So, now that their original "Take Courage" ad was banned, Wells and Young's brewers need to come with a new one.
I would suggest dropping the nice bloke they had on the picture from their campaign and use the guy who is in the most obvious need of some Courage - Gordon Brown.
Imagine a picture:
Gordon sitting at his desk in Downing street, looking slightly embarassed, lacking any confidence or conviction - in short, the way he usually looks.
In front of him, a letter starting with words "Sorry ..."
Or, maybe, a resignation letter ...
Or, at least, a document called "Calling an Early General Election".
A glass of beer on the desk. Text, in a speech bubble coming from a it, states "Take Courage My Friend".
That would sell quite a lot of beers, wouldn't it ?
What ? It is illegal to suggest that an alcoholic drink can change moods or enhance confidence ?
Ok then. Dump the beer from the ad as well. Just use the book Courage from the author on the picture.
If, as a result of the campaing, The Friend takes Courage, it probably won't help the brewers much, but can do wonders to the rest of the country...
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Good Governance
If there is one person that is grateful to GB these days, it must be Tony Blair. Being forced out of office last year, not only he has managed to escape almost unscatched politically (How many of us blame him, rather than GB, for all that happens now ? Would it be easy for him to dump all the blame for financial disaster on his chancellor, were he still in power ? I imagine the answers to these questions are "Not so many" and "Probably not, even for a master of spin like Tony" ), but it also allowed him to cash in on his ability to look and sound very smart while saying trivial things.
This is the details of his earnings since leaving office:
Þ Speaking fees: £2.5 million per annum
Þ Advance for memoirs: £4.6 million
Þ Advisory role with JPMorgan Chase: £2 million pa
Þ Advisory role with Zurich financial services: £500,000 pa
Þ Prime Ministerial pension: £63,468
Þ Allowance for private office: £84,000
Þ Contract to advise Kuwaiti leaders on good governance: £1 million
Total to June 2009: £15,894,936
Personally, I would not pay £1 to hear what Tony has to say or what Tony's biographers would write on his behald - but it's probably just me, as apparently there are a lot of people who think otherwise. And considering that, it is hardly surprising that JP Morgan and Zurich want to boost their credentials with the popular public by claiming to listen to Tony's advise.
Also, it would seem surprising that the taxpayer is asked to provide £150 K a year to accomodate a pensioner, who looks to be doing just alright without government taking care of him. But if we pay for Jacqui's bathplug, I guess it's ok to pay off half of Tony's mortgages - because as we've been told already, if somebody exploits the rules, the problem is with the rules rather than with people exploiting them.
But I find myself stunned with the last bit of Mr Blair's additional income.
Kuwaiti leaders paying £1 million to Tony Blair to be advised on good governing ?
Just trying to follow the line of thinking of a certain Kuwaiti leader:
"My country is one of the richest in the world per capita. I have the oldest directly elected parliament among Arab states. My people are generally happy and there is no discontent. But something is missing. How can I make sure I am a good governor ?
I'll probably have to ask somebody's advise.
Tony Blair ? Let's see.
After 10 year in power, the nation finances are in one of the worst conditions of civilised world. Huge parts of society are addicted to benefits. There are millions of illegal immigrants. Army is involved in two wars, which people of the country genuinely objected. In fact, to get involved in one of the wars, Blair had to lie to anybody who would listen.
Throughout 10 years of his rule, filled with monthly scandals of any imaginable sort, he could not control his own chancellor, and eventually succumbed to his pressure and left the office without completing the term for which he was elected.
Yes, that's the man. This is the one that I am going to ask about Good Governing" ...
This is the details of his earnings since leaving office:
Þ Speaking fees: £2.5 million per annum
Þ Advance for memoirs: £4.6 million
Þ Advisory role with JPMorgan Chase: £2 million pa
Þ Advisory role with Zurich financial services: £500,000 pa
Þ Prime Ministerial pension: £63,468
Þ Allowance for private office: £84,000
Þ Contract to advise Kuwaiti leaders on good governance: £1 million
Total to June 2009: £15,894,936
Personally, I would not pay £1 to hear what Tony has to say or what Tony's biographers would write on his behald - but it's probably just me, as apparently there are a lot of people who think otherwise. And considering that, it is hardly surprising that JP Morgan and Zurich want to boost their credentials with the popular public by claiming to listen to Tony's advise.
Also, it would seem surprising that the taxpayer is asked to provide £150 K a year to accomodate a pensioner, who looks to be doing just alright without government taking care of him. But if we pay for Jacqui's bathplug, I guess it's ok to pay off half of Tony's mortgages - because as we've been told already, if somebody exploits the rules, the problem is with the rules rather than with people exploiting them.
