By Stephen Foster on November 20, 2012
Henkel’s Bref Power Active 4-in-1 Toilet Power Balls (yes it’s just one product, to flush the lavatory) has invented its own boy band courtesy of TBWA/Italy. Balls Dream Band no less. All very nice too, if that’s your thing. Two more things: why is it necessary to give mundane products long and complicated names? Are [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, Media, News | Tagged balls dream brand, boy band, bref power active 4-in-1 toilet power balls, henkel, Simon Cowell, tbwa/italy, X-Factor
By Stephen Foster on March 13, 2012
Rupert Murdoch’s new Sunday version of the Sun is selling about 2.7m copies after three weeks, down from week one’s 3.2m but slightly up on week two. Selling at 50p against Trinity’s Mirror’s £1 Sunday Mirror and People obviously helps of course (both the latter have stabilised after dropping 30 per cent or so with [...]
Posted in News | Tagged bartle bogle hegarty, campaign, Chris Blackhurst, Daily Telegraph, guardian, i, Independent, news of the world, people, Rupert Murdoch, Sir Michael Parkinson, Stefano Hatfield, Sun, sun on sunday, sundaymirror, the times, thelondonpaper, three little pigs, uk newspaper sales, X-Factor, Youtube
By Paul Simons on November 25, 2011
It is clearly Bah Humbug time for me. Can you remember the scene in ‘About a Boy’ where Hugh Grant is playing the chap who didn’t work because his dad had written a Christmas hit that is played every year? Just like Slade. Anyhow he is in a supermarket in November and hears the song [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News | Tagged about a boy, Argos, christmas ads, Hugh Grant, John Lewis, kings road, m&S, marks & spencer, ogilvy, Paul Simons, rkcr/y&r, slade, status quo, Waitrose, whatever you want, X-Factor
By Angie Dean on November 15, 2011
John Lewis marketing director Craig Lidstone will be feeling pretty pleased with himself (and agency Adam & Eve) as his new ad, which aired on Saturday’s X Factor, sweeps all before it on Twitter and YouTube. Which makes the probable £100,00 plus the employee-owned retailer shelled out to run the long version of the ad [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, Media, News | Tagged adam & eve, Craig Inglis, Euro RSCG, john lewis christmas ad, marks & spencer christmas ad, rkcr/y&r, Russ Lidstone, X-Factor, Youtube
By Stephen Foster on November 14, 2011
First the good news: ITV is slightly ahead of last year’s (good numbers) thanks to ads in programmes like X Factor and Downton Abbey and the strong autumn performance of the Rugby World Cup (which only happens every four years of course). And the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster is being run like a proper company [...]
Posted in Media, News | Tagged Adam Crozier, digital sales, downton abbey, facebook, friends reunited, Fru Hazlitt, google, itv, itv.com, myspace, profits, rugby world cup, Simon Daglish, X-Factor, yahoo
By Stephen Foster on November 7, 2011
Well it’s different anyway and maybe that was the point, Twiggy and the gals (and occasional boy) who have fronted Marks & Spencer’s Christmas advertising for what seems like decades are probably past by their sell-by date. And if all your TV money is going into expensive spots on ITV’s X Factor talent show it’s [...]
Posted in Clients, Creative, News | Tagged christmas campaign, m&S, marks & spencer, Steve Sharp, tv money, Twiggy, x factor finalists, X-Factor
By Stephen Foster on October 24, 2011
Advertising seems to be becoming an adjunct to the music business these days (soupy ballads by seeming preference although there are exceptions) and this ad for Twinings from AMV/BBDO is certainly no exception. It’s all beautifully done, as you’d expect with production wizards Psyop on the case, but where’s the tea? I guess the theory [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News | Tagged aardman animation, amv/bbdo, bisto, colman's, gravy, karamarama, psyop, Simon Cowell, soupy ballads, twinings, X-Factor
By Angie Dean on October 9, 2011
It’s the year of music (even more than usual) with UK ads this year and Bartle Bogle Hegarty (which has always had a musical bent) has brought back its ‘rapping farmers’ for Yeo Valley, this time in Take That boy band mode. For the new ITV series of the X Factor of course. And you [...]
Posted in Agencies, Clients, Creative, News | Tagged bartle bogle hegarty, bbh, boy band, forever, music, new commercial, rapping farmers, take that, the churned, X-Factor, yeo valley
By Stephen Foster on May 31, 2011
The X Factor off stage is much more entertaining than on it, unless you’re an ITV executive wondering if your prize ratings winner is going to implode. Which is probably what ITV programme boss Peter Fincham is worrying about this morning as the UK’s biggest terrestrial broadcaster has had to rush out a Tweet (an [...]
Posted in Media, News | Tagged American Idol, black eyed pea, channel 5, Cheryl Cole, destiny's child, fox, Gary Barlow, itv, Louis Walsh, n-dubz, Paula Abdul, Peter Fincham, programme boss, ratings, richard desmond, Simon Cowell, sky, Will.I.Am, X-Factor
By Stephen Foster on May 26, 2011
We’ve noted before here that the Simon Cowell talent show formula is running out of gas and now the much-hyped US version of the X Factor, sponsored by PepsiCo, has hit its first hiccup with Brit Celeb Cheryl Cole being replaced by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. Apparently Fox execs weren’t convinced that anyone in the [...]
Posted in Clients, Media, News | Tagged Cheryl Cole, fox, Nicole Scherzinger, PepsiCo, pussycat doll, Simon Cowell, us, X-Factor
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