The recent burst of Sky adverts can’t go without comment. Surely there will come a point when the ‘brainstorming’ meetings at Sky can produce a positioning and creative which is less common denominator than Sky’s usual fare. ‘Supertelly’ is the recent embarrassment. The billboards are terrible, the line is excruciating – Supertelly, come on! Is your audience really that unsophisticated? And yet, the use of Gene Wilder’s theme tune from Willy Wonka is pure genius, never mind pure imagination. So why oh why, when Channel 4, and now the BBC, use billboard advertising to such inspirational and effective use, do Sky consistently get it wrong? Anyone in doubt, think back to last year when the football ads ranted (like me) on how ‘players come and go’ but the teams are always there, solid. The concept was flawed, despite some pub talk about players, fans support quality players – don’t believe the hype you read in The Sun. Murdoch and co. need to take a tip from the campaign strapline, Believe in Better.

Folk were totally wowed by Ian Hetherington’s presentation at the How-Do AGM at City’s stadium last week. The man widely regarded as the region’s granddaddy of games was effectively sounding the death knell of traditional games companies (and the costs attached) because we’re all playing daft Facebook games, with graphics which are only slightly better than Mario. Social gaming, that’s where the money is, with games like Farmville, employing about 20 people, racking up a market valuation of $3 billion. Wow, indeed. That along with iPhone apps are all “on fire” says Hetherington, who used iBubble (yes, pop the bubble wrap) as an example of cheap games making a fortune. Unfortunately, it also made Sara Wilde of MEN/Liverpool Echo owner Trinity sound like the media equivalent of a betamax tape.

Just seen this story on the Guardian website and it makes for an interesting read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/18/keep-calm-carry-on-poster

Liverpool takes steps to move on, and then Channel 4 recruit a Scouse micro celeb that fulfils a lot of the old stereotypes. It was never going to be Simon Rattle or Terence Davies, but Tina Malone? Come on!

Can one ‘bowling ball’ make a difference? Surely it’s like worrying about Rab C Nesbitt, string vests, Glasgow kisses and deep fried Mars Bars (mmm, deep fried Mars Bars…).
TV creates or fulfils perceptions. In other words, in Britain it often fulfils southerners perceptions of northerners.

It’s the Coronation Street effect. If Tina Malone managed to make a dent in Liverpool’s 12 months of hard graft in a three-week stint on the box, then consider the damage that Britain’s longest-running programme does to Manchester.

Manchester is innovative, the ‘original modern’ city, it has pulled together all the surrounding boroughs to sell ‘Manchester’. Its chief exec Sir H is hailed as a master of his art. And yet, three times a week, at 7.30pm you switch on the box to see the land of flat caps, red brick terraces and cobblestone streets. It’s nostalgic in an historical drama, unfortunate in an everyday soap.

TV and movies can make or break a place. It’s the reason why the Australian government was happy to spend £17m on an international advertising campaign supporting a three hour ad in the guise of a film.

Film is also the reason that New Zealand found its way – after Lord of the Rings. Everybody wants a piece of that New York kinda magic, where even the grit and gang killing is strangely alluring.

Does it matter if the film is a crock of kangaroo dung? Ask Tina Malone.

www.liverpool08.com

www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool

Time is running out to visit the Liverpool Biennial. The most interesting for me were the exhibitions away from the main galleries that transform unexpected buildings and venues across the city, be it a former DIY shop or the Pilkingtons factory.

A definite highlight was Turning the Place Over where the artist, Richard Wilson, has cut a big circle from the facade of a building and made it turn through 360°. Well worth a look.

Yummmmmm. Yet more cake appreciation.

Lovely Sarah from I Love Cakes, popped by our studios, with this little box of treats! Gone within seconds, they got a big thumbs up from everyone in the office, including James, one of our clients. Poor old Scott, you missed out.

It may have been a bit presumptuous, but I baked ‘cupcakes’ last night (for the guys in the office), in anticipation of Obama’s success at the poles. I woke up to find out he’d actually won. What a historic day!

Events have been rather exciting of late at Glorious HQ; what with the birth of Tommy’s little boy Fred, wins at The Roses and Gramias awards, and…a leaky roof. Life round these parts is never dull.

Some folks scoff at our subterranean abode, but as Oscar Wilde said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”. This week, that was certainly true. A month ago, strange things began to happen in the streets and alleyways surrounding the office. Areas were cordoned off and boards erected. After some digging, John (one of the security blokes and our resident mole) informed us that Guy Ritchie was filming his latest picture, Sherlock Holmes, with the A-list talents of Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. set to grace us with their presence right here in Stevenson Square . This caused a fair bit of excitement in the office…well, apart from Mark who thinks ‘Jude Law is a crap actor anyway’ and would only get excited if thespian Daniel Day Lewis was in the vicinity.

Over the following weeks, I watched fascinated at the set’s creation: windows dressed, street lamps and flyposters went up, Chinese lanterns hung and mountains of fish (with big fearsome mouths), were despatched into what became known as fish alley.

On Tuesday I arrived to work and was confronted by a swath of Victorian gentlemen and ladies. Over a loud speaker, discussion of a live horse being brought on set and the offices next door were turned into an ad-hoc makeup department for the cast. It’s unfathomable that so many people could be involved as hundreds of crew, body guards and extras. And of course the police milled around, seemingly nothing better to do.

So sometime after lunch I nipped out for a bit of a nosey, straining to see a bit of the action. One of the crew members decided that the perfect spot for the next scene would be in front of our blue doors. Wow, how cool! So the folk here at Glorious joined other onlookers and got an unbelievably good view of a scene being shot. The actors seemed pretty relaxed about our voyeurism and cracked jokes between takes. Guy, dressed in his famous tweed flat-cap, quietly directed.

We looked up and we saw the stars. Reaching them however, may be a little more taxing. Some of us lived in the vain hope that Jude may wish to use our latrines. He did not, although his paramedic did pop in for a tinkle.

Here are some nice graphics in support of Obama.

30 reasons to vote Obama