With Christmas just around the corner, everyone is getting into the party mood. Over eating, horrible Christmas jumpers, late nights, and alcohol are  all part and parcel (pardon the pun) of the festive period. So instead of trying to prevent the inevitable, the London Ambulance Service are embracing festive frolicking in their new campaign. 

The traditional approach for social marketing ads has been to warn people of the dangerous of what many would class as “having fun." As you can imagine, this type of advertising often falls on deaf ears. People are not receptive to a message that basically says, “Don’t enjoy self” or “You not sensible enough to enjoy your alcohol sensibly.” And that is the sort of message that the London Ambulance Service wanted to avoid putting out!

So how you do warn people of the dangerous of alcohol abuse without looking like a buzz kill? By acting like the ‘Cool Uncle.’

No one likes to be told what to do, and in fact, prohibition only makes participation even more alluring.So an ad essential saying     “don’t get carried away”, might in fact encourage some to try and prove the ad wrong i.e “I know my own limits”. And that’s were this campaign is differs. Rather than assume immaturity, it assumes that we know how to drink responsibly.  

Encouraging us to do what we want, and then merely saying “be safe” it is perceived as a friendly, non-authoritative warning. And is something that head-strong autonomous individuals like ourselves would be more likely to listen to. 

This campaign is seemingly on the side of fun and therefore our side, just like that ‘Cool Uncle.’

The reason this ad works so well is because it optimizes Christmas shopping! 

We can spend hours, weeks even months searching for that game for our brother, that pair of heels for our sister, or that special something for that special someone. Often the pressure can result in sleepless nights, but when you finally lay your hands on it, that feeling of jubilation and relief is indescribable, yet all to familiar to us all. 

This simple tagline “Found it” over a single image of a present stirs up that positive, joyous emotion inside us, as we are quickly reminded of that image present that we just secured. Even if you part of the disenchanted few who just can’t seem to track down that item (i.e ME), you are still forced to think about that warm and happy feeling when you accomplish your task. And with the Debenhams name neatly placed in the corner on the poster, you now have a perfect place to start up the hunt again.

 So, all in all a great christmas campaign.

Life is complicated enough without media adding to the confusion. 

Simple, straightforward and impactful advertising is required if you want to cut through the noise. This is even more essential when you are trying to communicate with the disinterested, over-worked and under-paid London commuter. 

Google understand the need for simplicity and their new campaign is a perfect example of its effectiveness.

The campaign wants to highlight how the Google app family has been designed to helped everyone, everywhere and at any time. 

The crude lines drawn over the start of the sentence immediately gets the commuter's attention and forces them to engage with the ad. Then - with their audience engaged - Google is free to position Google Maps as the passport to the "whole world".  By not overcomplicating things, the viewer is able to process the message quickly and with minimal effort. 

This is the type of ad needed if you want to talk to an audience who is rushing from tube to tube, desperately trying to avoid getting into the office after their boss!

It's that time of the year again, when we all drink too much, eat too much and spend too much. Oh, and John Lewis release their heart-melting Christmas advert.


Teaming up with Adam&Eve DDB for the fifth year in a row, the ad tells the heartwarming story of young girl who sends a present to a man who lives on the moon. Following the same formula that brought them so much success over the years, the ad is set to a contemporary artist's interpretation of a classic song. So don't be surprised to see Norwegian singer, Aurora, rendition of the Oasis track 'Half the World Away', in the race for christmas No.1.

Sure, the story -  a young girl who spies on a lonely man living on the moon through her telescope and finds a way to send him a gift - certainly pulls at the heart strings. But the big question is, can it match the success of 'Monty The Penguin'? 

Well, it has already mashed last year's production with more than 23,000 social media mentions in the first two hours - compared to Monty's 14,000 in the first 24 hours last year. And it is also set to reach 10million views on YouTube by Monday morning. So based on its current trajectory, I would say it has a good chance of knocking old Monty of the top of the iceberg! 

