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Piers Morgan in the headlines, Guinness record-breaking brands, Connect shows there’s ad life in Brum and the last knockings of Valentine’s Day

Unknown-2***It’s emerged that former Mirror editor (and now CNN prime-time chat host) Piers Morgan (left) was questioned under oath (which means you don’t say anything, if you’ve any sense) by Scotland Yard in December over the phone hacking farrago.

This was always likely and became a certainty when former Sunday Mirror hack Dan Evans turned prosecution witness in the current Old Bailey trial, alleging that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson (who denies all charges) only hired him because of his skills in the telelphone numbers game.

Morgan himself has written and spoken freely about his knowledge of such activities although he has always denied that he instructed anyone to do it or that it was company policy.

But Piers is in a bit of a hole. CNN will be a touch perturbed, as will other employer ITV and, indeed, Associated Newspapers for whom he writes a Sunday column relentlessly plugging his CNN show.

For more on the wacky world of Fleet Street (as was) try this.

***Guinness World Records is launching a competition with the Festival of Media to find the world’s ‘record-breaking’ brands. Now this might sound a bit like trying to find the biggest dwarf in history but, in these social media days, might produce some interesting winners.

Here are some contenders from the Far East:
Ariel P&G, Vietnam, Most people hand-washing fabric simultaneously (single location)
Berjaya Times Square, Malaysia, Largest Capsule Vending Machine
P.T. Dokter Toy, Indonesia, Most people playing a board game simultaneously
Fiji Airways, Fiji, Highest altitude wedding on an aircraft
Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FTLRP), China, Most people to write a story
Asia Pacific Breweries, Singapore, Farthest beer bottle slide
International Commerce Centre (ICC), Hong Kong, Largest light and sound show on a single building
Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Limited, Hong Kong, Most participants in a static cycling relay in 12 hours
Philips AVENT, China, Largest online photo album of handwritten notes
Sohu, China, Largest smartphone ensemble
Superga, Hong Kong, Largest shoe
The Floor by O!, Sri Lanka, Most cocktails commercially available
Encyclopedia Britannica and Taichung City, Taiwan, The Most Pop Ups In A Pop Up Book
Breeze Activbleach, Philippines, Most people hand-washing fabric simultaneously (single location)

I rest my case (whatever that is, m’lud).

*** With the resurgence of the motor trade in the UK some ad agencies are thinking about other regional centres outside London; notably Birmingham where they make quite a lot of these things (cars).

unnamed-5Jaguar’s agency Spark44 has a big office there and now Connect Advertising and Marketing, another automotive specialist, has announced that it’s hired former Audi marketer Neil Burrows (left) to lead its new business efforts.

Advertising used to prosper in the regions in the old days. I remember once going up to see an agency called Royds Manchester, which made loads of money and occupied a rather large country house.

Unfortunately its parent in London was completely useless and the whole thing fell apart – that was then, though.

 

 

***There’ve been a plethora of Valentine’s Day ads and stunts (I forgot about it completely until I cranked up Google – bad mark!). The best one has been this ad from Leo Burnett in London for the Freeview TV service.

But it would be a terrific ad at any time.

***OK, it’s St V’s Day (some of it left anyway). Which calls for the (Reverend) Al Green:

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