Postmodern Irony
-
Goodbye unfair banking
Banks have been responding in interesting ways to their unpopularity. This of course was brought about by a series of largely self-inflicted wounds: the credit crunch, computer lapses, PPI and investments mis-selling, indefensible banker bonuses and so on. And the last couple of weeks we have the spectacle of HSBC money laundering in Switzerland. Banks…
-
Creative gulfs: UK, France and the US
To say Charlie Hebdo’s provocative satire is not always understood outside France, is an understatement. See this take on the magazine by Arthur Chu. And its satire was not to many people’s taste in France too, judging by its usual circulation — but of course everything’s different now. This cultural incomprehension reminded me of a…
-
Somersby Cider wobbling on the shoulders of a giant?
The Somersby Cider advert is funny, and quietly remarkable. For it relies on a knowledge of Apple stores, and the Apple brand. It is no coincidence that Apple’s fanboys and fangirls are stuck to the flypaper of creative departments everywhere. It subverts the seriousness of Apple stores, replacing customers with drinkers examining pints of cider…
Peter Kenny: a writer's notebook 