To read Liam Neeson’s interview in the Independent – bewildering and alarming in equal parts – is to be reminded of the actor’s cameo in Ricky Gervais’s Life’s Too Short. This moment was a highlight of a largely forgettable Warwick Davis vehicle, playing off the idea of Neeson turning his hand to comedy. Pitching his…
If you ever wanted to see an example of why it is so hard to manage reputations in today’s world of clickbait, professional outrage machines and judgements made at the speed of scrolling, then you don’t have to look any further than the recent media furore over the altercation between the students from Covington Catholic…
You would have to have a hardened heart not to have felt for Andy Murray on waking up this morning. This is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and bravely isn’t afraid to show it. His authenticity and courage has warmed a nation’s heart. Yet Andy Murray has had a checkered history…
The British Army’s has caused quite the stir. Although this time it’s across Facebook, not the Faroes. As part of the “This is belonging” campaign, the army has released posters illustrated in the style of World War One recruitment ads featuring Lord Kitchener. The posters use derogatory phrases such as “Snowflakes”, “Me me me millennials”…
The term Succès de scandale (French for “success from scandal”) originates from the Belle Époque (‘beautiful era’) in Paris, where artistic success began to be attributed to the public controversy surrounding their work. The adage is now echoed as ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity’, and instead of Édouard Manet and Oscar Wilde…
All references to Christmas or end of year removed. We can do a round up at the appropriate time. A Friday thought or two. Borkowski has retained the heart of its culture throughout all the change and technological advances around us. We are a company based on creativity and bravery, but also and perhaps most…
Well there is no doubt that it’s pantomime season, heroes, villains and the participation of the crowd. Take Noel Edmonds for example. A scroll through Twitter a week a ago would have left you in no doubt; Marmite isn’t just found in an iconic jar . But hang on, seven days in, he’s out of…
We are now officially in the tinselled haze of mid-November when our TV screens are dominated by shmaltzy adverts aimed to pull at our heart strings and pickpocket our wallets. When you think of Iceland, you can’t help but conjure up images of Kerry Katona and Peter Andre clutching shopping bags full of frozen pavlovas….
The trouble is that generally there is a butterfly attention to fame and noteworthy issues these days. This causes issues for brands because ‘fame’ is a vital currency and how it is created, developed and sustained is the all important question. So what is fame? And I mean real fame, not the Andy Warhol fifteen…
Make no mistake, this is the age of heightened individualism. More and more things are competing for our attention as the battle for clicks, likes and eyeballs gets stronger. And yet the more we compete as marketers and communicators, the more there is a sense of ‘so what?’ This stat dropped on my desk earlier….