This new Social Media thing has been on the rise for nearly a decade, so much so sports stars have taken to using it. But the ultimate pat on the back for the simple way Social Media makes interacting is even professional footballer’s get it. Phil Neville and Seamus Coleman recently had an argument on Twitter (possibly in jest), and Rio Ferdinand & Wayne Rooney nearly fell out over Rooney’s recent hair transplant, again on Twitter.

But now it seems a footballer is using Social Media for good, well, some good. Owen Hargreaves has been beset by injury for the best part of 5 years. He was released by Manchester Utd this summer and is currently without a club. In an effort to prove to the footballing world his fitness, Hargreaves has created his own Youtube channel and is updating it daily with videos of him going through his (very tough) paces. A personal favourite is this one showing him sliding around with some weird contraption attached to his wrists and thighs. Very strange.

Hargreaves bucks the trend for most footballers and actually comes across as a nice guy, so I for one hope he is fully recovered and makes a return to a top Premiership team (preferably Arsenal) and the England squad. Watch this space for updates.

C&A’s new ad with Beyonce aired for the first time last night. The timing of the ad, and the announcement of her new clothing range with C&A, couldn’t have come at a better time to draw attention away from the furore over Beyonce’s banned ad for her new fragrance “HEAT”. The ad, which shows Beyonce in a number of provocative poses, has been banned from being aired during the day by the ASA. As you can see from the video below it’s not appropriate for everyone but I can guarantee half the population will enjoy it – the other half might buy the perfume.

It’s not the first time sex, or the implication thereof, has been used to sell a product and it certainly won’t be the last. But whereas ads such as the viral for agent provocateur (see below) have an element of humour to them, Beyonce’s ad is as subtle as a brick.

Do you think the usually homely C&A  are overly impressed with Beyonce’s new controversy?

Beyonce

Agent Provocateur

In February Microsoft overtook Google for total unique visitors in the 15 – 34 female age bracket.* Microsoft have been in second place to Google for the last few years so this is quite an achievement and probably in no small part due to Microsoft’s recent advertising campaign for Bing, their new search engine. Has anyone been swayed by Microsoft’s Bing? Personally I’ve not found Bing as user friendly or as fluid as Google who specialise in search engine activity.

The stats however extend to more than just the respective search engines, they include the whole network of properties owned by Microsoft and Google. Are Microsoft about to challenge Google for internet supremacy or have Google just had a blip at reaching 15 – 34 women (Google held their position as No.1 in other demographics)? Watch this space…

*Source: Comscore.

Soundtracks can make or break a film, and some are obviously better than others…

I for one am very much looking forward to seeing the new Martin Scorsese flick Shutter Island. After the warranted success of his last film, The Departed in 2006, I believe Shutter Island will keep up his usual standards in delivering exceptional pieces of modern cinema. His collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed & now Shutter Island) always seem to portray both lead and director as two artists at the top of their games.

More important to this piece however is Scorsese’s ability to deliver amazing soundtracks. A brief glimpse at his back catalogue (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino and the above mentioned – especially The Departed) not only brings to mind scenes of greatness but also the songs that accompany said scenes – Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb fading in and out during a tense scene in The Departed for example.

I have listed below, in no particular order, my top 10 movie soundtracks. Feel free to comment / leave your own list.

Gladiator
Top Gun
Kill Bill v.1 & 2
Empire Records
Rocky IV
Pirates of the Caribbean (Curse of the Black Pearl)
Star Wars (original trilogy)
The Departed
Human Traffic
Apocalypse Now

This week it has come to light that the 1984 Video Recordings Act was never enacted. Most of you will ask, “so what? I’ve never heard of it.” Well you should have.

The act prohibits the sale of ‘adult’ material (eg. 18 rated films) to minors.

Apparently the Home Office in 1984 failed to notify the European Commission of the existence of the Act despite being required to do so under an EU directive. The mistake was not spotted on two subsequent occasions, in 1993 and 1994. As a consequence, effective immediately, police are being told to halt any existing, and to not bring any new, prosecutions for selling ‘adult’ material to minors until the Government passes emergency legislation to re-enact the 1984 Act.

Until then, retailers will be able to sell ‘adult’ material to under-18s without fear of prosecution.

Obviously the larger retailers, especially those in the Entertainment Retail Association (ERA), have vowed not to benefit from the news. Kim Bayley the director general of the ERA said “We are of course surprised that this news has come to light, but we are confident that all ERA members will act responsibly – and will continue to ensure inappropriate material does not get into the hands of children. However, I can’t speak on behalf of smaller video and video games retailers who aren’t ERA members.”