But I find myself stunned with the last bit of Mr Blair's additional income.
Kuwaiti leaders paying £1 million to Tony Blair to be advised on good governing ?
Just trying to follow the line of thinking of a certain Kuwaiti leader:
"My country is one of the richest in the world per capita. I have the oldest directly elected parliament among Arab states. My people are generally happy and there is no discontent. But something is missing. How can I make sure I am a good governor ?
I'll probably have to ask somebody's advise.
Tony Blair ? Let's see.
After 10 year in power, the nation finances are in one of the worst conditions of civilised world. Huge parts of society are addicted to benefits. There are millions of illegal immigrants. Army is involved in two wars, which people of the country genuinely objected. In fact, to get involved in one of the wars, Blair had to lie to anybody who would listen.
Throughout 10 years of his rule, filled with monthly scandals of any imaginable sort, he could not control his own chancellor, and eventually succumbed to his pressure and left the office without completing the term for which he was elected.
Yes, that's the man. This is the one that I am going to ask about Good Governing" ...
First robot Prime Minister
Today, telegraph has published a very encouraging story about the first ever robot supermodel been unveiled by Japanese engineers.
According to the reports, the robot costed around £1.4 million and has 30 motors in her body that allow her to walk and move her arms as well as eight motors on her face allowing her to create facial expressions such as anger and surprise. It means she can imitate the gait and pose of models.
The report highlighted the technology gap between Japan and United Kingdom, which had seen it's own artificial intelligence project, launched with much fanfare about a year ago, falling on hard times recently.
With costs of the project nearing £1 trillion, the robot aptly named Gordon Brown ( with initials GB highlighting not only the fact that it was invented by British scientists, but also that it has been subsidised by taxpayer money ), is fully incapable of creating any realistically looking facial expression, of showing any emotions or developing any kind of independent thinking.
When programmed by experienced engineers, it can alternate between simple sentences which are pronounced in reasonably convincing monotonic voice. However, the limitations of the system don't allow it to be re-programmed frequently, leaving robot to repeat same sentences for periods of up to 3-4 months.
As it's Japanese counterfeit, it was originally designed to be used to entertain visitors in amusements parks - however, as the cost of the project spiralled out of control, it was decided that the country can't afford to maintain it along with bearing the costs of running the government and the product was launched as a live version.
Many experts expressed doubts as to whether enough testing was performed and potential damage costs estimated before Downing street deployment took place. However, government authorities assured at the time that all the necessary precautions were taken.
After a tumultous year, during which the robot's shortcomings were well exposed, the experts agree that the robot completely lacks any self-learning capacity, which is thought to be a cornerstone of any successfully developing artificial intelligence.
Initially, the project was supposed to run for 2 years, until the summer of 2010, but now questions are raised whether the country can afford the obviously failed experiment to continue for another year.
According to the reports, the robot costed around £1.4 million and has 30 motors in her body that allow her to walk and move her arms as well as eight motors on her face allowing her to create facial expressions such as anger and surprise. It means she can imitate the gait and pose of models.
The report highlighted the technology gap between Japan and United Kingdom, which had seen it's own artificial intelligence project, launched with much fanfare about a year ago, falling on hard times recently.
With costs of the project nearing £1 trillion, the robot aptly named Gordon Brown ( with initials GB highlighting not only the fact that it was invented by British scientists, but also that it has been subsidised by taxpayer money ), is fully incapable of creating any realistically looking facial expression, of showing any emotions or developing any kind of independent thinking.
When programmed by experienced engineers, it can alternate between simple sentences which are pronounced in reasonably convincing monotonic voice. However, the limitations of the system don't allow it to be re-programmed frequently, leaving robot to repeat same sentences for periods of up to 3-4 months.
As it's Japanese counterfeit, it was originally designed to be used to entertain visitors in amusements parks - however, as the cost of the project spiralled out of control, it was decided that the country can't afford to maintain it along with bearing the costs of running the government and the product was launched as a live version.
Many experts expressed doubts as to whether enough testing was performed and potential damage costs estimated before Downing street deployment took place. However, government authorities assured at the time that all the necessary precautions were taken.
After a tumultous year, during which the robot's shortcomings were well exposed, the experts agree that the robot completely lacks any self-learning capacity, which is thought to be a cornerstone of any successfully developing artificial intelligence.
Initially, the project was supposed to run for 2 years, until the summer of 2010, but now questions are raised whether the country can afford the obviously failed experiment to continue for another year.
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