More Opinion articles

In the wake of ‘soda taxes’ – in which governments are seeking to address the huge rise in global obesity – the implications for the likes of Coke are huge – which is why it has launched a new charm offensive. But Coke’s latest campaign is yuck; pure corporate hokum says Dominic Mills, and the idea of it sponsoring a government health campaign is just as ridiculous.

Starcom MediaVest’s Steve Smith takes a look at the union between out-of-home and mobile and explains why it’s so important that brands optimise their mobile platforms.

Simon Andrews, founder of Addictive! this week talks about how mobile devices are being utilised across the globe and why brands should be embracing digital out-of-home advertising.

Broadchurch was a huge hit for ITV, says Richard Marks of Research the Media – but will it be able to replicate that success? Whatever happens, at least we’ve learned that rather than ‘the Internet’ proving to be a threat to TV, in many ways it is just what it has been waiting for: digital technology propagating a buzz around a show, and then giving people the means to join the party – a rolling stone gathering digital moss.

In his latest article, Aegis’ Jim Marshall talks about the five communication functions of advertising, what it is about Twitter that he finds underwhelming, and why the Pope couldn’t quite dismiss that finger lickin’ good ad proposal from KFC.

As Sir Alex Ferguson announces he is to retire as manager of Manchester United, Raymond Snoddy argues there are lessons business leaders can learn. Indeed, it is not even too fanciful to see comparisons in the way that Peter Fincham, ITV’s director of television, has built up an improving roster of programmes and executives. And after poaching BBC Four controller Richard Klein this week, his team is only getting stronger…

There’s a lot more to allocating ad budgets than just eyeballs, says Dominic Mills, and before any medium can increase its share of ad revenue it has to prove itself.

PepsiCo’s new Mountain Dew ad campaign has been described as ‘arguably the most racist ever’ by a leading black academic. The question is, asks Dominic Mills, how do such things happen? How can a savvy corporation like PepsiCo get it all so wrong?

As today’s websites become more sophisticated and as more consumers interact with brands on web pages to an ever greater degree, the need for marketers and senior members of a business’s management team to understand consumer behaviour in the digital space has never been more pronounced, explains Turn’s managing director, Pierre Naggar.

There are unavoidable failings of execution when it comes to mobile advertising – from bad links to bad optimisation – and in this ‘year of the mobile’, brands must think beyond the desktop past of digital advertising if they’re going to be successful. Campaigns need to be relevant and responsive to devices while respecting the consumer, and this can pose a real challenge for brands and publishers, explains Vibrant Media’s Sam Pattison.