Durden leaves the house...or not

It seems it's over before it even began. Jonathan Durden is to leave the 'Big Brother' house after coming to an end of a personal journey after a week and a half.

Clearly journeys are not what they used to be, but the PHD founder has clearly made the right decision to quit the house while he is still ahead of the game.

He seems to have played it just right. Gone in and sampled something we all talk about, even if we don’t watch, and come out unscathed with another experience notched up on his belt.

In his comments to his fellow housemates, he suggested he had taken risks in coming in, and he seemed to be talking about both personal and professional.

"I'm very happy... but walking around with Brian this morning I asked myself why I was here." Jonathan then listed a number of items on the outside world that he'd put on hold or 'risked' "to be on this thing. I've been so reckless to do this. "

"I'm all right so I can stop doing this... No complaints. I'm very happy it's taken me 30 years to get there. It's not to do with the house... this journey is all about me... I don't regret any of this. I feel like I've won' Big Brother' because I've got something out of it."

Clearly such an endeavour is a risky thing. The show can have a devastating impact on some, while others find their lives picked over the tabloids, which had already been happening to Durden.

He exits this morning having been nominated once and survived and escaped a nomination this week. He could have stayed longer, but as his announcement about his departure reduced Carole and Charley to tears he has clearly left them wanting more. What better way is there to go?

Make your mind up Jonathan, what are you doing? David Emin  seems to know what's going on in the forums, but really if you are going to leave then leave!

It appers that his "journey" is not yet complete. As the Sun had it today Durden decided to stay after a day of "tedious speculation". I know, I can hardly talk.

Still branding it like Beckham

David Beckham's arrival in the states is already causing a stir as Adidas rides the publicity wave with its latest ad spot starring the star. And here's the full video.

The ad, which Brand Republic reported on Monday, will air in 13 parts on TV and online. It comes ahead of his arrival next month at Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy.



It was shot in Madrid, during Beckham's finals days with Real, with rising NFL star Reggie Bush, a running back for the New Orleans Saints, visiting Becks as they trade tips and take turns at each other's sport - much in the same way Becks and Jonny Wilkinson did three years back.

The clips are also available in podcast from the Futbol meets Football website.

In the later clips, Bush tutors Beckham on kicking, throwing and catching an American football. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player shows he has the makings of a placekicker or punter, but he heaves a wounded duck when attempting to throw a pass. "You sure you're right-handed?" Bush jokes.

It's a huge deal not only for Becks, whose skills on the field seem in fine form on recent England and Real outings, but for the US with MLS and Galaxy relying on him to bring American mainstream attention to its fastest growing sport.

Arena exit

No surprise... a couple of months after appointing an editor with little experience Emap is shopping its reader-lite men's title Arena around to buyers.

According to Media Week, Development Hell, Factory Media and Dennis Publishing are all potential buyers.

Although the price is going to have to be cheap for anyone to take on Arena, beause it will require a radical redesign and relaunch rather than the endless tinkering it has suffered at Emap as its circulation has spiralled ever downwards.

Development Hell, which has already snapped up Mixmag from Emap, looks the most likeliest buyer. People there are familiar with the title and they already have The Word. It could be another chance to invent a grown-up magazine for men. It would be an interesting move although parting the small football stadium full of Arena readers (say, a packed Fulham) from the acres of female flesh that the title provides could have consequences. It would be a brave move all the same.

No surprise that larger publishers are steering clear and I would be surprised if Dennis, with its track record of dumping James Brown's magazine Jack, goes for this.

It was an odd appointment to put Giles Hattersley from the Sunday Times in charge in March with his total lack of magazine experience. At the Sunday Times, he had been chief interviewer and a feature writer.

Maybe they gave him a few months to see what he could do, but really it appears more likely that Emap was always set on offloading Arena after it parted company with its last editor, Will Drew, immediately before it issued another poor ABC.

For July-December 2007, the title reported a period-on-period decline of 13.9% to 34,556 copies. Its year-on-year figure dropped 29.9%. The future for Arena now looks bleak.

With Arena gone, maybe Emap will press ahead with its rumoured launch of a free magazine for men following in the footsteps of Sport, which seems to be doing very nicely. That could certainly be a winner.

