As a Man Utd fan since the days of George Best (I am just about that old – I precociously started supporting them aged 3 in 1973), I was of course pretty disappointed by the events at Old Trafford on Sunday: BBC match report on Man Utd 1-6 Man City. But more interesting to meContinue reading “Kahneman and the real meaning of Man Utd’s 6-1 defeat”
Category Archives: Media
Creating memories: Jonah Lehrer and faux Monty Python
Jonah Lehrer, whose The Decisive Moment – How The Brain Makes Up Its Mind I’m reading at the moment, has written a really interesting piece in Wired magazine about how we don’t just make things up, we can actually change our memories: Jonah Lehrer – How Social Conformity Affects Memory. There is, in particular, unacknowledgedContinue reading “Creating memories: Jonah Lehrer and faux Monty Python”
Angelic Upstarts: Lynx Turns Boys Into Men
I notice the Lynx Fallen Angel tv ads now have a comedy addendum (see above). What better way to seal the deal with the target audience than some irreverent visual gags with our now familiar fallen angelic lasses? Rule No1 of British popular culture is that where sex goes, comedy must surely follow – titterContinue reading “Angelic Upstarts: Lynx Turns Boys Into Men”
The future isn’t here yet – and it never will be
As WARC shows again today, to no one’s particular surprise, tv advertising gives a better return on investment than advertising in any other medium. Link: WARC on tv advertising. It’s another reminder of why we researchers need to be giving insights first and foremost into the whole picture of how people are behaving today. AndContinue reading “The future isn’t here yet – and it never will be”
Man of Aran: A Story For Our Times
I started off thinking I’d post on this because it was a thing of beauty, even though it’s not very current – and then I realised, it sort of is current, in a funny kind of way. (And anyway, why need we always privilege novelty over substance? Shore isn’t the News of the World.) There’sContinue reading “Man of Aran: A Story For Our Times”
Organ Freeman: Thaler on Nudge
Professor Richard Thaler, co-author of Nudge, is one of the most sought-after people in the world at the moment. His behavioural economics (BE) snowball is now well down the hill, has taken out some skiiers and is about to roll along the valley, chasing people around like that giant bubble thing from The Prisoner. HisContinue reading “Organ Freeman: Thaler on Nudge”
Summer’s Almost Gone
… as Jim Morrison once sang, rather miserably. I’m not in that mournful place yet, but I have been away for what seems like a whole season, physically and mentally (and no, I haven’t been sectioned yet). So, a quick list of the highlights of the summer, in no particular order: Britain has been tornContinue reading “Summer’s Almost Gone”
Drive-by shoutings
The greatest living pop lyricists, Half Man Half Biscuit, play Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Friday. Yes, they are still going. And like the Fall, some of the recent stuff is among their best. Their last album, CSI: Ambleside, boasted the classics Bad Losers on Yahoo Chess and Took Problem Chimp To Ideal Home Show. TheyContinue reading “Drive-by shoutings”
Stewart Lee’s anti-marketing
Really enjoyed this little snippet – actually a trailer shown before the start of the second series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, but I’ve just seen it. (It’s time-shifted media consumption, you understand, not my being a bit all over the shop). Stewart Lee’s Social Network Marketing. The topical element to this is that theContinue reading “Stewart Lee’s anti-marketing”
Stampede of the Social Animals – more BE
David Brooks is the latest author to bring the reality of what goes on in the human mind into the public realm and the popular consciousness, with The Social Animal. Here he is talking about it (thanks RSA!) David Brooks video. Good timing as I’m reading Richard Layard‘s Happiness at the moment (in short, hisContinue reading “Stampede of the Social Animals – more BE”
Strangers on the Shore 