Words Dept.: category

One of a series designed by Tristan Eaton, with quotes from real voters. If you ask me, and I’m aware you probably aren’t, this has every chance of becoming a future design classic. More here.

I’ve always felt a strange affinity with Noel Edmonds and recently realised I had several things in common with the man. Bad facial hair, diminutive stature, wardrobe full of crap shirts and knitwear, etc. Now I find out that he shares my view (first expressed in April – like, get with the program, Noel) that [...]

I notice Nike is encouraging people to “sponsor” one of the 22,850 steps they have worked out Paula Radcliffe will need to complete in order to finish the Olympic marathon, promoted via a text message-backed campaign in halfwit’s comic the Sun this week. The reason I notice this is because my dad has put his [...]

I’ve noticed a rash of new touchy-feely advertising slogans in recent days. It seems all products now have to revolve around us, as people (not just consumers), and how we engage with them on a deep and meaningful level. The message is that these advertisers aren’t faceless mega-corporations pushing out garbage to random, grabbing hordes [...]

Since drivers of 4x4s tend to be regarded as braying, selfish, middle class dummies – their penchant for oversized cars that are much too big for the school run barely disguising an inherent bullying streak – I can’t think of a better way for Land Rover to lay this image to rest than by creating [...]

The BBC, or, more specifically, the various contractors it uses to collect TV licenses, have invented something called a “database”. I didn’t know what this meant so I looked it up and apparently it means a structured collection of data that can be accessed by a computer. According to the hoary female voiceover on the [...]

I can’t be the only person to have picked up on the fact that the latest advert for Asda has an instrumental version of the theme tune to Dad’s Army running in the background. The advert makes reference to a survey that says rival Tesco has a load of cheap prices. It then goes on [...]

What the hell was Carol Vorderman doing advertising Bernard Matthews Chicken Drummers – six for a quid at Farmfoods – during the ad break for Hugh’s Chicken Run tonight? This was a programme exploring the issue of chicken production that illustrated the conditions in which standard supermarket chickens are reared – shit-and-piss-covered, fat, immobile and [...]

On the day Tower Hamlets council decided to paint over some graffiti by Banksy, here (after the jump) is some less artistic but possibly more amusing vandalism of advertising hoardings. Sky’s ads seem to be a particular magnet for sarcasm… The second one is in Manchester. I recognise the hoarding underneath the advert. No, really.  

Apparently, 112 people complained to Ofcom that Sir Trevor McDonald’s jokey description of Bernard Manning as a “fat, white bastard” was “inappropriate and/or racist”. On News Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald on 24 June, Sir Trev said: “It’s time for Racist and Dead, this week, it’s the turn of corpulent, narrow-minded northerner Bernard Manning. Personally, [...]