Social media like Che

As the BBC dispatches reporter Ben Hammersley to spend two weeks using new social media web tools to cover the run-up to the July general election in Turkey, a former Campaign journalist is heading to South America and launching a social media experiment of her own.
Deborah Bonello is heading off with another journalist, Tom Parker, to do a similar thing using blogging, del.icio.us, Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook as a means of covering stories on their trip that will initially take in Mexico and Guatemala.

Another journalist/blogger Mike Butcher, who a lot of people know, is working with them in the UK, and helping to find a sponsor for the trip, which they have dubbed 'The Motorcycle Blog Diaries Project' in a nod to the film starring Gael Garcia Bernal as the young revolutionary Che Guevara. Sadly Bonello, who known as Webby Debby for her association with things digital will not be on a motorbike.

The trio are looking for a commercial partner, be it a brand or an online service, which will be able to cash in on the innovative idea and gain what is likely to be widespread press attention as the pair showcase and highlight the potential of social media technology.

The pair will use words, pictures and video to "bear witness" in a journey around Latin America, which will be updated live as they go. They will look to pick up on the stories that the mainstream media miss. Bonello, who is currently doing an MA in human rights said she will focus on "the experiences of both the human narrative and real-life stories from Latin America".

Like the BBC project, the pair will also be involved in a dialogue with their audience and will do "requests" to investigate particular stories in the region working with the online audience.

You can contact either Deborah, dbonello[at]gmail.com or Mike for more details.

Alan Johnson 100 days

The BBC is holding a worldwide vigil today for Alan Johnston, BBC Gaza Correspondent, to mark 100 days since he was captured in Gaza by gunmenIn recent days Hamas has called on the Islamic group holding the BBC reporter to release him, but so far no movement.

Alan's parents are being joined by villagers at their home in Lochgoilhead, Scotland, where they will release 100 balloons at 2.15pm (BST).

He has not been seen now since he was seized at gunpoint on his way home in Gaza City on March 12.

Some 170,000 people have signed a petition on the BBC website calling for Alan's release. Add your name here.

Jonathan Durden in the house

As we talked about this on Friday afternoon as the first tip offs came the view really was that if anyone from the industry was going in to the Big Brother house it was going to be PHD founder Jonathan Durden. He's probably chasing the Virgin account.

As various people who know him everyone describes him as either "exuberant" and "outgoing". Or as The Sun put it "portly tycoon Jonathan, 49". It went on to quote a friend:

"He's one of those mad, creative types who always live life on the edge. He became quite a hit with the ladies — he was very, very successful. His s******g exploits are legendary."

Well he is certainly a millionaire after selling PHD to Omnicom. Still he isn't someone who can retire and now he is at Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy as a partner after quitting PHD for a new challenge. So he is going to be popular with girls who according to the Sun he uses "mind techniques to bed". The mind boggles.

Yesterday he danced in the Big Brother house as the native American from the village people. That was all just as well and performed YMCA. Outgoing is really the right word.

We have been slow on the uptake. I can only apologise. Prior to going into 'Big Brother' Durden had been telling quite a few people "on the quiet".

Unlike others he had not been keeping a low profile. He had been at George Michael's Wembley concert with many other media industry people.

That said, exuberant or not, why would you want to go in? More pertinently why would you want to go in now after all the rows over racism?

For the experience, I mean what else can you say. And what an experience it is going to be. The experience has started (okay some wag has already commented that Durden thought a client might be in there). He has already opened himself up to tabloid attention and they pull no punches. The News of the World told yesterday of the death of his wife, and spells he and his daughter had spent in a rehabilitation centre.

Durden is such a character that Big Brother will prove to be another one of his sidelines. During 30 years in the media industry, he has opened restaurants and gone into music management. He wrote a novel called 'Essex Drugs and Rock and Roll' which is now being turned into a film script. He’s even written a regular column for our very own Media Week. This looks like another page in the book.

It has certainly livened up what could have been a dull summer. And while, of course, none of you out there watch it, Brand Republic will be doing its duty to fill you in on any Galloway-esque moments. I think we should vote to keep him in as long as possible.

