IN THE POCKETS
The clear winners of our upcoming Olympic Games are the corporate sponsors, many inappropriate for the stated mission of the event, which is to promote world peace….

DOWN WITH BANKS
Bankers continue to slide down the popularity pole with the revelations that Barclays massaged the Libor interest rate, at which banks lend to each other, in their….

NO PROTECTION
Fraud, using telemarketing has flourished as the number of marketing calls and text calls has climbed to more than16 million a day, according to a recent Panorama….

CORRUPTION AT SAINSBURY’S
A potato buyer at Sainsbury’s has been jailed for four years for taking £2.5 million in bribes from a potato supply firm. John Maylam admitted enjoying lavish hospitality….

SILVER LINING
The current recession, caused by bankers, is a silver-lined cloud for German discount stores Lidl and Aldi as more middle-class Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose….

PASS IT AROUND
Readers are reminded that an ever-popular scam is still being pumped out to anybody selling anything. This works on the basis of asking the victim to bank a cheque….

PARADISE ABOVE LONDON BRIDGE
One new 2013 possibility for some top hospitality in the London Bridge area is the planned Shangri-La Hotel at the 1016 – foot (310 metres) 70-storey Shard building….

ILL-ADVISED?
Leaflets featuring images of people who had wet themselves were used to promote a summer sale for store group Harvey Nichols, using the strap line “Try to contain…. 

FRANKLY THINKING
The recent unprecedented rise in the cost of postage has hit businesses hard, but pensioners and other vulnerable groups even harder, courtesy of the industry….

BOOTS CON PENSIONERS
Marketeers at Boots have told millions of pensioners that the loyalty benefits on their Advantage cards have been “upgraded” when in fact they have been downgraded….

ADVANCE FEE FRAUDS STILL ACTIVE
Enough UK business types are still gullible enough to make the advance fee frauds worth chancing, it seems. An example is the letter recently received from….

CONSCIENCE BEFORE ACCOUNTANCY
Latest firm to be censured for legal tax avoidance is SABMiller, brewers of Grolsch and Peroni beers. According to Ethical Consumer magazine research from ActionAid….

LESS PRODUCT, SAME PRICE (OR MORE.)
Supermarkets are now selling smaller packs for the same price, or more, in the quest for profits, according to Which? the consumer’s association….

LATTE NOTICE
Wetherspoons fans who love the group’s quality Lavazza coffee at 69 pence a cup have recently been a bit let down over the sudden cancellation of the coffee collectors….

ANOTHER GOOD ONE FOR WATCHDOG
Another worthwhile target for acid Annie Robinson and her Watchdog team would be their employers, the BBC. For years now their TV Licensing division has employed….

BANKER’S DRAUGHTS
A chill wind continues to blow through the disgraced banking sector, the latest manifestation being the punishment of grubby Barclays, headed by very well paid….

RUPERT BARED
The media Murdochs must be as popular as bankers. This is going by the elation that has greeted a pub landlady winning the legal right to bypass Murdoch’s Sky high….

AVON LIE TO SELL
Claims by cosmetics firm Avon that they do not test their products on animals have been exposed as lies by animal welfare group Uncaged….

FUNDING THE BONUS PAYMENTS?
An ad from the Royal Bank of Scotland which claimed it would never close a branch if it was the last one in town has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority….

LET THEM WAIT
Call centres beloved of some marketeers are being targeted by a new phone app that only puts its users through to the call dialled when someone at the other end….

BENT TWITS
The Advertising Standards Authority is probing a stunt by Mars to promote its Snickers bar on Twitter. Reportedly Mars paid Rio Ferdinand, Ian Botham, Katie Price and….

DO YOU KEN, KEN?
Another moral compass is needed, it seems, for former London mayor Ken Livingstone. Our Ken, who has described tax avoiders as “rich bastards” who “don’t get it”….

RUFF IDEA
News that Barkers, makers of dog food has screened a TV ad with a high frequency sound that only canines can hear has been met with some scepticism. After all….

SOFA KING INTELLECTUAL
Meanwhile an ad by furniture firm Sofa King which stated that its prices were “Sofa King Low” has been banned by the ASA for being offensive….

CHEAP LUNCH
Arguably proving that corporate hospitality works Private Eye and others have revealed that HM Revenue and Customs boss, Dave Hartnett, dined rather well with top types….

WRONG TRACK
News that train fares are to rise again this year, at more than the rate of inflation, has coincided with the revelation that fares in the UK are up to ten times more than those….

SIR DAVE AND THE BBC FAKE IT
Sad to note that trusted and respected presenter Sir David Attenborough has blotted his integrity copybook, again, as has the BBC….

EAT YOUR MEAT
The French government has decreed that all schoolchildren have to eat meat if they want to have a school lunch, and bringing a packed lunch as a vegetarian….

