Ad hoc

A few things have changed in the last little while. I got laid off, my Mac died, and I'm flatsitting and haven't figured out - through sheer laziness - the PVR here. All of which means I've been watching a lot more TV ads than I usually do. And as the economy heads off the plank, the ads have been an interesting pointer to who's feeling the heat.

Boots have the most visible campaign. They're carpet-bombing - at least one, often two spots per break, on what seems to be every channel going. They're good, too - there can't be anyone left who doesn't think Boots when 'Here Come The Girls' plays. It's a smart choice of song - I imagine it's doing sterling service in the nation's office parties, reinforcing the brand every time.

Beyond that, Boots have a great proposition this Christmas. They sell useful stuff that doesn't feel needlessly opulent - nicer versions of the stuff you'd buy anyway. Which, if you're feeling squeezed, is exactly the sort of present you want to give and receive.

(Oh, and - ITV are running, pretty heavily, a promo with the same music. I wonder if Boots are paying them. If not, why not? And if so, is that allowed?)

Unlike every perfume manufacturer. Perfume's big at Christmas, of course, but there's a topnote of desperation this year.

Carling know it's important to check their barley themselves. And there was me, thinking grain was a freely traded commodity, on the grounds of it all being exactly the fucking same. If I'm feeling energetic tomorrow, I may check out how Carling source their barley.

UPDATE: It's all British, apparently. Phew.

The start

I don't know what this is yet.

But that's OK; no one's reading it. Maybe, in time, they will. First, I need to find something to write about. I've got a few ideas; hopefully, one of them will take me in an interesting direction, and, in time, allow me to start over with something more focussed.

Anyway, hi. I'm Karl. I got made redundant yesterday from the Daily Telegraph. I'm still slightly in shock - I really hadn't seen it coming. I've no idea what I'll do next - I've got December to think about it, and then I'm away for a month to think about it some more. By the time I get back in February, I should have a plan.