Supporting the logo

It's true I saw it yesterday, at the 02 Wiresless Festival, support for the Olympic 2012 logo is growing. People are wearing the t-shirt.

Here you have it Agency.com's business development director, Nick Corston, with the t-shirt. And he says it has nothing to do with one Omnicom agency supporting another (Wolff Olins).

And to be honest as a t-shirt it doesn't look half bad...wait that can't be right can it?

Talking of the 02 Wireless Festival James Cooper was there and he's done a nice post on it, the White Stripes and mobile brands. 

Rubber 55

The gimp's the star. I'm not in the market for rubber suits or any other such paraphernalia, but Propaganda's YouTube video for latex clothing and accessories brand, Rubber 55, I'm sure does wonders for the fetish scene.

Done in the style (quite effectively I think) of a spoof of MTV Cribs, the reality TV programme that gives tours of celebrities houses, this 150 second short film creates something that's very amusing and shows what you can do if you have no budget.

Set in suburbia, it demonstrates what can go on where you would least suspect it and follows the strap line, "What goes on behind closed doors is our business". Well it was until the star of the piece, Andy Newby, opens the door in a head to toe rubber suit and proceeds to give viewers a tour of his three bed, two toilet, 12 dildo and one gimp house.

I'm sure that among its core market (and clearly beyond) this video will be heavily shared, which only underscores the fact that if you can create the right content (even at a knock-down price) you can get the people to come to you.

Steve Dixon, executive creative director at Propaganda, said: "We've tried hard to balance humour with the inherent eroticism of the fetish scene, and I believe the viral potential for this short film is massive.

"Despite the fact that our budget was as tight as the latex clothing showcased, online is very much the right medium for this community."

Just don’t look at the thing the dog has in its mouth. It is exactly what you think it is.

Anti smoking ads

Some anti smoking ads just don't work. Worse they have the opposite effect, of encouraging people to smoke. I could have told you that.

I have given up a couple of times. The last time was August 18 2006. Not that I remember it or anything. Unlike other times I have given up, this time I don't miss it. When I gave up in 2004, I stopped for about a year as well, but then would started social smoking about five or six a week. I know small beer, but really you quit or you don't.

The study, published in the British journal Tobacco Control, said that a poll of 3,100 young cinema-goers found ads before films that glamorise smoking made it more likely smokers would continue the habit. Duh.

Smoking is cool... okay it looks cool on screen. It looks cool like Rayban Wayfarers, Zippos and open top cars. People are (easily) influenced by seeing film stars and people in bands puffing away. Cigarettes & Alcohol? I finally found something worth living for (until I decided that as much as I like Marlboro Lights, the bad skin and stinky clothes thing had really had its day).

The anti-smoking ad, shot in the style of a movie trailer, was shown before films that glamorised smoking and it was found to have no positive impact in helping people give up and if anything it was more likely to keep smokers smoking.

After the film, a quarter of smokers who had not seen the ad said they were still likely to be smoking in one year. This increased to 39% among smokers who had seen the ad. The effect was strongest among female smokers.

In contrast, non-smokers who saw the ad were less likely to smoke in the future than those who had not.

Despite anti smoking ads not appearing to work, Dr Diane Bull said she was that they could in future. "Caution must be exercised in the type of advertisement screened as some types of advertising may reinforce smokers' intentions to smoke."

Lead researcher Christine Edwards, from NSW Health, said: "It seems you really need that very negative, graphic anti-smoking message to really get through here, and even those don't work on smokers."

This seems to support the success that the shock British Heart Foundation 'dripping fat cigarette' ad had. It 2004 ad, created by Euro RSCG London, was graphic and stuck in the memories of 90% of those who saw it.

The ad concluded with a graphic scene where an artery is being squeezed to show fat coming out of it. Naturally it got dozens of complaints. But despite being shocking, clearly it is still not enough, which begs the question what does it take?

That really only leaves us with July 1. Where anti smoking ads fail banning smoking in all public places is the thing, I think, will really have the affect and lasting impact. Roll on July 1.  

The end of Big Brother?

