The Gillette ad featuring Federer, Henry and Woods was voted number 1 in Campaign Magazine's top ten turverys of 2008. I'm surprised that they're persisting with this campaign in 2009. I suspect its because they need to get maximum value out of the quillions they've paid these superstars. Having 1 superstar sponsor is fine. Having 3 is just showing off. I can imagine consumers thinking...'I wonder how much they paid them?'

I've also seen ads which explain why Fusion Power is better than Mach 3. I've never seen Gillette be as explicit as this in encouraging consumers to drop their old Gillette razor. I suspect that they've had to do this because  Fusion Power's  growth is not as rapid as they'd hoped and that consumers can't see the benefit of trading up.

I often wonder when razor blade innovation will come to a natural limit. I suspect we've now reached the ceiling, but no doubt the Gillette team will try and convince us otherwise.

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Continuing with the theme of slogans, I've recently spotted a couple of really dodgy hot beverage slogans . To demonstrate I'm being even-handed, one is from Unilever, the other is from Nestle.

The first is Lipton Tea. I don't object so much to the slogan 'Drink Gorgeous'. I just wish they hadn't added the line 'Lipton Tea Can Do That' at the bottom. What is it that Lipton tea can do? Why add it when they've already got a main message? I suspect that it's some Global brand directive that is stipulated in  a communications 'Bible'.

 The second is Nescafe Gold Blend.

I understand that Gold is shiny and bright, but capturing coffee at its 'brightest' simply doesn't make sense. It's also an incredibly dull mesage, as is the tv ad - click here to view. Where's the benefit? Its all about you, the brand and nothing to do with me, the consumer.

I never thought I'd say it,  but I wish they'd bring back the Gold Blend couple.

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Have been doing some background reading on the diamond industry for a project I'm working on. I didn't realise that 'A Diamond is Forever' was a slogan invented and used by De Beers - since 1948 apparently. I always thought it came from the James Bond book / film.

However, I'm pretty sure that 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' is the title of a Marilyn Munroe song from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

It's amazing how much people are prepared to pay for diamonds given that they perform no useful function. The power of marketing, I guess. 

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Having spent a lot of the Summer in Italy, one of the things you notice is the number of local festivals that take place, particularly around food. This is obviously an important topic to Italians and one of the key developments that Italy has given the world is the Slow Food Movement.

Founded in the late 1980s, it was an attempt to fight back against the growth of the Fast Food culture and all the vices that go with it eg the industrialisation of food production and the decline of traditional ways of eating.

It's now a truly Global movement and is having a massive impact on the way we buy and eat our food. Over the next few months there will be large number of events celebrating the importance of Slow Food.  

If you're in the food industry, you can't afford to ignore how Slow Food is shaping our attitudes and habits. Speed and convenience will always be key but over the next decade it's influence will continue to grow.

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A friend of mine recently installed an Omlet eglu - a chicken house - in her small back garden in Barnes. I think this is a fantastic innovation. Stylish, environmentally friendly, educational. A great way to connect urban dwellers with the countryside.

They've recently introduced the Beehaus, which encourages people to keep bees, which again is a fantastic idea. I really like their products and what they're trying to do. Click here to see their website.

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One of my favourite innovations over the past year has been Spotify, which has revolutionised the way I listen to music. Spotify is a web-based music library that allows you to listen to millions of tracks through your computer. Simply tap in the name of the artist, genre, album and listen to your heart's content. There are lots of other clever features and its really easy to use.

Access is free, as long as you're willing to put up with an advert every 30 mins or so. For a small fee, you can remove this - although I can't imagine many people do. Not tried it yet? Click here.

The only drawback is that its not currently available on mobile devices. However, I'm sure this will happen soon. (It may well be available now....) When this does, what will happen to the iPod and the iTunes library?

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I've been doing  a lot of innovation work recently in the area of pet care and have been fascinated by the differences between dog people and cat people. Last week, as part of our creative process we watched consumers respond to some ideas we'd generated and visualised.

In short, cat people are sensitive, caring folk who treat their cats as mythical beings who deign to give them the privilege of their affection. Dog people are outgoing, energetic and love the power and attention that dog ownership gives them. Most people are either one or the other.

We learnt so much from listening to them and the key lessons for me are:

- People never cease to amaze you. They're full of surprises and continue to challenge your perceptions and assumptions.

- As marketers, directly interacting with people is irreplaceable - reading reports or looking at data points is no substitute for seeing real people express their views. It's like watching a movie in a cinema vs reading a critic's review.

- Any creative process MUST involve consumers in generating and shaping ideas. Never underestimate their intelligence, creativity and ability to bring you back to reality.

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Continuing with the theme of sport sponsorship...I'm not a big fan of Formula 1, but the I imagine that Red Bull must be really pleased with the sponsorship of their  F1 team this year. At the moment, their cars are winning races and are consistently at the front of the grid. They're referred to as 'the Red Bulls' in the media and their photographs / logos are everywhere.

There's a perfect match between the adrenalin of the sport and the energy giving properties of the drink. All in all, it's a really good association. Haven't got a clue what it cost them, but the impact has been huge.

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