There’s no doubt that creative industry folk are certainly a special breed but in this cracking new viral for The South West Regional Development Agency, we can see just how much TLC goes into their propagation.

Did you know, for example, that a farm in an unspecified area of the rural south west actually grows, harvests and presses creatives for their juices, before being bottled and shipped out to agencies? All this means, of course, that the surrounding area is jam-packed with talented people and is the place to be if you’re in the business of creativity. Not to mention the happiest place to work in the UK...

‘The Harvest’ is a clever, though slightly creepy, look behind the scenes at the farm as the latest crop – which has been grown from the ground feet-up - is brought in for pressing. The video tour, courtesy of Farmer Giles, chairman of the South West Creative Growers' Association, shows hands and feet hanging from between the presses and one poor grey-head who has been left in the ground because he “missed his harvest” and is “no good to anyone”. (Incidentally the “rotten ‘uns” are sent to Chelsea for the flower show.)

Created by Bristol-based viral agency Rubber Republic, the viral has already been seen by more than 120,000 people and is being supported with the distribution of 2000 bottles of Creative Juices currently being hand delivered to creative agencies across London.

A Creative Juices microsite acts as a focal point for the campaign, offering more info on the South West and giving one incredibly lucky viewer the chance to win their very own home juicing kit (for fruit only, one presumes).

Good to see there’s still some important work going on out there during these times of Doom and Gloom.

When a thief bent down to steal some electrical equipment, he hadn’t bargained on being photographed and having his image plastered across an enormous billboard.

The unidentified robber decided to pilfer some electrical transformers that are used to boost the lighting on a billboard in Auckland, New Zealand.

A suspicious onlooker, who knew the owner of the billboard, OTW Advertising head Mark Venter, took a photo of the man and sent it to said owner.

It cost Venter nothing to place the image on 4 city billboards accompanied by the message: “Who is this thief? Reward $500”.

He has already received more than 100 calls in relation to the photo, and a suspect has been identified. So a creative use of media, combined with effectiveness and recall. Simply arresting!

When a psychiatry researcher came across a man who believed his family and everyone he knew were actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose was to make him the focus of the world’s attention, it was a simple step to link the case to the Truman Show, a 1998 film featuring Jim Carrey.

Psychiatrists have been seeing more and more patients walk through the door convinced that they are living out a reality TV show of their own, believing that their every move is being filmed and every occurrence manufactured by producers. 

The syndrome, nicknamed after the aforementioned film, is related to grandiose delusions, but psychiatrists fear popular culture, specifically the rise of reality TV and the ubiquity of surveillance cameras, could be to blame.

Believing that your actions are being observed and that a higher power is the architect of your life’s narrative - sounds like r we should all be praying at the altar of reality television.

"For all of my working life, I have believed that there is a social and commercial value in delivering accurate news and information in a cheap and timely way." - Rupert Murdoch

Your eyes are not deceiving you, that IS a quote from Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the infamous FOX News Network in the US that is synonymous with 'reporting' what some would call propaganda. Where everything from the right side of the political spectrum is right and everything else ain't right!

Murdoch made the comment in a recent address on an Australian radio station in which he talked about the future of newspapers. He made some valid points, ranging from the idea that it is editors and journalists that are stalling newspapers from embracing on-line and that newspapers will never die, but evolve.

While I agreed with most of what Murdoch had to say about the future of newspapers, to me all these valid points became worthless when he claimed to ' value delivering accurate news'.  I will give him some credit, the man does know the business side of delievering news (as can be seen with his work at The Times and increasing its circulation) but delivering accurate news? Not so much!

Murdoch stating that he ' values delivering accurate news', is most definitely NOT accurate news.

Media owners with declining classified sales should perhaps be talking to drug barons for new revenue streams.

New York drug dealers are doing a great trade online at classified site Craigslist, with thinly veiled code words for narcotics.

The seemingly innocent “Ski lift tickets are here for sale” is hawking cocaine rather than any winter sports paraphernalia. Meanwhile the popularity of Tina Turner tickets is because some people think crystal meth is simply the best.

In order to combat such filth-peddling, as well as to stop its ads being used for prostitution, child exploitation or other illegal activities, Craigslist ahs taken a range of measures.

“Erotic services” providers have to pay $10 for each listing and pay with a credit card, which police would be able to trace if necessary.

It seems that this sort of dealing has become a sideline for many ailing bankers. No longer raking in the big bonuses, one Citigroup vice president has even been found selling ecstasy.

Football is no longer immune to global economic trends.  Even the self proclaimed ‘Best League in the World’, the English Premier League, is already being affected by the current economic downturn.

Last season, 2007/2008, saw the 20 Premier League clubs receive £75 million in shirt sponsorship deals.  The 2008/2009 season has seen only £67 million being spent on shirt sponsorship deals.  The first time the value of such deals has fallen since the Premier League began.

Three clubs are without shirt sponsors this season, another first. That number could have been higher had it not been for the UK Government's bail-out of Northern Rock, Newcastle United's shirt sponsor, and the US Government's bail-out of American International Group (AIG), Manchester United's sponsor.

Perhaps plans for a 39th game abroad no longer seem as daft.  Exciting games are often described as “great adverts for the game”, but that tired commentator’s cliché now rings true.  What better way to appeal to the EPL’s biggest markets, than giving them a slice of the action.

Posted on behalf of Orlando Simon

Imagine waking up to a world where the Iraq war is over and all Americans have free health care, well it happened … kinda!

A million copies of 14 page spoof New York Times with the headline ‘Iraq war ends’ were distributed to commuters in 6 American cities. The paper looked like the real New York Times but was dated 4 July 2009 and had the tagline "all the news we hope to print".

Spoof stories inside included there was to be a maximum wage for CEOs and a recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. Readers were even driven to a website that has the same look as the New York Times site. Many commuters admitted to thinking that the paper was real.

A liberal group called the Yes Men, famous for its practical jokes claimed responsibility for the prank. While funny, it is also just a little scary and how easily a mass amount of inaccurate information can be distributed with a little bit of organisation.

It’s product-placement-o-rama with the launch of the latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Not content with the outrageous brand shots in Casino Royale, 007 may soon be seen ditching his Martini in favour of whiskey mixed with a cool, thirst-quenching Coca Cola.

Coca-Cola’s sugar free Coke Zero has paid handsomely to be a promotional partner of the Bond brand, and will use the Bond theme tune in its ads and temporarily masquerade as Coke Zero Zero Seven in celebration of the film launch.

Collectively, Ford, Heineken, Smirnoff, Omega, Virgin Atlantic, Sony Ericsson and Sony electronics have dished out around £50m (€62.48m) for the privilege of being associated with Ian Fleming’s spy character. Clearly some brands work (Omega, Virgin Atlantic), while others jar slightly (Ford, Heineken). This has enabled punmeisters across the globe to smugly pen “license to sell” headlines.

Bond has long been a honey pot for brands – the epitome of cool, the international man of mystery appeals to both men and women. The 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun featured extensive use of AMC cars, even in scenes in Thailand where the cars weren’t.

Casino Royale featured lingering shots of his Sony Vaio computer, a showcase of Sony Ericsson’s GPS technology, and a hotel which archived its security surveillance on Sony Blu-Ray discs. Interestingly one of the only non-branded phones is owned by a baddie who eventually dies - probably because he didn’t own a Sony Ericsson.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times? Why drive an Aston Martin, when you can squeeze yourself into a Ford Fiesta? It is much easier to park and economical to drive, not to mention less conspicuous, when one is engaged in international espionage.