Author's Profile

Combining ads, digital and PR is what brands demand

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Wanted: hungry start-ups prepared to take a bullet

- Adland is nothing if not enterprising. We see another shop opening its doors this week in the shape of Lucky Generals. This comes hard on the heels of Hello People and in the recent wake of Joint, Now, The Corner etc.

Carping about Sorrell's pay is missing the point

- The amount that other people get paid is inherently intriguing to those of us who work for a living, driven by a sense of self-value and justice. But since the credit crunch, the conversation around executive pay has gained an extra edge.

Droga5 endorses London as a global creative hub

- Does London need another creative agency? When it's Droga5, the answer is in the affirmative.

What adland must learn from the Thatcher furore

- As I write, M&C Saatchi's "best-ever client" is about to be cremated. Let's hope it ultimately finds a replacement. But this is a serious point. Margaret Thatcher, love her or loathe her, was a truly great brand.

The modern digital shop faces an existential crisis

- The term "digital" worries me. This is not because I'm a luddite (indeed, I still bear the scars of a stint as the managing editor of a dotcom start-up). No, it's because I'm not sure what the word really means any more.

The death of advertising, but only as we know it

- Advertising is under threat. Or, rather, the popular conception of advertising is under threat.

HSBC's 'split' decision looks to be good news

- Chatter about HSBC's global account has dominated adland this week. This is partly because it's big, although no-one seems to know how big. In the past, the bank has spent more than $1 billion a year on advertising. Today, the figure is more likely to be $650 million - still one of the biggest global pitches of the past decade.

Advertising mustn't be the scapegoat for society's ills

- "I know, let's ban the advertising." It's an increasingly common edict from government when tackling any sort of societal-behavioural problem.

Sainsbury's has a lot going for it, but where's the soul?

- "Behold the sun king?" Justin King addressed the Wacl dinner earlier this week.

Advertising will fail unless it is underpinned by trust

- I was fortunate enough to be invited on to Radio 4's Today programme last week to talk about brands. The show's (increasingly cantankerous) interviewer John Humphrys was mulling whether advertising actually worked. "Do we really buy this rubbish," he asked me.

Mega-deals still need the right people to lead them

- For many years, the "Sage of Soho", Sir Martin Sorrell, has chanted "the future is digital, the future is global".

Advertising can spark the growth we so badly need

- We're all a bit bored with economic gloom, aren't we? The British economy tangibly lacks optimism, lacks confidence. So this week's report by Deloitte/Advertising Association is a welcome call to action.

Integration's rewards are worth striving for

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