WHAT’S YOUR POISON?
Fake vodka containing anti-freeze ingredients that can cause blindness has been seized by trading standards officers in the run-up to Christmas….

TESCO PULL IT OFF
Tesco marketing tactics seem to be aimed at customers who really do believe everything they read….

MORE SUPERMARKET CONS
Other cons rely on customer misconceptions, according to a recent Panorama TV documentary, The Truth About Supermarkets….

FOODIE TREATS
News that Nigella Lawson declared her love for salted caramel by having it poured over her head and photographing the creepy result for the front cover of a magazine she….

GET THE BOYCOTT LIST
The latest issue of Ethical Consumer magazine focuses on the effect of boycotts of products and services over the last 20 years and offers a list of all the on-going….

BARCLAYS WORST
Barclays was the UK’s worst bank, going on the number of complaints, in the first six months of this year, say the Financial Services Authority (FSA)…

PARCEL SCAM
With Christmas fast approaching the frequency of the Undelivered Parcel Scam will be increasing. As most readers will know this is where we receive emails, or cards….

IMAGE PROBLEM
A basic annual salary of £1 million is “very low”, according to Sir Martin Sorrell, head of advertising agency WPP….

SEXUALISATION
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is introducing tough new rules governing racy and provocative images on billboards, which are claimed to have the effect….

FTC BUTTS IN
Trainer makers Reebok have been fined 25 million dollars (£16 million) in the USA by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for falsely claiming that their EasyTone….

TOP TASTES FOR XMAS
A recent blind tasting by a team at foodie magazine Delicious found that some of the cheapest Christmas fare available tasted the best, after tasting 121 samples….

TWEET TOO FAR
Sending helpful tweets can be bad for your wealth, it seems. The £60,000 a year head of Greewich Tourism, Neil McCullam, told his fellow twitters about a trip he was….

SMELLS REET TASTY
A new fragrance, Eau de Burton has been launched containing notes of products associated with Burton-on-Trent….

OSCARS FOR THEM
Full marks to Ken Livingstone for revealing that the official signing of the host city contract for next year’s London Olympics by Sebastian Coe and the IOC was just….

ABBREVIATION HELL
On February 28 at Earls Court 2 marketeers can visit three exhibitions, TFM&A, OA&A and DMX….

WE STILL HATE BANKERS
There is still deep-seated public anger against the banks three years on from the financial crisis caused by their greed and stupidity, and from which the taxpayer…

AND ENERGY COMPANIES
Following close behind the bankers on the hate list are energy companies, which are currently coming across as very customer-unfriendly….

PRAISE FOR THE PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETEERS
The fact that our family doctors now write three times more prescriptions for antidepressants than thirty years ago is mainly due to the very clever marketing of…

FEES RACKET TO BE STOPPED, BUT NOT FOR POLICE
The lucrative gravy train in fees paid by predatory ambulance-chasing lawyers to insurance companies for the names of those involved in accidents is to be derailed….

BT NOT BACKING BRITAIN
Those impressed with BT’s patriotic new directories proclaiming “Backing Britain For Generations” have been rather less impressed to discover they are being printed….

NO LONGER A TRUSTED VOICE?
Google has acquired Zagat, a publisher of independent restaurant guides, to milk more advertising from restaurants….

HARD CHEESE OR SOUR GRAPES?
Tesco have been fined £10 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) who say that the supermarket chain colluded with other supermarkets and suppliers to fix the price….

MORE BANG FOR BUCK WITH STELLA
A total of 285,000 bottles of the new Cidre cider from Stella Artois have been recalled by the company following some bottles bursting and causing minor injuries….

ON STUFFING THE JONESES
Up to 40% of Brits booking holidays did so to better one that a friend, family member or work colleague had been on….

BRAND LICENSING EUROPE EXHIBITION
The above takes place October 18-20 at Olympia, London and features 230 exhibitors offering more than 2,000 properties and nine free seminar sessions….

IT’S US WOT DUN IT
Politicians are lining up to crow that Rupert Murdoch and his poodles are bending to the will of Parliament, when in fact it was public disgust and revulsion at the targets for….

LIFE GETS TOUGHER, FOR MOST
The disposable income of families continues to fall as costs of energy and fuel continue to rise, something that consumers are powerless to stop….

CELEBRITY IN MARKETING A GOOD REASON NOT TO BUY?
Marketeers using celebrities such as Esther Rantzen, June Whitfield, Cilla Black and Gloria Hunniford have come under fire recently….

STAY IN UK TREND GROWING
More than one third of Britons will be shunning overseas travel and will holiday in the UK this year, a figure up by 10% on 2010….

GOURMET GRUB AT OLYMPICS Good to note that the organisers of our 2012 Olympics are promoting to the world our growing reputation for top quality cuisine….

BUYING THE DREAM IN JAPAN
Marketeers at Japanese confectionery firm Ezaki Glico have been forced to admit that the new 16-year-old member of very young girl band AKB 48 they depicted to sell….

