1. It was 1979. I was studying periodical journalism at the London College of Fashion in Oxford Street (now part of the University of the Arts), and there was much excitement each year at the switching on of the Christmas lights. This year was the first time lasers were to Read more…
When working out what keywords to include in your web copy, use the words that your customers will search. Plain English rules! For example, the Government soon realised people don’t search ‘road excise duty’, they search ‘tax disc’ ‘car tax’ or ‘road tax’. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. People Read more…
I like to think I’m not taken in by ad-speak, although of course I am, just like everyone else. When I applied to Watford College* to do their Advertising Copywriting course years ago, I had to write about the last product I’d bought as the result of an ad. ‘Oh Read more…
Maybe I got out of bed on the wrong side this morning, but I am in the mood for a bit of a rant. I have lived at the same address for over nine years. For over nine years I have been receiving ‘junk’ mail from Boots addressed to the Read more…
I saw an ad for DFS in a magazine in the hairdressers. Which magazine, you ask? It may have been Tatler. It may have been Hello! Sorry, I can’t remember. Either way, it passed the ‘so what test’, which impressed me so much I wrote it down for this blog. Read more…
I’ve just received a letter from a well-known High Street store, telling me they will close my storecard because I haven’t used it for a while. In order to keep the card active, I must go in and buy something before 13 July. Cheeky monkeys! Has it not occurred to Read more…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrT1q0PXuqI&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Must admit I’m biased (I have an OU degree), but I do rather like this ad with its inspiring images of a blue whale, giant corpuscles, jet engine etc. The OU is where I learned how to measure the distance to the moon using a broom handle, a Read more…
Movie night in with ..Watch the ad… T-Mobile is the latest company to get its customers to make their own ads. I love this one! It reminds me of the old joke about the balloon boy getting told off when he took a pin into his inflatable school: “You’ve let Read more…
In principle, I don’t like to buy anything spontaneously, just because someone selling something has knocked on my door at a time when I’m in. I prefer to know what I want, then shop around to find the best supplier, then buy it in my own time. I don’t buy Read more…