As I write this a group of my colleagues are huddled around a computer laughing out loud – but for once instead of watching someone fall flat on their face they are enjoying the new T-Mobile ad. On what is apparently the most depressing day of the year (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7836941.stm) the sight of hundreds of people getting down at Liverpool St station on a dull Thursday January morning is enough to cheer anyone up.

 For those who haven’t seen the ad it involves Liverpool St Station, hidden cameras, a booming musical montage (from hip hop to ballroom) and people who originally appear to be ordinary commuters gradually joining in to form one big gyrating dance troupe.

This stands out from other ‘live’ ads such as Honda’s Sky Dive as this time it doesn’t simply appear to be about showing off technique but actually engages audiences – both at the time and when shown on TV. Real commuters are fascinated and many start to join in with the dancing, or film on their cameras which, at the end of the day, is the whole point of the ‘life’s for sharing’ message.

Yes I know the flashmob thing has been done before before I think this brings a fresh take to the idea – and if nothing else it cheers up the most official most miserable day of the year. Check it out below and let me know what you think.

 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZrrbgCdYc

Having seen that Celebrity Big Brother pulled in 6 million viewers for the live launch and in excess of 3 million viewers for each episode since, I began to wonder who on earth are the people watching.
I thought that surely everybody would be by now, tired and bored of the whole concept of viewing so-called celebrities but apparently not.

To be fair they have put (and I expect payed a hell of a lot of money for) a few pretty decent characters in the house this year.
Heat radio updates me every hour of every day on who has done what, and who said what to who so I’m beginning to think even I, a reality TV hater, could perhaps tune in to see what all the fuss is about.

From what I’ve heard, Coolio has come across as the most interesting person, if only for his “nasty nick” characteristics. All the talk of who he has offended and made cry seems like it could actually be quite fun to watch! (cue evil laugh!)

Has anyone been watching? Any hilarious stories from the house? Is Coolio wrecking the show?

Hey Guys, wanted to take a minute and bring to your attention the launch of a newly designed TV advert that played live yesterday evening. 

The advertiser is Nokia 7610, and the aim is to get people from watching the TV Ad to, switch to watching the complete drama online, Web 2.0. The Ad is set to run in 10 different languages, with a constant feed of content.  

The TV spot introduces three characters Anna, Jade and Luca, starting with intrigue about one of them having listened to another’s voicemail and sets the scene for how their lives might unfold.  Fans will be able to learn everything about the characters through their text messages, photos, videos and calls on somebodyelsesphone.com, as well as signing up to their Facebook pages to have a more personal conversation.
The micro-site is supported by mobile content, interactive partnerships, widgets, Facebook pages, banner ads and a number of events in association with partners including Parisian boutique Colette.

This to me has always been what TV adverts should have been doing, using all platforms available to them, engaging their viewers with an initial taster of what is yet to come and grabbing viewers initial interest. Running a story across platforms, all areas of the mediums, and making sure that the rest of the story is available in full form online, building the buzz and most powerful ‘word of mouth’ on the street or maybe in the office. That then spurs unified action. To watch, engage and then hopefully react. With the end result, creating a loyal fan base, mini episodes of watchable content, that everyone is talking about?

Take the old Nescafe, BT couple, Daz  (that really is giving true meaning to the word Soap Opera) … building up traffic across all platforms, and showing TV is still a very powerful medium, in getting user numbers online, and then once there using a consortium of viral tools to engage the user more.

Anyways let’s see how successful this advert format is with the public… To be continued….

When Sky One brought back Gladiators this summer my first thought was “Amazing! Hot men in lycra. What’s not to love?”
Unsuprisingly the updated version failed to live up to expectations. (Rubbish presenters, too modern, no sign of Rhino anywhere)
Why was I interested in the return of this programme?
Well, as a child I wasn’t allowed to watch Gladiators and had to resort to sneaking in episodes at friends houses (It was deemed too ‘common’, as were burgers, monster munch, pot noodles and shell suits, to my utter disappointment) which elevated the programme to unattainable levels of glamour and excitement.

Which is why the anticipated return of The Krypton Factor to ITV makes me nervous because I desperately don’t want to be let down again!
Date yet to be confirmed, ITV is to bring back The Krypton Factor in its biggest ad-funded programming deal. The series ended in 1995 after an 18 year run and was dubbed “television’s toughest quizshow”. ITV said “The Krypton Factor will be given a 21st century makeover that will see the stakes become bigger, the competition harder and the pressure higher”.

Auditions are open now if any one fancies the challenge……

http://www.itv.com/Games/Gameshows/TheKryptonFactor/ApplicationForm/default.html

Flicking through my freeview box the other day I must of instantly dismissed watching at least 6 comedy shows, from the torturous ‘My Family’ to smug American sitcoms. Where is the fresh, exciting new comedy out there? Why am I forced to watch old classic DVD’s such as the genius of Chris Morris in Brass Eye and The Day Today over and over again?