How much more of this can anyone take? Another series of 'Big Brother’ and another racism row. This time involving 19-year-old Tory girl, Emily Parr, who called a black housemate the 'N' word.

Yes, she might not have done it maliciously, but Emily did it all the same. We all realise she was trying to be Tim Westwood and be down with the (black) kids.

Its interesting to note that, malicious or not, Russell Simmons, founder of Def-Jam, has called for the removal of racist (and sexist) language from songs: "The word 'nigger' is a racially derogatory term that
disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial
oppression, and multiple forms of racism against
African-Americans and other people of colour."

Channel 4 has acted swiftly and booted her out of the house, but the damage is done and it has continued to stir it up. This current series began with an apology for racism and now we have another.

Is it time to pull the plug on a show whose contribution to national culture is wholly negative and distasteful? The casual racism is only the tip of the iceberg, worse is that the show trades on conflict between housemates and potential sexual couplings -- a Becks and Posh Spice lookalike? How lame. How obvious. How 'Big Brother'.

Two racism rows in a row, granted, the latest is small fry compared to the international row that engulfed Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, but I don’t think it matters. It hasn’t been broadcast, but everyone knows. Tomorrow's newspapers will be crammed to the brim with this story. It will make some international headlines. Again. Doing nothing for the UK's image abroad.

Channel 4 should put its hands up and say this is the last series of 'Big Brother' it will air and go away and come up with some new programming ideas.

But it won't as 'Big Brother' is big cash. For a publicly funded station to produce this show when it has nothing positive to contribute, to anything other than Channel 4's coffers, seems unacceptable.

Just read what Lord Puttnam, the deputy chairman of Channel 4, has to say. He sums it up nicely and he works for the broadcater.

"I am not proud of the Big Brother row - I am not even proud of Big Brother. But Big Brother accounts for 15% of the total revenue that keeps Channel 4 afloat."

Update: Worse though how could Channel 4 go ahead and broadcast this incident in full? It seems the station has learned nothing and is just ratings chasing. If this all ends in tears it deserves no sympathy. They are just throwing petrol on the fire and condoning such behaviour.

What a bunch of opportunists.

In case you were interested here's the transcript of what was said (allegedly):

Emily: (referring to Charley dancing/pushing her hips forward) You pushing it out you n****r.

Nicky: (shocked laughter) Em, I can't believe you said that.

Charley: You are in trouble.

Emily: Don't make a big thing out of it then. I was joking.

Charley: I know you were... but that's some serious s**t, sorry.

Emily: Why?

Charley: Oh my god. I'm not even saying it.

Nicky: Just don't talk about it anymore.

Emily: I was joking

Charley: Do you know how many viewers would watch that?

Nicky: Okay, don't make a big deal out of it.

Charley: Fancy you saying that. I can't believe you said that.

Emily: Somebody has already used that word in this house.

Charley: No way. (Pause) Yeah, me. I'm a n****r.


Nicky laughs.


Charley: I am one. Fancy you saying it. I know maybe you see it in a rap song. Maybe you and your friends sit there saying it.

Emily: I'm friendly with plenty of black people.

Nicky: And you call them n*****s?

Emily: Yeah and they call me n*****s. They call me wiggers as well.

Nicky: I'm quite shocked.

Charley: I'm f*****g in shock.

Emily: It's not a big deal though is it?

Charley: Not for us it ain't. F**k me.

Virgin Media desperation

Just how desperate are Virgin Media to hang on to customers? The answer I found after ringing them was very.

I've been seriously toying with leaving Virgin Media ever since it fell out with Sky and lost its basic set of channels.

I'm not the only one. One of BR's other bloggers Alan Munro is trying to do the same and suffereing.

I quite like Sky News and Sky One. I wasn't glued to '24', but would watch it as I would 'Lost'. More keenly I do feel the loss of 'Battlestar Galactica', which I have mentioned before is my favourite show on TV. Losing it half way through the third season was harsh (give me a break I'm a geek).

Still I survived, but I've had enough now and am going to jump ship. The last straw wasn't even anything to do with my digital TV service, but the fact that for months after I thought I had cancelled various telephone services that I hardly used (voice mail et cetera) I was still paying for them. More phone calls to Virgin Media, which has fully adopted NTL's terrible customer service. Endless voice jail menus asking you to push ONE, THREE, ONE and NINE should you want to change your mind.

