Christmas adverts 2015: How Germany’s Edeka Heimkommen advert has beaten John Lewis and Sainsbury’s to claim the festive crown (so far) December 8, 2015 Put your telescope away, send your cat to its bed and tear up your lottery ticket – the Christmas ads race has taken yet another unexpected turn with a new frontrunner pulling into pole position. And the intrepid hero at the helm of this two million share behemoth? A kindly old man. No, not that [...]
John Lewis’s “Man on the Moon” Christmas advert 2015 has smashed the 6m view mark on YouTube November 7, 2015 This year's John Lewis Christmas Advert has now had more than 6m views on YouTube. The “Man on The Moon” features a little girl looking through a telescope and spotting an old man living all alone on the moon, at which point she decides to send him his own telescope as a Christmas present, so [...]
Christmas adverts are great, but retailers including John Lewis, Asda and Lidl must live up to the hype November 4, 2015 You could feel the anticipation earlier this week as the first of the Christmas adverts landed. Asda and Lidl were among the first to showcase their festive offerings, while John Lewis announced its ad launch in advance, giving the nation several days to get excited before the big reveal, which happens at 8am this Friday. Watch: [...]
Businesses can no longer opt out of the conservative-liberal left culture wars December 9, 2016 Culture wars are raging in Britain and America and businesses are stuck uncomfortably in the middle. Executives have just witnessed many of their customers vote to leave the EU and reject large-scale immigration. They have witnessed a victory for Donald Trump. But they are also hearing a loud liberal backlash against both – amid concern [...]
Retail sales defy gloomy predictions ahead of a bumper Black Friday November 18, 2016 Retail sales have outperformed expectations ahead of the nation's biggest shopping spree – Black Friday. According to the Office for National Statistics, the volume of retail sales increased by 7.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2015 – the highest growth rate for fourteen years. The amount spent online grew by [...]
Christmas adverts 2015: Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat has already beaten John Lewis’ Man on the Moon as most shared November 13, 2015 The Sainsbury's Christmas 2015 advert starring Mog the Cat might have been 18 months in the making, but the supermarket is already reaping the rewards. Because in just over 12 hours since it was launched (the specific time of 7:10pm last night) Mog's Christmas Calamity has already been shared more times than John Lewis' Man on [...]
John Lewis Christmas advert 2015: Why is it such a big deal? A short history of the most anticipated campaign of the year November 6, 2015 John Lewis has launched its Christmas ad for 2015 today, to much anticipation. Entitled Man on the Moon, the advert follows the well-trodden path of pulling at your heart strings in the hope that John Lewis might get you to loosen your purse strings. The retailer has spent £1m on the production – once again courtesy of design [...]
John Lewis Christmas advert 2015 review: Why the Man on the Moon leaves me feeling out in the cold November 6, 2015 John Lewis knows a thing or two about building anticipation around its Christmas ad campaign. Over the past four years (since 2011's The Long Wait) the department store has ensured it dominates the festive season by shrouding its big-budget ad in secrecy – but with just enough hints leaked to get us consumers frothing at [...]
Labour donor Michael Foster has been suspended from the party for likening Corbyn backers to stormtroopers September 11, 2016 Labour has suspended one of its most prominent individual donors over an article which likened backers of Jeremy Corbyn to Nazi stormtroopers. Michael Foster made the comparison in the Mail on Sunday last month, after losing out in a legal challenge on Corbyn's eligibility for the party's leadership contest. And Foster revealed his suspension in [...]
Cosmetics giant Coty confirms GHD takeover October 16, 2016 American cosmetics giant Coty has announced a £420m takeover of British-based hair products manufacturer GHD. Coty – whose brand portfolio spans Rimmel, CoverGirl and OPI – said that GHD's high-performance lines of hair straighteners, hairdryers, curlers and other appliances would "further strengthen" its position in the professional hair category. Coty's chief executive Camillo Pane said: "Not only do [...]