Blog Posts

With the November 3rd US presidential elections hurtling towards a nation still reeling from the COVID-19 coronavirus, Republicans and Democrats alike were forced to run their conventions mainly digitally, and the candidates for both parties spent hard on mud-slinging: the incumbent President Donald Trump laid out $80 million in the first half of 2020, and former Vice-President Joe Biden coughed up $65 million.Money talks – what’s it saying?While Joseph Robinette 'Joe' Biden Jr. officially accept
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Quorn has been around since 1985, producing a meat substitute made from a fungus found growing in Buckinghamshire in its bid to help reduce reliance on animal protein to feed the world.Fast-forward to 2020, and Britain's Leeds-based Meatless Farm stirred things up with its attention-grabbing 'Now, that's a M.... F.... Burger!' images. ''We wanted to communicate to meat-eaters that there is no compromise on taste, texture or price when going M*** F***. Simply swapping once a week can make an
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After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalised for COVID-19 coronavirus treatment, he acknowledged that being fat had put him at increased risk. He has since lost several pounds by taking up jogging, and his government has now launched a national Obesity Strategy to help improve the overall health of Brits - of whom approximately two thirds are overweight and more than one in four obese.Turning his back on his earlier criticisms of 'nanny state' health initiatives by previous governm
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Within days of each other, the USA's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain's Royal Navy Submarine Service put out digital ads as part of their recruitment drives in a bid to reach potential recruits where they are - on streaming platforms.The CIA's one-minute campaign  also aims to showcase its diversity credentials. Women feature largely: Director Gina Haspel is the first woman to head the Agency, and since she took over, all five CIA directorates have become headed up by women."Adv
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They can cost more than your airfare and – like a good reputation – be lost in a moment of carelessness.They’ve been used through the decades to conjure mystery, allure and entire brand personalities - think Anna Wintour for ‘Vogue’, Clint Eastwood as ‘Dirty Harry’, US former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and fashion designer Victoria Beckham.Beckham says a picture of her in her sunglasses is an image many people would recognise, and that her shades say a lot about her. She also says:“This p
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Brits have already spent £150 million on CBD products in 2020, with interest doubling during COVID-19 lockdown.CBD (cannabidiol) oils, drinks and other products were already a growing sector. Derived from the cannabis sativa plant, CBD won't get you high: it's THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) that's the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.Many stores now carry non-THC products, and they're being hailed by wellness practitioners and users alike as helpful for a range of conditions like insomni
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The global luxury fashion industry generates revenue of close to one trillion dollars, and capturing the gorgeous movements of high-end fashion is a specialised niche. From veteran trailblazers Mario Testino and Steven Meisel to Harley Weir, 27, and 20-year-old Gray Sorrenti (image above), some just have the knack. Here are a few advertising campaigns using top photographic talent that have caught our eye.Youthful exuberanceThe daughter of Mario and niece of Davide and Vanina Sorrenti, Gray
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“Flowers can seem ridiculously extravagant, but that’s why they’re so powerful,” says luxury floral designer Elizabeth Marsh. “There’s no self-interest, they just tell the recipient, ‘I see, hear and understand you’ – you cannot underestimate the power of that.”(Photograher Sebastian Ragusa)From the nervous bride to the five-star hotel or corporate events manager, clients need to be understood, says Marsh, who is a great believer in flowers as a point of engagement as well as communicat
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Italian Lavazza coffee is a familiar and well regarded brand for many of us, but far fewer will be aware of the work being done by the Lavazza Foundation,which is behind this trailer for a documentary for Amazon Prime now on limited release in Italy, the UK and the USA.It introduces us to Johana, a Colombian woman who lost everything as a result of the five-decade guerrilla/government war that killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions, and is rebuilding her life through cof
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British-owned Aston Martin has long been the ultimate high-octane yet elegant brand, renowned for spectacular good looks, luxury engineering, and, thanks to its 007 association, racey intrigue.  The 107-year-old company has roared into the headlines in an already eventful 2020:-It’s putting out a limited edition of 'fully loaded' 007 DB5 remakes as driven by Sean Connery (in image) as James Bond in 'Goldfinger', under the name Continuation. They weren’t able to have the e
