Yes, it’s that time of the year. That special time of the year hard-core American football fans wait for all year long. It’s the one and only Super Bowl XLVII. Although I didn’t personally have the great honour of attending this significant cultural event, I did dedicate a sizeable amount of time out of my day to catch-up on what went down and most importantly, to watch all the ads that aired on the day.
“Me, me , me, pick me, pick me”
I’m heading to Hong Kong next week to run a workshop for a client, and remember a wealthy Hongkongese businessman last year offering a bounty of £40m for any man who can turn his gay daughter straight. It would be nice to try and land £40m, but really? Where’s the problem?
It’s official: cold weather impacts significantly on society at large. First, it doesn’t do much for office morale- ‘Oh no, it’s snowing again’ my colleague bleakly declared this afternoon. It’s only been a few days and everyone is complaining about the drop in temperature and having soggy feet! I simply don’t understand the alarm.
HMV, the UK music retailer recently forced into administration, seems to be the only one to have been surprised by the shift in consumption habits. Beaten by the Amazon mail-order brigade and then by the download era, they failed to adapt. So why should I care if they go under?
2ndAs a parent of small children, Christmas is a magical moment full of unwavering belief: the excitement from placing a mince pie and glass of sherry next to the chimney-less electric fire; the anticipation of hearing the jingle of bells or Santa’s feet thudding across the roof from level 2 of the 30 storey building you live in; the thrill of tearing off the wrapping paper to see if you’ve been good. And that’s where one of the many challenges should be avoided.
For those of us who work in the achingly cool world of branding, Christmas can be a tricky time. We’re forced to abandon our dedication to directional haircuts and Nordic minimalism, and join the masses in embracing the yuletide aesthetic in all its shiny, glittery and garish glory.
Granted, there’s always the option of a cheesy Christmas jumper, worn with a gigantic slice of self-congratulatory irony, but even this does little to help us stand out from the crowd, as the streets become one giant, itchy, 80s eyesore.
Following Tango (in the non-twitter sense) has always been a source of awe and entertainment. I mean, Turbo Tango is probably one of my favourite products ever – the ridiculous idea of a foaming non-alcoholic drink, which sounds like edible party string genuinely appeals to my juvenile self.
I enjoy random facts, figures and lists. I always have. Trivial Pursuit is my board game of choice, and I’m currently reading 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off. In recent days I learnt that the international dialling code for Russia is 007, and that Scarlett Strutt is the 9th most important person (ever) according to The Tatler List; a ranking of 576 ‘people who really matter’.
Donald Trump. The man just won’t hush down. We’ve had the never-ending and excruciating ‘birther’ saga, a post-election twitter tirade, accusations of racism and sexism, heck he even took a swipe at Kate Middleton. But not content with trashing his own reputation he’s now dragging the Macy’s brand down with him.
When your underwear is this good, why hide it?
Mary Portas is trying to reinvigorate the British manufacturing business onepair of Kinky Knickers at a time, and the ladies over at Smoothgroove are trying to shoehorn women back into their cat suits without the embarrassment of a camel toe thanks to a little plastic panty insert- apparently the X-Factor stylists swear by them.
Anyway, there’s a new player in town – with an offer so practical, it rivals Bridget Jones’ pants.
