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kippers
Most TV adverts in the rest of Europe are as follows: a closeup of a kipper, some footage of a happy family eating kippers and a little Buy Kippers jingle. Since the early 80s Britain has had the best adverts in the world, and the standards were initially set by the lager companies (at a time when everyone drank bitter). Who can forget the McEwans lager advert with slaves pushing balls up a never-ending hill to the music of Edinburgh band Win? Unfortunately some time in the 90s car adverts came to prominence and have stayed there more or less since. These adverts are normally humourless and often just a variation of a car speeding along an empty road in Scandinavia, or even worse, off-road on a mountain or something. So it has been something of a relief to see the recent Peugeot 1007 advert which segues between film and animation and is really very good and repeat-watchable. Hopefully it will stir the others.
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pop stars at Live8
Live8, as well as inexcusably casting an aura round Bill Gates, was frequently held up while pop stars and actors told us how momentous it all was and offered messages to the G8 leaders. This huge self-delusion of their importance in an era when nobody buys their records or in many cases recognises their faces was probably swallowed by a few hardy fans only. It compares badly with the modesty of stars in the 70s. Alvin Stardust and Les Gray of Mud, at the height of their powers and shifting huge numbers of records (Tiger Feet was the best selling single of 1974 and Mud hold the record for number of appearances on Top of the Pops), were in public information films about crossing the road safely; a useful and practical way of directing fame and influence.
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real time bus information
So, bus use is undergoing a renaissance, and contrary to some reports it's not just limited to inside the M25. Passenger numbers in York were up 18% in 2004 for example. The reasons are probably complex and best left to others, but we'd like to highlight a factor still in its infancy: real time information. Built into a few bus shelters in Nottingham, and all the tram stops, is a digital display of the minutes until the next one arrives calculated by a GPS reading of where it is currently. The worst part of bus travel, waiting, becomes a wholly different, and less anxious, experience. With the uncertainty removed, those waiting are free to read, peruse the traffic or wander off for a bit.
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