What we think

According to recent research done by Harvard University, we are seeing the rise of a new phenomenon: The Humblebragger. Gone are the days when holidaying in the South of France meant you’d made it big, today if you are a real big dog it’s because you are really really really BUSY. Anecdotally this isn’t going […]

As HSBC, RBS, L’Oréal, Channel 4 and even the UK government pull their ads from Google, the seemingly infallible giant is being rightly challenged on issues concerning ad distribution. As the world’s most influential brands realise their messages may well have been compromised by the medium, issues of trust and neglect have been raised. Is […]

We were pondering the value – or otherwise – of brand ubiquity today. It was sparked by a conversation about Ed Sheeran’s 9 singles in the UK top 10 music charts. Though clearly a sign of amazing popularity and commercial success, surely over-exposure or over-dominance (in this instance on quite an epic scale) is the […]

We have all read numerous articles about what so-called Millennials want and expect from their careers: – They recognise they will probably need to re-train a number of times – They have high expectations of themselves and of their employers – They are demanding and seek a healthy work-life balance – They are increasingly looking […]

I recently read a story in the Guardian called ‘Dopamine Dressing – Can you dress yourself happy?’ That’s cool I thought, and immediately shared the article on FB. I also saw an amazing shot of a building in The Hague dressed as a Mondrian canvas. I popped that on Instagram. And the last thing I […]

Post truth. Fake news. Alternative facts. Has lying become mainstream? Or are we just witnessing the creation of a new lexicon to describe the multifarious ways we have always used to interpret (and manipulate!) facts to suit our own purposes.   The onset of social media heralded what we used to call a ‘new age […]

Sam Leith wrote in the FT recently about what he called ‘emotive calls to action’ being a key feature of the language of politics in 2016 – the year “rhetoric went away from optimism and towards aggression; away from argument and towards assertion”. About how politicians, political parties, collectives and lobby groups are using “simpler, […]

So KitKat loses its right in its four-fingered shape as the European Intellectual Property Office annuls trademark. The reason being that the brand had not gained sufficient distinctive character throughout enough of Europe’s member states. It was a yes from Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland and the UK. An a […]

We read with interest today that Oxford University students are being asked by their student union to use the pronoun ‘ze’ rather than just ‘he’ or ‘she’ – the aim being to ensure transgender students feel more comfortable. Though some may feel this represents political correctness gone mad, these (non-compulsory) ways of acknowledging difference and […]