Emily Thornberry isn’t a real Gooner
For most of my life, I’ve lived quite close to Arsenal’s home ground. And although, in an act of childhood folly, I…
Is this how the ad industry dies?
A few nights ago, I sat down to watch a movie on Amazon Prime. At the beginning, it said, ‘This…
The truth about Peter Mandelson’s strategic genius
So Peter Mandelson, arch manipulator and shadowy Svengali has finally run out of road. This time his political career really has ended…
Why the McDonald’s AI ad flopped
Be afraid, be very afraid. That’s what we’d been told in the advertising and commercial production industry. AI is coming…
The lost world of the British sex comedy
Today, would have been the 80th birthday of the long-forgotten actress named Mary Millington. Blonde, petite and delicately beautiful, she…
The John Lewis ad is terrible because it’s trying to be cool
Once upon a time, there were two kinds of people in two different kinds of office jobs. In Zone A,…
Why I don’t like gigs
I’ve been obsessed with music and collecting records ever since I can remember. I even played a lot of those…
My brief career as an ‘Eye in the Sky’ airborne reporter
I was watching Slow Horses the other night and as usual, there was some sort of terrorist-related mayhem which had brought London…
Is this the end of black over-representation in advertising?
The advertising industry, so painfully obsessed with ‘diversity’ in TV commercials, has been publicly criticised for a lack of diversity…
Meghan Markle would be the perfect DJ for Magic Radio
Meghan Markle has been offered her own show on Magic Radio. After the Duchess of Sussex claimed the station was…
Angela Rayner is no working-class hero
First of all, some poverty top trumps: I’m one of five kids. My mum was a cleaner and my dad…
Ad-land’s diversity obsession is seriously backfiring
There was a time when people of colour were not adequately represented in British TV commercials. For many years, despite…
Sydney Sweeney has saved advertising
I’m only surprised it’s taken so long. And that anyone could possibly be surprised by it. ‘Beautiful girl appears in…
How bus travel lost its magic
At the former Chiswick Works in west London, I recently celebrated the Routemaster’s 70th birthday. I owe my existence to…
Why I used to hate Good Friday
If you’re of a certain age and you were brought up Catholic, you’ll remember ‘Good Friday’ as the most awful…
Keep cool
How the Tories should respond to Labour’s attack ads
Keir Starmer is an excellent Labour leader, which is why he’ll never be PM
We’ve all been very impressed, haven’t we, by Sir Keir Starmer’s performances at Prime Minister’s Questions? His calm, precise and…
Just do it: the advertising industry should embrace its right-wing roots
Am I allowed to mention Nigel Farage? Of course I am, this is The Spectator, and its readers enjoy analysing…
The myth of the ‘trustworthy’ Scottish accent
There was once a belief that for TV and radio commercials, a Scottish voice was more ‘trustworthy’. This was particularly…