There is some fantastic comedy out there if you look hard enough, but not enough. It seems when it comes to the mainstream, the BBC 1’s or ITV’s of this world would rather play it safe, leaving me to trawl through More 4 or BBC 3 & 4 to find some hidden gems.

Basically, what i’m trying to say is………………does anyone have any new comedy to recommend that I may of missed out on?

Saturday night saw the return of Strictly Come Dancing for its 6th series.
The show peaked at 8.83 million adult viewers which beat the viewing figures from last years first show as it only peaked at 7.89 million.

The 16 contestants and professional dance partners had to perform the Waltz or the Cha Cha Cha in front of the judging panel.
Phil Daniels aka ex-eastender ‘Kevin Wicks’ did his best to perform the Waltz with partner Flavia only to be the 1st couple voted off!

So how well will this series do in comparison to last year?
The BBC1 have done well to recruit beauties Rachel Stevens and Jodie Kidd to pull in a male audience but with Kelly Brooke and Alesha Dixon in Series 5, they have their work cut out!
For the ladies – Holby City heart-throb Tom Chambers was first out on the dance floor with “the confidence of a tomcat claiming his territory” according to judge Bruno Tonioli. Tom will surely keep the female ratings sky high as long as he stays in the competition…..

Who will keep you watching?

I am pleased to see that there is some interesting programming back on our screens again on Monday nights.  I’m not talking about ITV1’s Send In The Dogs (although those drug-sniffing pooches are incredible) but BBC1’s Dragons’ Den.  After watching the last three episodes it has occurred to me that the Dragons are investing more and more in people’s businesses than ever before. 

This is because most of the products that receive investment are then sold to consumers on the premise of “As Seen on Dragons’ Den…..”  None more so than the indie band Hamfatter, more misplaced than Theo Paphitis on Britain’s Got Talent, yet the band received investment from Peter Jones, and since then have achieved thousands of online downloads and are apparently set to sign to Simon Cowell’s SyCo Label.

Being that it looks easier than ever to achieve investment from the Dragons, what idea would you pitch to the Dragons to seek investment, and the chance to become a multimillionaire?  Now I’m sure no one is going to give their lifelong business idea away here but it would be interesting to know people’s thoughts on where there are gaps in the UK consumer market that could be exploited for investment from one of the five Dragons (but preferably not Duncan Bannatyne……)

To start proceedings here is the idea I would pitch to the Dragons.

Private Members Sports Bar called “12th Man” – You would think there are lots of these around but believe me there aren’t, sure there are sports clubs that will also have a TV in their bar to watch sport but I am talking about an upmarket Private Members Sports Bar that mixes business with watching Sport in the finest luxury.  A lot of people’s evenings revolve around watching sport and if you’re like me there are only so many nights you can stand in the beer-sodden hovels of Sports Cafe, Sirrocco and Cheers Bar…..I want a bar where I can always get a table no matter what the time and that is where 12th Man comes in, mixed with Poker Evenings, Race Nights and Betting Tipster seminars it will revolutionise the Private Members Sports Bar market.

So what’s your pitch to the Dragons?

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”

I note with a heavy heart that Big Brother 9 starts tonight.  Apparently the house is the biggest ever (oooh!), Big Brother more wiley than ever.  No doubt the contestants will be more mind-numbingly stupid than ever and Davina McCall more irritating than ever. 

After last year’s Celebrity BB racism row and lower ratings for the main series some predicted the programme’s demise.  But Channel 4 are adamant that there is still great demand for the show and that ratings are not their main concern anyway.

When Big Brother started, it was (like Davina) fresh, quirky and fun.  It was, without doubt, a good concept.  But it’s become little more than a freak show, churning out transient tabloid fodder at the expense of decent programming every night of the week.  No amount of cosmetic changes and hackneyed twists can disguise the fact that the format is tired.

Not all reality TV is bad.  The genre still has legs, the success of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ is testament to that.  As everyone knows, I’m a sucker for ‘The Apprentice’!  But please, please, no Big Brother 10.

Today the press has been full of talk about the new Honda ad airing tonight on C4 during Come Dine with Me. Following on from their headline grabbing ads, Cog and Grrr, Honda have gone one step further and are now throwing people out of planes in the name of promoting the brand!

Based on the widsom of Honda’s founder who is purported to have stated ‘difficult is worth doing’ (now the tagline used in the ads), the new ad features 19 skydivers attempting to form the word Honda in the air. The stunt will be shown ‘live’ and in ‘real time.’ Unless it rains. In which case a rehearsal jump filmed yesterday will be shown.

Of course this is all very innovative, publicity grabbing – and no doubt award winning- but do the car buying public really care that much? Do they appreciate the fact that the stunt is live? And is the reported £500k cost really worth it? I suppose the question should be - is difficult really worth doing?