The new IKEA television advert has divided opinion; is it marketing genius or just plain strange? Beautifully-shot, with soft lighting and a soothing soundtrack, the advert shows 100 cats roaming around the Wembley branch of IKEA, before eventually settling down and making themselves comfortable. Created by Mother London, the advert is part of IKEA’s new [...]

I have a friend who every so often gets on his high horse and scorns his local council, despite his wife working there.  I get the same old lines: “Why do they spend all this money on advertising? Everyone knows it’s just a waste.”  “We all know what they do, and even that, they just [...]

Unless you’ve spent the last month marooned on a desert island, you won’t have escaped the frenzy that is World Cup fever. With global brands all competing to have the best and most memorable advertising campains, it’s impossible to miss.  The most successful World Cup advertising campaigns don’t allow for last-minute decisions. They are carefully [...]

Communication has to have cut through. It needs to make an impression, get noticed and have an impact to stand a chance. True or false? Surely if it doesn’t overcome this hurdle it won’t get read or watched. It will just be wall paper. OK, let’s see which ads we can all remember most from [...]

The long-held assumption is that editorial coverage generated through public relations has greater value than equivalent advertising. Certainly, many of the trade publications, in particular, have seen advertising revenue plummet over the last ten years, resulting in an increasing trend of charging for editorial coverage, otherwise known as colour separation charges. And this is where [...]