Oh. I've just read Martin Weigel's post on why magic and stuff is still important. If you want better reasoning than the below post, on why it's still important to suprise and delight etc, you should read it.

I regret to admit that I'm old enough to remember the 1970's when nothing was open on a Sunday in the UK apart from news agents, off licences and pubs. It was rubbish of course, but on the other hand, it was a very real example of how things were just not as accessible as…

..Bauhaus furniture, an thriving agency community in one square mile, impossibly attractive receptionists, artfully designed decor (you know, the knackered warehouse look, the lego land look, or if you go a media agency, the shiny metal corporate look) and the like. I get a chef that cooks me stuff like fresh cullen skink, every day.

The spoof training camp where staff are put through their gruelling paces to ensure second to none results/service etc for you The bumbling Dad who always gets it wrong and the reseourceful Mum who always quietly saves the day with a knowing glint in her eye  

Turning the enemy into evil little, but slightly cute characters. You know, the smug germs in your toilet suddenly shaking with fear when Mum (always Mum) appears with New Improved Bleach Brand. Or the evil little bacteria critters skulking between your gums, suddenly on the retreat from New Impoved Mouthwash or toothpaste.  

It's not news to you (hopefully) that most of how marketing communications works is as much about how it makes you 'feel' as what it 'tells you'. Due to a quirk of human nature, this possibly calls into the question the REAL effect of campaigns that parody the competition. Let me explain. Gossip lubricates the…

One of the oldest, and probably most boring, debates in this business is the endless arguments over the merits of 'brand ads', especially in the context of 'product' ads. You know, ads that are described as purely focused on how people feel about an organisation v ads that focus on something to with the product.…