High Hopes
Around 20 years ago I sat in a large over-lit office that smelt slightly of cheese. The hum of the strip lights made me feel slightly out of sorts. This was the Headquarters of Isle of Wight Tourism. Downstairs had an
Time to celebrate our women
I am proud of our record of employing strong independent people, some of whom arrived with their own very unique characteristics and some who simply didn’t know who they were, but found a place to grow and nurture in the
Elton John Lewis
Every year, around September time, an excitement bubbles or baubles in one of our client’s offices. Every year they tell us how much they would like a TV ad like the John Lewis one. They are not alone in this dream
The dePARTNERSHIP at John Lewis and Partners, and a Marked Warning
presumptive /prɪˈzʌm(p)tɪv/ adjective 1. of the nature of a presumption; presumed in the absence of further information. "a presumptive diagnosis" William Sitwell (I will name him Shitwell for this blog because I presume his shit is better than mine due to his supremely pedigree meaty lifestyle). Shitwell
Oops! I Did It Again.
“JT, will you call our lovely seaborne client Brittany Ferries, please? I have an idea.” "Hit Me Baby," he said (he didn’t but you will soon get my drift). “Britney is headlining Brighton Pride this year,” I said excitedly “Can you ask them
Sit. Shit. Wipe.
If I was to own a restaurant again I would make sure that I had 'Eat. Drink. Chat.' on the outside and 'Sit. Shit.Wipe.' on the toilet doors. Oh, I ask myself regularly, who are these brands that insist on telling
Wake Up At the Crack of Yawn.
Thomas Cook has announced that it is going to off load Club 18-30 and focus on cooler brands. Cooler? What could have been cooler than 18-30 if they had dealt with this brand of heritage and memories better? This brand is
Keeping It Up On The Beer
Some of you may be aware that I am now fifty years old. FIFTY. It happened in December, and many people were rather bemused by my refusal to have a party. "Why party?" I said, "I’m fifty and I've spent more
Wake up you addict!
“We’re number one in the rankings,” interrupted my client excitedly over the top of his laptop during a recent meeting at Designate HQ. “You mean in sales?” I said with hope in my voice. “No mate, they’re still shit, but we are
My 3 months of Hellth
"Slip me the needle through the letterbox and all will be fine. " I scared myself the other day. At the tail end of another typical week at the helm of our wonderful advertising agency, Designate, twinkling lights in the eyes were closely followed