Posts made in July, 2015

on Jul 31, 2015

By Tony Connelly Government plans to ban six-figure farewell payments to public sector groups omitted the BBC, despite a series of huge sums to departing staff in recent years. The Conservative government has begun a consultation on a “public sector redundancy pay cap” which would limit the amount of money outgoing NHS workers, council employees and civil servants could receive. Instead the BBC and other excluded public bodies such as the Bank of England will be expected to introduce their own limits which should be similar to the Government’s plans and come into effect at the same time. The consultation said that the government “proposes to Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 31, 2015

By John Glenday A US businessman has inadvertently demonstrated the utility of the Find My iPhone app, after using it to locate his phone dropped 9,300ft during a flight from Houston. Ben Wilson and his pilot were travelling across Texas in a Beechcraft Bonanza when a sudden pressure change caused a door to come ajar, causing some belongings, including the phone, to be sucked out of the craft. It fell 2,835m to hit the ground in a rural pasture beneath a mesquite tree, where it lay until Wilson returned to the scene armed with a GPS tracker. Recalling the incident Wilson told the Witchita Falls Times Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 31, 2015

By Seb Joseph There’s a “very formulaic way” of promoting handsets that the mobile network wants to get away, its marketing director Lianne Norry, marketing director told The Drum. Consequently, it got LG to embrace things that go bump in the night and back, arguably, its riskiest ad today. Three’s Jackson the puppet is shown alongside his human companion doing one of the biggest horror movie tropes – venturing into the woods alone. The two friends document the experience, complete with shocks and scares, using LG’s smartphone video player, while Jackson takes the time to highlight some of the phone’s other key features. The ad Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 31, 2015

By John Glenday Al Murray, comedian behind the fictitious pub landlord persona, has sharply criticised social media for fermenting a ‘mob mentality’ that he believes is smothering free speech. Addressing a Stand Up for Satire comedy night Murray stated his belief that opinionated people were ‘weaponising’ feelings of anger to shout down people they disagreed with online, citing the case of comedian Daniel O’Reilly who was forced to abandon the persona after being subject to a social media campaign accusing him of being sexist. This followed an outcry when footage emerged of him singling out a female audience member whom he said was ‘gagging for Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 31, 2015

According to a recent IPA report entitled from Mad Men to Sad Men, the client/agency relationship is in a state of crisis. This is wide of the mark says the founder of RAR Steve Antoniewicz. “The report introduction suggests rifts, chasms, frustrations and negativity as the norm and that just doesn’t match with what we’re seeing in responses from brands,” he said. Where the IPA research throws up some interesting (and startling) anecdotes, Antoniewicz says those examples are still very much in the minority. “If that was a truly representative picture then chances are we might not have Read full story › Source: The Drum...