[cue slow music and sensuous female voice] These are not just any baked beans…. these are M&S baked beans. … err .. No wait, sorry, they’re Heinz.

The sensuous-voiced food narrator is not mistaken. Following a successful 16 month trial, M&S are to roll out 400 branded products across 600 stores. These will include many of the top household names such as Coca Cola, Heinz, Kellogg and Marmite.

Despite their high standard when it comes to culinary delights (and those famously mouth watering ‘food-porn’ style ads), M&S have admitted that there were categories where “we could simply never compete”. Their chairman, Sir Stuart Rose, uses Tabasco as an example when talking to BBC Breakfast News: “You either have genuine Tabasco or fake Tabasco – which tastes awful….Our customers deserve the best and that’s what they shall get; without having to shop elsewhere.” Quite a turnaround for a company which until now has followed a strict own-label-only policy.

Finally! Now you can get a real can of Coca Cola with your M&S lunch and grab that impulse KitKat while standing in the queue! Even their chairman found the lack of such brands frustrating. It seems to be an obvious move and I wonder why it hasn’t been done sooner. Pricing will also be competitive. M&S plans to combat the perception of their high pricing with an advertising campaign comparing prices to Waitrose.

However, I have to say that I’ve grown to respect M&S’s stance on own-brands. I think it served to enhance the impression of exclusivity and quality communicated in their food ads, and you knew where you were with them. Also, is 400 brands enough? Waitrose have already hit back saying that M&S “does not have 1,200 comparable lines”.

Only time will tell. Anyway, what does it matter if there are brand gaps when only M&S have Percy Pigs!

Has anyone had a look at WolframAlpha yet? I’ve just had a look at the intro video, and in a geeky way it looks like it should be amazing! The goal is to “make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone”.  It’s in very early stages on first look seems groundbreaking.

Despite its search style functionality, it’s not actually a search engine. It’s a “computational knowledge engine”, which uses its internal knowledge base rather than searching the web. The variety of information is vast; nutritional information, geographical facts and figures, comparisons, financial info. The list goes on. It’s easy to see what a difference this will make once this really gets going. Mundane and hard to find facts will be there at our fingertips. No more sieving through countless links on Google. AQA will be left to deal with the stupid questions like “is that barman single” or “what should I call my dog”.

Try typing in your birthday. You’ll then know exactly how many days and seconds you have been in existence. (Although it did say “no known major notable events” for my birth date, so it obviously has a long way to go).

Go and have a gander. Prizes for the most interesting random fact! (or not)

Yep, frighteningly enough it’s that time of year again. The Oxford/Regent Street lights have been switched on, Take That are in M&S ads, and everyone’s gearing up for a month of solid alcohol and food consumption. Christmas is a-coming! [hohoho!]

This year I’m determined to try and get a bit more organised with my present buying. However, the thought of braving the busy high streets is making me shudder. So, I was intrigued when our one and only Emily Rich told me she has already completed her entire Christmas shopping in one fell swoop… entirely on the internet! Good work – an inspiration!

Right, so let’s get started! DVDs and CDs are always nice and easy. I’ve also done some ebaying… although I have to admit, despite feeling self-satisfied by my thriftiness, I do wonder if it takes away a bit of the sparkle. (Don’t worry, it’s not second hand – I’m not THAT stingy!)

Anyway, it just got me thinking…. in this day and age, how many of us are comfortable with buying the majority of our presents online? (Oh… and what are your favourite online shops – I need some ideas!)

I prayed for a pony when I was a little girl. It never came. I prayed for a free holiday to Hawaii. It never came. I prayed (along with others) for Cheryl Cole to guest appear at our BJK&E Christmas party… it’s not looking likely. Is there no one up there looking out for me?! It’s enough to make a girl an Atheist for God’s sake (sorry!)

I just wish there was some other form of reassurance I could turn to. Well, come January, there will be, in the form of a controversial bus campaign around London Town. The Atheist Bus Campaign, launched yesterday, with a  target of raising £5,500 through donations on its site – this morning it had reached over £50k!  They intend to run 30 of CBS Outdoor’s buses across the capital for four weeks with the slogan: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” This will be the UK’s first ever atheist advertising campaign.

It all seems a little light-hearted, and by their own admission is intended to brighten everyone’s day on the way to work. But does it raise a more serious debate about mixing advertising and religion? Is an atheist advertising campaign more offensive than a religious one?

http://www.justgiving.com/atheistbus

Did anyone see the new TV ad for Heinz? It features two men kissing! HOW SHOCKING!!! That’s not me speaking, but the 200 people who complained the over the next few days. It seems most complaints (according to the Daily Mail, naturally) were from parents who were subsequently forced to explain same-sex relationship to their children. A tricky job, but then isn’t it a case of sooner rather than later? You can only shield children to an extent from the world around them, and wouldn’t this have to be explained at some point anyway?