EVERYONE DOES IT?
Do the management of Iceland stores know the difference between “half price” and “buy two get one free”? ….

CHAMPAGNE, CAVA, PROSECCO OR MERRET?
A campaign to name British dry sparkling wines “Merret” has launched to recognise the claim that what drinkers of champagne (French), Cava (Spanish) and Prosecco….

ECOMMERCE EXHIBITION
The eCommerce Expo event takes place on October 11-12 at Olympia, London….

HONOURED
Edifying to note that the likeable Sir David Attenborough has collected another honorary degree without having to have studied at the University, in this case St Andrews….

ALL CREDIT TO VISA
Some light has been shed, by the Daily Telegraph, on why credit card firm Visa might have been so keen to become the official card for the Olympics, courtesy of the….

JUSTICE ON A BUNG?
Good to note that the ludicrous gagging orders awarded to the undeserving by all the Mr Justice Noddies are being rendered useless by the publication of identities on….

MORE GREEDY BANKERS
Bankers, arguably now less popular than paedophiles, continue to fill their boots while still being financially supported by, er, us….

CLEAN-UP FOR DETERGENT SECTOR
Proctor and Gamble and Unilever have been fined a total of E315 million by the European Commission (EC) for fixing the price of washing powder….

BUY ONE, GET TWO, THROW ONE AWAY
Food waste, said to total a value of £6 billion a year or £680 per average family, is being tackled by the government in plans to scrap “best before” dates in favour of “eat by”….

BAD MEDICINE
Doctors are continuing to screw their patients with premium-rate telephone numbers, with those phoning for appointments being charged up to 41 pence per minute….

WEAK WINE OR STRONG CIDER?
Buyers at the lower- alcohol end of the wine market are switching to ciders as the recession deepens. (Off Licence News)….

BARCLAY’S MUGS
Those marketeers in the business of giving business gifts will know that some items can definitely give an unfortunate impression in some cultures….

TAINT OF GADDAFI
UK academia has become the first casualty of links to dictator Col Gaddafi, as he and his sons struggle to preserve their lucrative hold in Libya….

FIDDLING THE BOOKS
An investigation into possible price-fixing of ebooks has commenced following revelations that some cost double the price of the paperback versions. One….

LABELLING FIDDLES
Food producers, retailers and restaurants are taking advantage of the fact that there is no agreed definition of the word “local” – an aspect that is increasingly sought by….

TELEVISION CONTINUES DOWNWARD SLIDE
Regulator Ofcom is allowing TV channels to interrupt films and single dramas with up to 12 minutes of advertising every hour, the same as for soaps. This is against the….

EVERY FIDDLE HELPS?
Latest shot in Tesco’s gripping price war with Asda is a promise to refund twice any saving in price on a “comparable shop” that shoppers can prove they would….

NICE ONE JOHN
Meanwhile the John Lewis chain are coming across as equally slippery with their back-tracking on their 86-year-old “Never Knowingly Undersold” guarantee to refund….

WHAT PRICE BRAND LOYALTY?
Proving that shoppers who just fill up their trolley at one supermarket, as all the supermarkets love them to, are seriously paying over the odds, we recently did a….

GRUB UP
If marketing is all about filling a need then the latest publication from restaurant experts Hardens will hit the spot with many parents….

BANKERS TO BUGGER OFF?
So where do the UK’s marketeers stand on the increasingly popular sport of banker-bashing? ….

DO AS WE DO?
Impressed, we were, with the Daily Telegraph advertisement for Daily Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer’s book Strictly English, apparently “perfect for anyone….

THE FUTURE’S ORANGE?
The delightful Olympic sport of ambush marketing is under threat again as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seeks to protect those who give large sums….

SLEAZY MARKETING AT LAND ROVER
Land Rover have paid 40 celebrities to write about their Range Rovers on social networking site Twitter….

QUICK SELL
Advertisers are developing TV ads that can be understood if run at up to 12 times the normal speed….

TV TURN-OFFS
Meanwhile the rise of reality TV shows is one main reason why 70% of over-55s claim that TV today is not worth the licence fee (YouGov poll)….

SUPERMARKETING
Savvy shoppers are learning that their perception of larger packs being cheaper is costing them money….

CUSTOMER CARE FROM TRAIN OPERATOR
Southeastern Trains have been accused of cancelling hundreds of trains during the recent cold weather, to avoid paying the compensation to their customers that is due….

TIGER AD A TURKEY
Gillette have dumped disgraced golfer Tiger Woods and a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with him….

WORLD BEATER
One way of saving on the marketing budget is to produce a product or service that demonstrably outclasses everything else around….

REINDEER ROAST, KIDS?
German budget supermarket chain Lidl have been accused of destroying the magic of Christmas by selling reindeer steaks….

TFMA
The Technology For Marketing and Advertising (TFMA) exhibition takes place on March 1/2 at Earls Court 2….