Search Results for: Midlands

WHY DO DICTATORS KNOW EVERYTHING?

Stalin the greatest mass murderer in history did it, so did Hitler. Tamurlame did it, but only for half a day. In the modern era, Sukarno, Suharto, Marcos, Amin,Kenyatta, all did it. They pronounced on everything under the sun. They knew about art, theatre, architecture, food, hotels, destiny, and banking. Once they assumed their roles, often from humble military backgrounds, their advice was sought on every facet of life: what music to approve; what protocols to follow; which armaments to buy and from whom, which art was now in vogue and so on. Stalin wrote books on art and architecture ( Ok, he ghosted them). So it was with no little humour that only yesterday I chanced upon the pronouncements on the net of one of our own. Ladies and gentlemen (that probably takes in most of you): I give you.....NEIL FRENCH. The bald, ageing Midlands maestro of press advertising in SE Asia. With the self congratulatory air of a dedicated cigar smoker with LISTS (Lists, yet!) of the best restaurants, the best hotels, the best wines, the best books ... in the WORLD. Let that sink in for a while. What we don't have unfortunately is his choosing of the best breakfast cereals of the world, the best detergents, colognes, shopping malls and noodles. Vital things in this day and age. This was a man who got half a million Singapore dollars when he was sacked from BateyAds. This was the man who got more awards than anyone and every one of them bought and paid for! The man who was on a king's ransom at Ogilvy's. The man who resigned or was pushed to go when he made that pronouncement about the lack of female art directors was due to " they have an urge to go and suckle something". Is there no justice? What about the poor dictators who readily admitted they knew nothing apart from fighting or embezzling state funds into Swiss bank accounts? They were swept away by the next tide of the oncoming coup. What about the likes of our very own Mr Trott, who just knows about advertising? And that quite comprehensively , by all accounts.(I must admit that he writes rather a lot, and that all too frequently, for me to read.) Is there a little ray of hope for us mortals? If you study one of the sites you'll see that the man, who is in or is rapidly approaching his middle sixties, has an attractive wife (number 2) from Thailand it looks like.. or maybe the Philippines... and she looks... well very young. Their very good looking son is about 10. They make a really lovely family.

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A regional campaign from the West Midlands encourages a 'big drinking debate'

RE: Cadbury and Kraft shake hands on £11.5bn deal

I never liked the Midlands so happy to see them get annoyed about something else. Kraft is the umbrella for wonderful chocolates such as Terry's Chocolate Orange and Toblerone, so not thta far apart x

RE: UK faces Christmas tree shortage

Shropshire based internet business realchristmastrees.co.uk grows & fresh cuts trees to order from its farm in the West Midlands. It specialises in trees 10ft - 60ft mainly for the corporate and hospitality market. www.realchristmastrees.co.uk

How to reach 'hard to reach' groups?

I run a small but quite unique business offering a service of grave care and floral tribute deliveries within the Warwickshire and West Midlands areas of the U.K. Recently, my business - Still Remembered Grave Tending Services (www.stillremembered.co.uk) was voted a 'regional winner' for the West Midlands in the HSBC Startup Stars business competition. I have customers throughout the U.K and also in countries such as France, Germany, USA, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

Although I have a number of different target groups for my business, since starting in November 2006 I have had a consistent problem in really reaching those would benefit most from the service - specifically the housebound elderly and disabled.

I wondered if anyone could offer some suggestions as to how to reach this particular group of people to enable me to let them know of my services?

I have tried advertising in the usual ways - newspapers, magazines, parish magazines etc and have also had both articles and radio interviews on my service.

Any ideas would be welcome as I feel I have exhausted all avenues.

Many thanks

Mike   

Redundancies announced as Johnston Press restructures

LONDON - Regional publisher Johnston Press has announced plans to restructure the advertising departments within its Midlands division, resulting in the loss of up to 18 commercial jobs.

Read: Redundancies announced as Johnston Press restructures.

RE: 120 jobs to go as Midlands News Association cuts £3m in costs

Ooh, things are getting grim...

120 jobs to go as Midlands News Association cuts £3m in costs

LONDON - The business functions of the Wolverhampton-based Express & Star and the Shropshire Star are to be merged in a bid to slash costs by £3m with the loss of 120 jobs.

Read: 120 jobs to go as Midlands News Association cuts £3m in costs.

RE: Honey Monster returns in new Sugar Puffs spot

It could be like the old Vic n Bob sketch "Slade in Residence". Ozzy and Nod fighting over the Sugar Puffs in a West Midlands semi before the Honey Monster walks in pulling devil's horn signs.