture more razor blades than they could sell to face-shaving men.

Q: Guess Which Brands Fund Criminality? A: Most of Them

Duncan Trigg | Posted 16.05.2013 | UK Tech
Duncan Trigg

Think of a brand. Any multinational brand. Then think about how much that brand invests in protecting itself from reputational damage. Surely, with all of this in mind, they would never get involved in funding criminality. Well, in actual fact, many do without even realizing it.

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4's Arthur Makes His Debut on Huffington Post

Elliot Gonzalez | Posted 16.05.2013 | UK Entertainment
Elliot Gonzalez

Created by Channel 4's in house creative agency, 4creative, a series of trails, from the eyes of Arthur, will follow him on his emotional journey to find love in the 21st century as well as an accompanying musical score from Orbital's Paul Hartnoll.

Labour Should Learn From Dave's Mistakes

Nash Riggins | Posted 16.05.2013 | UK Universities & Education
Nash Riggins

In a speech earlier this week, Labour policy review boss Jon Cruddas said that his party is set to consider backing a Swedish-style ban on adverts that target children in the run up to 2015. Very noble, but he might be wise to reconsider; after all, haven't we already decided that such a ban is utterly pointless?

Seismic Shifts In AdLand as Management Consultants Breathe Hot Fire

Andy Law | Posted 15.05.2013 | UK
Andy Law

Bang! Accenture goes and buys a design firm and suddenly there's Big Magma in the air. AdLand's cosy world has been seriously shaken this time. Boom! The venerable observer Ad Age warns AdLand: "Look Out: Accenture's Invading Your Turf in a Bigger Way Than Ever."

Not-So-Mobile Mags

Neil Ayres | Posted 15.05.2013 | UK Tech
Neil Ayres

A good many voices on its release asserted that the iPad would prove the saviour of publishing, yet new research shows that, generally, magazine publishing has not capitalised on the opportunities that the modern 'cross-platform' reader presents.

How NFC Could Change Your Banner Advertising

Chris Mayhew | Posted 14.05.2013 | UK Tech
Chris Mayhew

Banner advertising is a great way to get your business's name out there and literally get it where everyone can see. Companies have been using this ty...

Labour Could Ban Adverts Targeted At Kids, Says Cruddas

PA/ The Huffington Post UK | Posted 14.05.2013 | UK

Labour will examine a Swedish-style ban on adverts targeted at youngsters as part of efforts to tackle the commercialisation of childhood, the party's...

Overcoming the 'Dazzling Disregard for the Soul'

Alistair McIntosh | Posted 08.05.2013 | UK Entertainment
Alistair McIntosh

The cover of the March edition of the Harvard Business Review confirms it all. An array of coloured fishing hooks dangle down to the caption: "Advertising that Works: How big data is transforming the art of persuasion."

BBC's Bowman: Humans Beat Robots At Digital Brand Advertising

Andy Plesser | Posted 08.05.2013 | UK Tech
Andy Plesser

LONDON - Programmatic online advertising technology isn't yet good enough, and will never match human salespeople for brand ad sales. That's according...

Digital Marketers: If Your Agency Admires Mark Zuckerberg's 'Hacker Way' You May Have a Problem

Shaun Varga | Posted 03.05.2013 | UK Tech
Shaun Varga

Mark Zuckerberg's note to Facebook shareholders explains how the hacker way has given his business a particular mentality. The argument, as I understand it, is that just getting stuff done is the key to progress - rather than procrastinating. It's about continuous, relentless progress. Roger so far. But then there's this...

New Expedia Ad Takes More Than A Little Inspiration From Wes Anderson

Jonathan Heath | Posted 01.05.2013 | UK Tech
Jonathan Heath

It is Wes Anderson himself who has been a victim of one of a creative highjacking recently by DDB Sydney, for the Australian branch of Expedia. The ad so blatently and unapologetically borrows from Anderson's palette that it ceases to become an advert and more of game to spot which trope of the directors will appear next.

Designing a Hot Brand

Richard Brownlie-Marshall | Posted 30.04.2013 | UK Style
Richard Brownlie-Marshall

I was in high school when I first decided that design would be my destination, but my GPS must have been on the blink, because the exact area of design was undetermined. Today, I'm no closer to finding the exact location I fit into, but I have discovered that it's something that doesn't need to be found.

Dove's Dirty Tricks

Kate L. Gould | Posted 29.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
Kate L. Gould

The nice folks at Dove are at it again: in their bid to convince women that they don't have to look on the point of collapse or have preternaturally symmetrical features and skin unmarked by life to be beautiful, they've conducted what they're calling "a compelling social experiment".

Chips for Him, Salad for Her - Why the New Co-op Advert is a Step Back for Womankind

Eleanor Jones | Posted 29.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
Eleanor Jones

As women, adverts like this teach us to diet before we learn to spell, before we can even know enough simple maths to count calories. I remember reading the 'issues' books in my secondary school library and hoping that by learning enough about eating disorders, I could develop one.

There's Been an Eruption

Andy Law | Posted 28.04.2013 | UK
Andy Law

Advertising does matter. It provides choice. Good advertising can be an opportunity for a brand to add value to people's lives. It's time to be inventive and think how a brand can live in a positive, engaging way beyond its digital dimensions.

Is This The Most Tasteless Ad Ever?

The Huffington Post UK | Jessica Elgot | Posted 26.04.2013 | UK

Car manufacturer Hyundai has come under fire for a provocative advert which appears to show a man's suicide attempts being thwarted because the car on...

If Sex Sells Then Why Aren't Gay Men Getting More Credit?

Daniel Warner | Posted 24.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
Daniel Warner

They say that sex is a great leveller, that when we're naked, vulnerable and lying prone on the bed, it doesn't matter who, what or where we are. We are all the same. All of us wonder what on earth got us here? Should we still be laying here? And should we really have kept our socks on?

Pussy Energy Drink Advert Banned

PA/The Huffington Post UK | Posted 24.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle

An ad for energy drink brand Pussy that reprimanded viewers for considering the word's slang alternative has been banned following 156 complaints that...

Kit Kat Make Chocolate Art Down-Under

Jonathan Heath | Posted 17.04.2013 | UK Tech
Jonathan Heath

KitKat Australia have taken a very different approach recently, taken a break perhaps? [pause for laugh] They have produced an ad which looks like it belongs on the Staff Picks selection of Vimeo. Illustrator Mike Watt was drafted in to create artwork to celebrate the finale of the white chocolate incarnation of everyone's favourite four fingered treat.

No More Ads Pestering Kids to Buy, Buy, Buy

Rupert Read | Posted 11.04.2013 | UK
Rupert Read

We need to create a situation where kids don't constantly have their minds polluted by money-grabbing ad-men.

Design Work Of The 'Real' Mad Men Up For Auction

The Huffington Post UK | Matthew Tucker | Posted 11.04.2013 | UK Entertainment

Many have grown to love the ruthless antics of the men and women seen in Madison Avenue advertising on AMC's drama Mad Men, including the sassy Christ...

Will Online Advertising Ever Be Accurate?

Colin Strong | Posted 09.04.2013 | UK Tech
Colin Strong

We are used to the idea that online advertising is increasingly personalised and amended in real time to target those individuals with a profile most likely to purchase the product. But what if the information that is held on consumers is, shall we say, a little shaky?

Plea for a Sponsor!

Esther Rich | Posted 09.04.2013 | UK Universities & Education
Esther Rich

Anyone who read my previous blog about rowing to London for Beat will know the extent of the challenge my fellow CCCBC rowers and I have set ourselves.