One of the best ads I’ve seen this year, Inferno, Panasonic, Samsung and – my new book!

***This is an ad by Barcelona agency Santa Marto and production company Agosto supporting charity FESOCE (Spanish federation for deaf and blind people).

Agosto also worked on the outstanding new campaign for Dewar’s White Label whisky.

Spain may have a few economic problems but there’s some outstanding creative talent there. The director was Mireia Dujol.

Will it win loads of awards? Well, I think awards should go to brands because that’s what advertising is supposed to do. But I can’t think of a better commercial film I’ve seen this year.

***London agency Inferno has hired Dirk Van Dooren as head of visual output, another addition to the baffling range of monikers in the ad business.

Anyway, Van Dooren (left) co-founded Tomato in 1991, then he was executive creative director for fashion label Aspesi (based in Milan) from 1994 to 2013; and creative associate at Fallon from 2008 to 2010, where he worked with Eurostar, French Connection, Cadbury’s, Tate Gallery and Nokia, among others.

Top creativos are whizzing around London at a frenetic pace these days. But, as one top account man told me today, is “all about the culture.” Put them in the wrong place and they’re bloody useless. But, arguably, priceless.

***Go-go social media agency We Are Social has won lots more work from Panasonic.

Panasonic UK brand communications director John Dixon says: “We Are Social has a reputation for delivering first class strategic and creative work. We’re confident they have the expertise and experience to deliver the results we’re looking for.”

I thought the old Panasonic brand has expired – but it turns out it’s doing well, much better than Sony. Down to the efforts of We Are Social, no doubt.

***Samsung is one of the more enterprising UK OOH advertisers and it’s offering young film makers the opportunity to use its big outdoor digi screen at London’s Piccadilly Circus. For years Piccadilly Circus has been an utterly tedious ad environment, so credit to Samsung for showing a bit of imagination.

***The real big news of the week is that my new book Red Top Blues, about the life, loves and multimedia experiences of rascally tabloid editor Tarquin Pratt, has now been published on Kindle.

This, of course, has absolutely no connection with any of the many legal actions currently interrupting the activities of Her Majesty’s Press, aka., The Fourth Estate.

Neither does the depiction of certain doings with an employee of an ad agency in any way reflect my opinions of that particular institution.

But it is the ideal Christmas present for anyone above the age of consent and not prone to fits of the vapours.

And finally…..

Went to see Van Morrison at the Albert Hall the other week and he was fantastic. He even laughed at a joke (from Chris Farlowe).

He seems to get better with age, unlike some of our other songsters.

Anyway, here’s Tupelo Honey (which he didn’t sing at the RAH, alas) from way back in 1979. How did he get through it?

But he did.

Magnificent.

Have a nice weekend.