Never scared to say what he really thinks, the ex Top-Gear presenter is the star of this very cheeky Amazon Fire TV commercial.

Produced by Lucky Generals, Amazon have called upon the controversial Brit to help boost sales of thier Amazon Fire TV Stick in the UK. Oh, and to highlight the fact that Amazon Prime is the ONLY place to see Clarkson's and co's new series.

Taking yet another opportunity to stick a middle finger up at his former employers, Clarkson makes light of his dismissal at the start of this year, referring to the BBC as "them".

Nonchalantly riding a Segway - quite impressively I may add - Clarkson states: "Back in the spring as you probably remember, I suddenly became unbusy, and that was OK because I had one of these (an Amazon Fire Stick)". The charismatic presenter then proceeds to take viewers through the Amazon Fire Stick’s VoD offering.

This serves as a brilliant example of how brands are now attempting to become part of what is talked about in popular culture. It is no longer enough to advertise your brand in isolation, in today’s marketing world you need to part of the conversation on and offline. The whole Top Gear fiasco is still a very hotly debate topic. And with the buzz surrounding Clarkson's yet-to-be-named new auto-focused series at fever pitch, Amazon have positioned themselves right at the centre of this discussion, adding fuel to an already blazing fire.

Have a look at the ad below.

Why aren't more people signing up?

This is the question on the lips of everyone at Twitter HQ. Yesturday the San Francisco based company announced it added just 4 million new monthly users in its most recent quarter, sending stocks tumbling. The rate at which people are signing up to the social platform is slowing dramatically and has forced the company to think about a more traditional approach to encourage sign-up.

As a result the company will be rolling out a number of TV ads in the US over the next couple of months. This is a particularly stagnant market where user-base has been hovering around the 66 million mark for much of the year.

The hope is that these new ads will create enough buzz to bring back lapsed users and attract new ones, while at the same time generate more interest from advertisers to use the service.

With a new CEO at the helm and all the internal changes, investors will closely monitor the effect of the ads on the company's growth in the new year.

What do you think of the ad?

Eager to capitalise on the worldwide success of the James Bond franchise, luxury vodka brand, Belvedere, has partnered with the latest 007 film, Spectre, for a new TV campaign. Belvedere's president, Charles Gibb, says the tie-up will create the luxury vodka brand’s best ever quarter of sales.

The 30 second TV ad stars Mexican actress and Spectre star Stephanie Sigman, and imaginatively shows the creation of a 'belvedere' vodka martini. Shot is a stylish, James Bond-esque bar, Sigman ensures that like Bond, her drink is shaken not stirred and signs off with the line: ‘Excellent choice, Mr. Bond’. There are also two limited edition 007 Spectre bottles to celebrate the advertising campaign, which marks the first time Belvedere has sponsored a film.

Gibb believes that Bond's international appeal means that this partnership is perfect: “It’s difficult to get something that can resonate in the 120 countries in which we sell our vodka but Bond does that as it has vast international appeal. We would love for this to be a long-term marketing partnership, we wouldn’t go into it otherwise.”

True, this partnership is good business . Belvedere's and Bond's brand images compliment one another perfectly. Both are seen as stylish, classy, and luxurious, so this partnership re-enforces this perception in the consumers mind.

Furthermore, if this partnership is to be long- term, Belvedere's association with Bond means those who aspire to live like their favourite fictional character, will eventually see the drink as part of the James Bond lifestyle. Even those who just have a mild liking for Bond will be positively effected. When they are at the bar and see the brand they will immediately associate it with the iconic ladies man which in turn will influence their purchasing decision.

Gibb also sees this partnership as his company's recognition that traditional advertising is no longer effective.

He concluded: “In today’s marketing world you want to be talked about in pop culture at the right moments and that’s where Bond is fascinating as it generates buzz for months and months before and after the film’s release....TV advertising alone just isn’t enough to reach consumers when you think about all the people who are fast-forwarding ads and streaming. You need to make yourself a part of the conversation online and offline."

Take a look at the ad below.