Ah, QR codes, or ‘quick response’ codes if you like, they’re interesting aren’t they? The blocky bar codes have become rather fashionable in the last couple of years as every smart-phone owner finds that they have a bar code reader in their pocket. FULL STORY »

Allying your brand with a political debate that is dividing public opinion isn’t something most companies would consider, but then Ben & Jerry’s has never been a conventional brand. The ice-cream makers have teamed up with gay rights organisation Stonewall to speak out in FULL STORY »

Ah Pinterest, that’s suddenly become buzzy hasn’t it? The image-based curate-rather-than-create social media platform has become increasingly popular in recent months, and last week people were asking whether the service wasn’t enabling mass copyright infringement, FULL STORY »

Damon Albarn’s animated musical mates Gorillaz will release a new collaboration with Andre 3000 and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy entitled ‘DoYaThing’ later this month as part of their tie up with sneaker people Converse. The new track is part of the brand’s ‘Three Artists, One Song’ FULL STORY »

A wise man once told me that the first question you should always asked yourself if charged with the task of creating a smart phone app for a client is “why?” Are you sure the client isn’t just jumping on a bandwagon. Apps can be good marketing channels, but unless you’ve got FULL STORY »

Now, no esPResso reader would ever dream of suggesting to a client that they post a positive review about their own products or services on a relevant punter-review website, let alone a negative review about a competitor, but apparently that kind of thing goes on out there in the crazy, FULL STORY »

The British Association Of Aesthetic And Plastic Surgeons has called for a ban on cosmetic surgery advertising as part of a number of recommendations handed to parliament’s health select committee about the more commercial end of their profession. FULL STORY »

So this is fun – want to read “the worst cover letter of all time”? Well, that’s how Gawker has described this real covering note sent by a potential employee to an American marketing agency which has been doing rounds on the web in recent days. Employing several four letter words, FULL STORY »

With sporty Olympic types likely to appear in most big brand ads this summer, Virgin Media has launched a new campaign featuring gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt and Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, with the former pretending to impersonate the latter, FULL STORY »

So well done Webuyanycar.com, who have won the much sought after (surely) accolade of Most Irritating Ad of 2011, according to a poll conducted by TNS for Marketing magazine. The online used car dealers got no less than 49% of the vote. If, somehow, you missed it, FULL STORY »

Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group has bought ChannelFlip, an independent programme maker that specialises in short-form video-based shows designed for online viewing, usually working directly with one brand to fund its programming projects, who get branding in return, and can use the FULL STORY »

Reps for footballer John Terry are consulting their lawyers about more unwanting exposure of their client, though this time it has nothing to do with allegations about his private life or on-pitch conduct, and more to do with a health warning issued by the Indian government. FULL STORY »

In a slightly embarrassing turn of events, Google has had to penalise itself after some promotional blog posts for the web giant’s Chrome web browser breached the company’s own rules on sponsored links. Google doesn’t like it when companies pay bloggers or similar FULL STORY »

Facebook is set to follow Twitter’s lead and put sponsored messages into the main news-feed on a user’s profile, presumably making it much more likely that said user will spot and possibly interact with the commercial announcement. Facebook has already FULL STORY »

Spoiler alert – do not read on if you believe in Father Christmas. The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a TV ad campaign for online shopping website Littlewoods.com can still be aired, despite 456 complaints from the public who claimed that the promotion revealed to younger viewers FULL STORY »

Taking historic but arguably sensitive political conflicts and change as your starting point when set the challenge of flogging chicken could backfire, but the internet seems to have responded well to this ad created by Nandos. Called ‘Last Dictator Standing’, a Robert Mugabe look-alike is seen FULL STORY »

Tesco were criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority earlier this month for a claim made about their Price Check campaign, which the regulator deemed was misleading. The supermarket had a web page, leaflet and TV ad that said: “At Tesco, we understand times are tough, FULL STORY »

So, this month has seen a few instances of luxury brands opting to market their products through means more highstreet than high-end, making their products at least seem more accessible to the mainstream. And Donnatella Versace’s continued collaboration with H&M, FULL STORY »

Cadbury has won a legal fight with rivals Nestle over the right to own a trademark in the chocolate brand’s famous purple packaging colour. The British sweet maker registered pantone 2865c as a trademark within the chocolate products space back in 2008, but Nestle FULL STORY »

Now, this is product placement taken to a whole new level. The marketing guys at Wrigleys in Germany have (if you’ll excuse the pun) quite literally thought outside the box to promote a new line in chewing gum called Polar Fresh, putting the flavour of the new gum into potential FULL STORY »

Ever felt patronised by the silly label on your bottle of “100% organic super-squished fruit”? As much as the quippy wordplay and whimsical graphics on try-hard product packaging might often seem more irritating than endearing, it all becomes infinitely more fun when gently FULL STORY »

Marks & Spencer has confirmed it will edit Frankie Cocozza out of its multi-million pound ‘X-Factor’ finalist themed Christmas TV advertising campaign after he was axed from the telly talent show yesterday, though they insist that the plan was always to rework the advert as contestants FULL STORY »

Good news for Jamiroquai fans out there (anyone? Oh, there you are). Fans of the funky Jay Kay-fronted band will be able to access exclusive digital content at a number of their upcoming European concerts by waving their smartphones in front of special posters placed in venues. FULL STORY »

Children’s charity Barnardo’s has just launched an interesting new marketing campaign to promote its work in which the story of a thirty year old man is shown through a TV, outdoor and digital advertising campaign, contrasting his difficult childhood and adolescence with his stable future life, FULL STORY »

Nationwide will become the first brand to have a product placement in one of commercial TV’s biggest shows, ‘Coronation Street’. As previously reported, TV regulations were changed earlier this year so that British commercial broadcasters could, for the first time, allow brands to pay to FULL STORY »