Here’s something I came across while doing some research for a project this week.

Genius.

As those who know me will attest, I’m a glass half empty kind of guy, although I like to label it realism rather than pessimism. Anyway, it means that I have a soft spot for self deprecating humour, you know that very English under the radar sort of stuff.

I saw this on the tube the other day…

…and it made me think that negativity is underused in advertising. Ads always focus on positivity, sometimes to the point of arrogance or desperation, so it’s nice when they go the other way. Somehow it seems more sincere, even though it’s more contrived than ever. Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Bleak austerity Britain has had enough of Barry Scott shouting at them about how clean his pennies are.

Let’s think a little bit about Dixons for a minute. I can’t remember the last time I bought anything there, as everyone who knows their stuff buys the things they sell online instead. If you were the bosses of Dixons you must have been getting pretty worried recently as the whole retail experience moves into the ether, people flock to electricalbargainzRus.com and your stores sit there ironically eating up their own electricity.

I love the fact that someone really got under the skin of how people perceive stores like Dixons now and subverted it into a nice little well judged piece of despair.

And let’s not forget the past masters of the art, Marmite, who deserve some sort of advertising valour medal pinned to their chest for displaying adverts of someone actually vomiting their product.

Maybe it’s because I involuntarily dislike being sold to, or because I move in marketing circles, I can hear the squeal of the truth being stretched a mile off, but it feels like this sort of attitude gets through my defences much less opposed. I might not buy my next TV from Dixons but they made me smile. Perhaps I’ll buy a memory card or some blank CDs…

A new niche market for beach towels…

…results in an unsophisticated honeytrap operation by the local constabulary.

There’s a joke in here somewhere…

…well it made me laugh anyway. I thought it was an eggcorn, but no, it’s a malapropism.

If you missed last weeks’ exciting Apple media event where the new iPods and iTunes were launched, here’s everything you need to know.

Awesome.

I went a long to the private view of Wallpaper magazine’s Type Tart exhibition last night to see if my contribution had made the cut among some of the more well-known contributors.

The idea was to create a tart card – those things in London phoneboxes advertising *ahem* ‘personal services’ but dedicated to a typeface or letter of the alphabet. Lots of great *ahem* ‘entries’ there were too. I think the one below was my favourite…

Now I know I’m getting old as some were definitely a bit *ahem* ‘graphic’…

Click here to see all the pictures I took on the night.

You can also see all the entries and contributors on the Wallpaper website. There’s still a few days left to catch the show at KK Outlet, and it’s all in aid of the St Bride Library.

Oh, and yes, my design was in the show, even if nobody noticed it due to bad Feng Shui. That’s my excuse anyway…