Tomorrow I'm off to Glastonbury for the first time and being a Festival virgin am looking for as much help as I can get. In my search I can across Orange's Glastonav09, which is a fabulous source of information that I've downloaded onto my BlackBerry. Now, hopefully I won't get lost, will be able to plan who to watch and get lots of helpful advice. Fantastic

One of the biggest concerns, I imagine is your phone running out of battery power at the Festival. Well, Orange have 2 potential solutions:

- the Chill and Charge tent, where you charge your phone whilst watching music

- the Power Pump - a phone charger powered by a footpump: what a great idea!

So far, I'm very impressed with Orange's Glastonbury partnership. Now, must find my wellies....

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Continuing with the theme of pop stars appearing in adverts... 

The Diet Coke ad featuring Duffy has recently been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over health and safety issues. Apparently, 18 viewers complained that she was not wearing a helmet or reflective clothing and her bicycle had no lights on. Oh dear, looks like it will continue to be shown.

It's a shame that it wasn't withdrawn on the basis of it being a terrible ad. Click here to view it. I've watched it several times and I still don't get it. It's bizarre seeing Duffy ride a racing bike. Why does she ride through a supermarket? Why are all those people staring at her so wistfully? Why does her voice sound so awful? (Worse than normal) Is it meant to be a joke? I don't think it is..

In their defence of the ad, Coke claim the cycling sequence is 'Duffy's fantasy'. What kind of fantasy is that?

Diet Coke has been living off the legacy of the Diet Coke Break ads with the hunky guy for decades. Looks like it will continue to do so.

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I really like the recent 'whatever your world' advertising for PC World. Such a refreshing change from the previous campaign which was full of IT geeks, talking about great deals with its annoying jingle.

This campaign focuses on people, (we call them consumers in marketing-speak) their needs and passions and how the PC World (the brand) can help you. Because it shows different people with different passions it highlights the fact that PC World is for everyone - a bit like IKEA.

I particularly the Press Campaign. Not too keen on the tv ads which are a bit tricksy with a gratuitous sprinkling of celebrity, but no-one's perfect.

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According to Dairy Crest, sales of Country Life butter have rocketed ever since Johnny Rotten became it's spokesman last year. It works for lots of reasons. It's created noise in a very dull category, there's a real reason to believe ie Country Life is British (just like punk) which acts as real point of difference vs its big rival Anchor. The execution - click here - puts a smile on your face and the public obviously have a real affection for Rotten. Punk diehards are no doubt horrified, but I think Country Life have made an inspired choice.

In contrast, I think Swiftcover's choice of Iggy Pop is a disaster. There's no link at all between Iggy and Insurance. The ad is dull and sad. Making Iggy go through his stage moves whilst talking about losing his documents is like watching a performing seal. Click here to see it. Also, I read that Swiftcover don't even provide insurance for musicians. I really like Iggy and I don't blame him for taking the money. By saying yes to this ad, he obviously needs it.

I'm sure Rotten's also doing it for the money too, but at least he's got a smile on his face whilst he's taking it.

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The Sony e-reader has been in the UK for about 6 months now and as far as I can see, has still to become a mass market product. Will it ever become as popular as MP3 players  or will it remain a niche gadget?

All the reviews I've read say that it's a great product - intuitive, lightweight, good-looking. However I think there are 3 key barriers:

1. Price: it costs £229 and even the books you download cost about as much as a paperback

2. Inertia: people still love the touch and feel of a paperback which can never be replaced by an electronic device

3. No obvious benefit: with an MP3 player, there's a genuine benefit in being able to transport hundreds of songs, but there isn't really a need to carry around more than 1 book.

I also suspect that book lovers may not necessarily be into technology. So...it still remains unproven.

As with all electronic products, I suspect the next generation from Sony will be cheaper with even better performance. Then it may be worth buying. Or better still, wait until Apple launches one. Then the market will really take off.

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Lots of new ads have focused on the brand's origins, history and traditions. The most recent example has been M & S with this execution featuring Twiggy. In addition, Sainsbury's have brought out this ad for its 140^th birthday with an identical idea. Persil have been celebrating their centenary and earlier this year Virgin Atlantic were guilty of it.

There are a number of reasons for this including:

- The recession: people like to look back on happier days when times are tough

- Product costs: its cheaper to re-present old advertising rather than create new work

However, whilst it's nice to look back now and again I hope this stops soon. Looking backwards can only take a brand so far. So, you've been around for a long time...so what? Every brand has some kind of past. It's lazy, lacks originality and implies that the brand has nothing new to say.

So - no more nostalgia ads. More fresh thinking please.

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Was in the supermarket with my daughter last week. She pointed at the new Herbal Essences packaging and said it looked horrible. She's right. The new packs look cheap and garish compared to the old pack.

True, the previous packaging did look old fashioned and was in need of a revamp. However I can't help feeling they've destroyed the distinctive character of the brand. It could have been redesigned with much more sensitivity. Think they've made a big mistake.

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Continuing on with the alcohol theme, I've been keeping a close eye on the latest Stella Artois advertising.

Following up on the long-running 'Reassuringly Expensive' campaign was always going to be tough. The ads were consistently brilliant, my personal favourite the sublime ice skating priests - click here to view.

However, I think that campaign for 'La Nouvelle Stella Artois 4' is proving to be a worthy follow up. Its still retained the French setting, cinematic production qualities and the humour of the previous campaign, but instead is set in the 60s French Rivieria. I particularly like this execution.

I'm not so keen on their line extensions or their viral ads, but as a mainstream piece of communication I think this is doing a good job.

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