So I called last night and after being on hold for a mere 20 minutes (the muzak alone is enough to make you hang up on life, let alone Virgin Media), I got through and said I wanted to cancel.

Virgin then offered to cut £20 off of my bill a month either for 12 months or indefinitely. Needless to say customer service guy did not know which. That's handing me back £240 a year. But it still doesn't give me some of the few shows worth turning the TV on for.

I'm thinking.

London 2012 rebrand. Oh dear.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games has unveiled its new 2012 branding today and what a total disaster.

The new logo was designed by Wolff Olins, I get that it is supposed to be a representation of London, but still I hope they say sorry . It apparently took a year to design ...and it looks like its broken.

The London 2012 bid team put the future of young athletes at the heart of its bid two years ago and consulted with children during the creation of the new logo. It seems the kids put one over on the adults. I mean seriously. This is absolute rubbish.

UPDATE: What can it be like to be at Wolff Olins today?

The national newspapers have not pulled their punches. The Daily Express calls it "a mess, a scribble...yes it's own £400,000 new olympic logo.

The Times asks is it an excuse for a logo? There is already an online petition calling for it to be scrapped and almost 15,000 people have already signed.

Marketing's editor Craig Smith on his blog says that this is exactly what you get when you involve the public.

The newly unveiled logo for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games sums up, in one excrutiatingly awful piece of design, what is wrong with asking the public to get involved in the creation of brand communications.

Battlestar Galactica

I'm going to risk being outed as super geeky (again? Ed), but one of the best shows on television is to come to an early end. Yes I'm talking about Battlestar Galactica.

Well written to a fault with great characters, it took a camp 70s sci-fi show and turned it into brutal social commentary that had something to say not only about the War on Terror and featured torture and suicide bombers. The Guardian said it was the "only award-winning drama that dares tackle the war on terror".

It did that well and a lot more besides, but now three seasons old, the writers have decided to call time on the show after its fourth season, which is now in production, finishes its run.

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle, and finally, an end," the producers said in their release, according to industry trade publication Variety. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms."



The sad thing was that the show was always more critically successful than it was in terms of winning a large audience. Too many people were put off because they saw it as sci-fi, but those who tuned in mostly seemed to find that it was show that transcended the genre with its mix of 'The West Wing' style politics and gripping sci-fi drama that was dark like 'T2' and 'The Empire Strikes Back'.

It even managed to get itself featured in the US version of the 'The Office', take a look at the clip.

If you never saw it, now is your chance. The mini series that gave rise to the revamped show is the place to start. If you are not hooked after that then nothing will hook you.

I have to admit I sadly did the BSG quiz I only got seven out of ten. Although Will who sent it to me got ten out of ten on the colonial quiz. I bow down.

Facebook

Okay, I'm a lemming, what can I say? Everyone seems to be on it and like crack cocaine it is highly addictive.

I won't wax on (plenty of people have already done so quite well) , clearly this is one of those moments when the world flips. Not very long ago it was MySpace, but suddenly it is all Facebook and everybody and anybody (that will be me then) is on it. MySpace suddenly looks a little old and tired. It seems to have taken its eye of the ball.

Plenty of people have written about the grown-up invasion of Facebook and it's true. The site is not only the preserve of teens but twenty, thirty and forty somethings. I haven't tried very hard yet, but it seems very easy to amass a little group of friends on the site. Okay , I'm not sure what you do after that, but I'm taking it slowly.

The only danger is when adding people from your address book that you could end up erroneously adding random women you have previously dated who really don't want to hear from you again. Okay that could just be me.

It's easy to see Facebook has suddenly taken off so. It has lots of little cool applications that are really quite fun. They shouldn’t be, but they are. I'm talking about the status tool which on my page this morning tells me such wonderful things as Daniel is regretting those last couple of glasses of wine; Maja is still in her PJs and trying to sort out stuff for her accountant; and that Rory is a wannabe Canadian.

This is all completely useless knowledge, but somehow I like it.