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Tag Archives: sales
when TV adverts were fun – Carling Black Label on snooker
Another older clip and back with Carling Black Label. Here we have snooker world champions John Spencer and Terry Griffiths with top referee of the time Len Ganley and with the voice of the late “whispering” Ted Lowe. Spencer’s throw away “you ask him” at the end is a classic.
Filed under fun stuff
when TV adverts were fun – the Smash aliens
Going back a bit further than I have so far in this series, here is another classic piece of lateral thinking in the shape of the “Smash them all to bits” advert for Smash mashed potato featuring their wonderful metalic aliens.
Filed under fun stuff
when TV adverts were fun – an opinion, and a bonus advert
I hope that folks are enjoying my little weekly series providing a link tosome of the TV commercials that I think were great examples.
Whilst the implication is that they are not that good these days, I do enjoy some of the current crop. The long running Walkers Crisps series are usually pretty good, as are most of the Cleaner Close mini soaps (my favourite being the launderette one).
Many of the French car company adverts have style, but I do like to see some intelligence and wit, and a big favourite at the moment is the Cats with Thumbs one from Cravendale. Anyone who is owned by a cat will understand this one.
Anyway, I hope that there will long continue a tradition of decent advertising, especially as we have to put up with so much of it these days.
Filed under fun stuff
when tv commercials were fun – carling black label king arthur
Having written recently about Monty Python and Fawlty Towers as being series that I did not find funny I though that I would use some examples of TV commercials as things that did amuse me because of their style and wit. Last Monday I blogged a link to the Weetabix Robin Hood spoof and that has been well received, so I’ve had a trawl around YouTube and found a few more.
So here is another light hearted piece, this time from the Oblivion Boys series of ads for Carling Black Label, here featuring the Knights of The Round Table and the Arthurian Legend.
I have a few more up my sleeve, so over the next few weeks watch out each Monday for a new one.
Filed under fun stuff
when tv commercials were fun – weetabix robin hood
A bit of fun to start the week. With so many bland TV commercials around these days thank heaven for YouTube. Here’s the classic Weetabix take on the Robin Hood legend.
Filed under fun stuff
end of another week
Where does the time go? I’m so busy at the moment that the weeks are just flying by. Life seems like an hour glass; as you get into the second half the sands seem to run through more quickly maybe?
Years of learning, often the hard way, to manage my time well pays off in trying to make my days effective and I do try to make time for quality things, whether that is people time or me time. These are the things that make it all work out and help me through the things that I’d rather not have to do.
Making each day a mixture means that I can always finish off with the thoughts that I’ve had some fun and learned something along the way.
They may be quick days but, in general, they’re happy ones.
Filed under about me, business life
Education vs. Experience – The Trump Blog
You’ll find this topic here and there amongst my blogs here and on Monday Musings (ThatConsultantBloke). Given that many graduates I meet these days don’t actually have a great education then I tend to favour experience, but the Trumpster has a valid point here, and you don’t build a business empire like his unless you’re right more often that you’re wrong.
See what he has to say here: Education vs. Experience – The Trump Blog.
Filed under business life
getting the best from Powerpoint, part 2
For those of you that have enjoyed my 10 tips on getting the best from Powerpoint, I do a spoof presentation to illustrate the worst ways to use it with some discussion and examples of good practice. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like me to come along and present to your team or group.
Filed under business life, fun stuff
Getting the Best from Powerpoint
Used well it’s a great tool, so why do so many people use it so badly?
Those of us that have to sit through presentations as part of our job know how soul destroying it can be to have half a dozen dud presentations over the course of a day.
Just ask and I’ll be happy to come along to your team, event or meeting and give you my light hearted Death by Powerpoint presentation with some helpful hints on doing it well. Takes about half an hour.
For now, here are my top ten tips:
1 Think about your audience. Even if you have been asked to do a standard talk, how you deliver it can make a big difference, and so can the size of the audience. If your talk is specific, say a sales pitch, then you should be gearing it solely to what the audience have asked for.
2 Your slides are there to help the presentation: You are the focal point not them. Just a few words on each slide, or a picture, that you can talk around is all you need. Try not to use more that 15 words per slide. And never read from the slide.
3 Use a clear font and one with strong contrast to the background. Not all venues have decent light management and you want people to be able to see what you have got. Don’t use fancy fonts either. Anything that detracts from the message is a waste of time.
4 “I’m afraid this slide is a bit busy” and “I’m not sure of you can see all the detail here” are two phrases you don’t want to use. If you can’t get the information on the slide so that people at the back can read it then use a different format. Graphs can be simplified to just show a trend for example and you can put the detail in the handout.
5 Animation is good, but only in limited amounts: You’re not Pixar Studios. A couple of animations to show a trend or similar is good. Leave it at that.
6 A slide should last you through 2 to 3 minutes of talk at least. Use the slides to build your message to a natural conclusion, and keep a regular pace. Try not to have too many messages either, in a 30 to 40 minute talk you only need around 3 at most.
7 Never walk in front of the slides. If you absolutely have to wander around in front of the screen at some point, say at the end when you are taking questions, either turn the projector off or put something in front of the lens to break the beam.
8 Rehearse your timing and make adjustments. Have some notes on a printed set of the slides so that you always know what’s coming next (we all have those moments when our mind goes blank). You want to use your time in front of these people to get your points over. With, say, 3 key messages over 30 minutes a quick intro and a summing up will take about 6 minutes leaving you 8 minutes for each message.
9 Be prepared to share your slides with a set of notes that covers the key messages that you have spoken over them. Have your contact details on them and tell the audience that they are welcome to contact you.
10 Keep to your allotted time. It looks professional and your audience will be more receptive. If you’ve rehearsed properly you should have no problems.
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Filed under business life
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 