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Britain's farms were already in trouble in terms of harvesting before the COVID-19 coronavirus hit. The 2016 Brexit vote led to a drop in fruit and vegetable pickers from the EU flooding in for the season, with UK farms reporting a shortage of 10-20% of seasonal workers in 2019.Despite the government expanding the number of permitted non-EU seasonal workers four-fold in early 2020, subsequent COVID-related restrictions presaged a severe shortfall. Hence the clarion cry to 'Pick for Brit
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Ever stayed in a luxury hotel and pocketed a couple of their miniature plastic-bottle bathroom goodies?No judgment here, just asking.If you have, you may be feeling out of step with the times. What used to be a real little luxury might now get a curled lip and a flat “Oh. Right.” if you showed it to friends. They might just think you’re wrong for taking home single-use plastics.And increasingly – and ironically – it could reflect badly on the fabulous hotel you stayed at.The plushest hotels in th
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"Did you hear about Milan?” exclaimed a friend based in continental Europe.“No,” I said, not without a faint whiff of apprehension.“They’re using the lockdown to reduce traffic,” she explained with glee. “In the central area where there used to be two-way double lanes – so four lanes of engines that were idling half the time, pumping out fumes ‘cos there were so many vehicles the traffic could barely move – they’ve cut it down to one lane each way.“The other lanes are to expand cyc
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As Mother Nature enjoyed a respite from our ceaseless travels thanks to measures imposed during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, grounded airlines jettisoned jobs and leaned on governments for bailouts, while Zoom became a household name.Virgin Australia slumped into administration but was due to get back in the skies over the summer, with 10% stakeholder Sir Richard Branson reportedly game to put up $200-250 million to achieve this. The billionaire had drawn flak for asking the UK gove
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Ramadan is a month of fasting, reflection, charitable giving, and community for Muslims around the world. In 2020, Ramadan, which began on April 24, was inevitably affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. This 2020 piece caught our eye for its simplicity – visually reflected in the black and white footage over-written with children’s responses."We are all experiencing a season like no other, and in these uncertain times, we all need hope,"says young US musical artist Brittin Lane
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It’s the drink of celebration, used to mark life’s most special moments. Yet Madame Bollinger, who married into the Bollinger house and ran it from 1941 to 1971, famously said she drank champagne both “when I’m happy and when I’m sad”. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/)With so many suffering in the COVID-19 environment, wine expert Danny Brennan, who’s been with Laurent-Perrier for nearly 20 years, is not expecting to see a rush back to celebratory mood
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As deeper questions began to be asked around COVID-19 coronavirus responses, a few ‘ads’ caught our eye for their deployment of humour in the still-prevalent life-under-lockdown scenario.Let’s take it from the past to the present to the future with three campaigns from Spain, the USA and Australia respectively.“Is that the enemy? Can you stop the war a moment?”You'll see all kinds of processed meat products on Spanish supermarket shelves by the Campofrio group. Its down-to-earth, familiar tone is
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Luxury was one of the first sectors to register the unwelcome economic implications of the COVID-19 coronavirus’ global spread as high-end fashion names were forced to shutter their plush premises in the lucrative Chinese market.With 2020 set to take a large and almost unprecedented bite out of this usually ‘untouchable’ growth area, luxury brands reassessed and re-deployed. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the ways they’ve been doing it:-LVMH, hands-onThe French multi-national owns dozens of le
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Six of the best: lockdown luxuriesMaybe we didn’t all define them as luxuries until experiencing restrictions on our lifestyles, but confinement compels us all to re-assess, right?Which of these are you missing most? Click here to let us know!Touch, companionship, friends/family gatherings (Detail from D&G Light Blue ad)“I need sex,” exclaims a vibrantly energetic woman in her seventies, frustrated and dispirited by the enforced hiatus in her social life. “I don’
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“It was definitely a thing, it was happening,” says a private jet pilot about reports of the wealthy hopping in their own ‘planes to escape the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. “They were flying off to their other residences. But it’s becoming more difficult.”That’s because even the luxury loopholes are closing worldwide as countries – including many in Latin America such as Costa Rica which are popular as second homes for the American wealthy – have already shut down or
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