Kids must be having the best summer holidays ever…

Youtube has been a big part of our lives for many years now. Whatever the use for it, UGC, comedy, adult material, etc, we all have a selection of videos we can show friends or family that will make us happy, laugh or cry (and in some cases all three). So what are your three favourite YouTube videos / moments? In no particular order my three favourites are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_og14JAlBk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMS0O3kknvk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8t7iSGAKik

Yesterday, after weeks of searching, I finally found a source of the new flavours of Walkers crisps (the shop on the ground floor in our building – the closest shop to our office, d’oh). For the uninitiated the new flavours are as follows, Builder’s Breakfast, Cajun Squirrel, Crispy Duck & Hoisin, Fish & Chips, Chilli & Chocolate and Onion Bhaji.

Walkers have been pushing six new flavours recently, the public are being asked to vote for their favourite and the winner will be added to the Walkers range indefinitely. Unfortunately the shop downstairs didn’t have onion bhaji in stock so we could only sample, and savour, 5 of the new flavours. After doing this I would surmise that unless the onion bhaji flavour is the greatest crisp ever to be invented, or at the very least mildly palatable, the winning flavour will not adorn the shelves of the Walkers distributor for long. In running order of best (or at least not vomit inducing) to worst I would rank them as follows:

1. Crispy duck
2. Cajun squirrel
3. Builders breakfast
4. Chilli & chocolate
5. Broken glass & razor blades
6. Fish & chips

The fish and chips flavour initially hits you with a smell similar to Maldon sea front after the fishing trawlers unload their haul. The flavour explodes on the palate like a raw fish sandwich with fish paste as the filling. Needless to say nobody had more than a single crisp and there were certainly no enquiries as to seconds. Crispy duck was the best, most went back for a second try, but, like the others, it left a strange after taste akin to old gym socks.

Of the people I’ve spoken to about these new flavours (seven) nobody has liked them. Surely we have to say this is a stunt to increase sales short term and may affect brand positioning in the long term; I for one will not be moving away from Kettle Chips any time soon.

How does one come to terms with the loss of a loved one? Some mourn silently and quickly before moving on with their lives. Others swiftly take themselves to the bottom of a bottle and remain there, loudly and incomprehensively, for an extended period of time. Here at Maxus we believe there’s scope for both methods or another somewhere in between. Hence the huge party we threw for a much loved member of the Bloomsbury way crew – our receptionist Natalie Grout who flew to Brazil today for 6 months of haute couture travelling. Maxus, and friends, turned out in force at Guanabara off Drury lane and celebrated Natalie’s tenure with us. Natalie always brightened our already bright reception and was warm and welcoming to clients, reps and even perfect strangers.

But now it’s time to move on. Natalie has been replaced by the very lovely Katie Davis who is young, enthusiastic and she plays video games – to quote an absent member of our team, winner winner chicken dinner! We’re all looking forward to working with Katie. The queen is dead…long live the queen!

nat-vs-katie - Check them out here…

Please leave your goodbyes (to Nat) or hellos (to Katie) below.

Friday marked the release of one of the most anticipated games for this next generation of consoles; Street Fighter IV. Based on the 1991 release, Street Fighter II, and incorporating new 3D rendered backgrounds, this new iteration promises to be the best fighting game for….well, since 1991.

One of our members, the Wagbat, threw an early hat into the ring today when he claimed “Street Fighter is the greatest multiplayer franchise of all time”. This started a huge debate and therefore required a blog and a pole. Personally I would love to disagree with Waggy-Waggy-Woo out of principle. However, the usual suspects (Mario Kart, Goldeneye, Call of Duty, Left for Dead) don’t quite reach the levels of this staple from our past, and now, once again, our present.  Leave your thoughts below if you think we’re wrong or have missed any huge franchises past or present.

Movember finally came to an end in the BJK&E offices (and everywhere else). Using the pretence of a raffle, we raised a whopping £88 for prostate cancer and gave away some ‘amazing’ prizes; the following all went to the lucky Kate Rigby…Paul Weller CD, flip-flops, baseball toy binoculars, inflatable guitar, ski and snowboard holiday brochure and a bottle of champagne. Ian Richmond won second prize – a lovely bottle of Sainsbury’s finest (basics range) Lambrini, the lucky chap!

There were also some awards for this years participants:

The biggles award went to Andrew Kingston for looking like a WWII fighter pilot.

The facial hair of the day award went to Matthew Waghorn (everyday) for his varied approach to Movember (and facial hair in general).

The A for effort award sadly went to Patrick Lindon who, despite trying really hard, didn’t manage to push out more than a light down on his top lip.

The confused.com award went to Daniel Parkinson for growing blond top lip hair despite all other hair on his face, head and body being brown. Weird.

Photos of our final efforts can be found below. Comment if you want, we don’t care anymore, just happy to rid our faces of such a disgusting blight. Who grows a moustache for any reason other than charity!? Buffoons, that’s who.