Despite deliberately creating this potentially controversial advert, in response to these complaints Heinz quickly buckled and removed the ad. But you can’t please everyone. By removing this ad they have aroused the wrath of the gay community, with gay rights group Stonewall, and Gaydar condemning the brand as “gutless” and “homophobic”. The two groups are now calling for a gay-boycott (never has the phrase felt so appropriate), amongst the 3.6million strong UK community.

The ASA is now in the tricky process of deciding whether the ad is offensive or unsuitable for children enough to be banned.

But hang on, I think we need to get our priorities straight here! There’s something in this debate no one has mentioned… BEANS MAKE YOU FART!! Isn’t that just so much more offensive?!

To quote Jean-Paul ‘off-of’ Hollyoaks last night: “Gay is the new black”

On one hand we get told how we are becoming an ever more unshockable society, desensitised by ever increased violence, sex, drugs (and of course rock n roll) in the media around us. Yet 2007 experienced the highest ever number of advert complaints (a total of 14,080) according to ASA.

Coming out top was the Department of Health with their “Get unhooked” advert aimed at getting people to quit smoking, which prompted 774 complaints. Running on TV, press, internet and posters the campaign was unmissable, and certainly seemed to create a stir! Those who complained said the adverts were offensive, frightening and distressing. Don’t worry – you won’t be chased by a real fishing hook piercing your cheek! They just want you to drop the cancer stick! I have to admit it made me shudder and feel uncomfortable, but then don’t we need more shocking tactics like this when it comes to changing people’s perceptions and behaviour on topics like this?

On a lighter (and rounder) note, the 10th most complained about advert was awarded to the Sun for their bus T-side campaign, with page 3 girl Keeley promoting the new 20p cost of the paper. I actually worked at CBS outdoor at the time, who surprisingly have a rather stringent copy approval process. The 10p pieces were originally considerably smaller when copy was first submitted… these complainers should be grateful that there are these measures in place – I’m sure the original nipple-clad buses would have ranked this ad higher in the complaints chart!

I have to admit I was a little slow on the uptake, having only watched the first series a month ago on loan from Mr. Fineman. I also didn’t actually realise the second helping of superhero excitement was just around the corner until Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) was on Chris Moyles’ breakfast show this morning. Thank god it wasn’t too late! My only concern is how I’m going to cope with just one dose a week. Shows like Heroes, (and 24) are best watched by boxsets, when you are involuntarily compelled to get through at least 3-4 episodes in a row. And that’s on a light night. I guess I’ll just have to contain my excitement.

This may be controversial, but did anyone else find the last episode a bit dissatisfying after such a great build up? Although inevitably they left enough cliffhangers to carry our curiosity over to the new series. What happens to Hiro? Will Sylar come back somehow? What about Peter and Nathan? Well, as Chris Moyles pointed out this morning, it’s a bit of a giveaway that Milo is talking about filming the new series. More Peter Petrelli is fine by me! I just really hope it doesn’t turn into another Lost  that spirals into a rambling, unresolved mess of twists and milked plots.

Either way I’ll be watching. Season 2 starts this Thursday (24th April) on BBC2 at 9pm.

HIRO!!!!

Mmmm… chocolate. One of my favourite things on the planet. So I couldn’t help noticing Cadbury in Media Week’s brand barometer, following the most recent “glass-and-a-half production”. The new ad broke on 30th March, days after Terminal 5 opened its doors. I have to admit the first time I saw it I did think it was an attempt by BA to make the chaos seem more appealing, making light of losing luggage by blaming it on those cheeky trucks running riot after hours. Bad timing indeed. But how did “Trucks” fair against it’s precursor? According to BrandIndex, while our old friend Gorilla Collins pushed Cadbury’s “buzz” up 5 points, the racing airport vehicles have not managed to keep up the buzz-mentum, (two points down since the ad debuted). Oh dear. Maybe this chocolate factory is getting a bit too willy-wonky for their own good! Whatever happened to the old self-indulgent, tongue flicking, mmm-I’m-making-love-to-my-chocolate kind of ads, a la Flake? Oh yeah, they’re back. Except with the obscenely irritating Joss Stone. Mind you, at least the new Flake ad makes me want to eat chocolate, although not in the direct way I imagine they hoped. Rather, I’m so wound up with annoyance but that idiot prancing around on my TV that I crave a hit of cocoa to curb the anger! If you ask me, Aero have the right idea in getting girls to drool over a chocolate ad – put the confectionary in front of a half naked Smith from Sex and the City. Mmmm indeed!