Tuesday 10 February 2009

A fitted vest for Kanye West?

" I used to be scared to talk to a gay person." Perhaps not the greatest shock to learn this less than broad minded perspective emanates from the hip hop community. In a recent MTV interview, Kanye West points the finger at fellow rappers ( naming no names, presumably for fear of being peppered by the indiscriminate ammo from a Mach 10 ) and says his contemporaries worry what other people will think if they converse with a homosexual. In a piece of bar room philosophy almost akin to Socrates in its profundity, West denied that a person's dress sense betrays their sexuality, adding he is secure with his own orientation and happy to talk to gay people. How magnanimous !

West said: "In hip-hop, there's people - and let's not even say scared like homophobic - but they're scared of the way people gonna look at them." At the peak of his libertarian powers, our conciliatory friend declares he's happy to dress in an outlandish fashion and have conversations with people who he refers to as " blatantly gay ".

Now there's a category that councils will be latching onto. Degrees of gayness. " Please tick the box you consider most applies to yourself."

Are you (a) Secretly gay (b) Openly but subtly gay or (c) Blatantly gay ?

If only the world had more rappers.

Thursday 5 February 2009

Christian Bale - No Salvation

"Do you want me to trash your lights? Do you want me to trash your effin' lights?" Not the most convincing or sinister of threats; in fact a rather cissy and milksop excuse of a hissy fit. Nonetheless an ill judged and pretentious tirade. Frankly, a wildly generous philanthropic gesture of Bruce Wayne proportions couldn't restore the damaged reputation of Mr Bale now. What of the films director ? What say you, Mr McG? A deafening silence. It would appear that the living tissue over his metal endo skeleton conceals one missing but vital element : a spine. Not a word of castigation for our self absorbed protagonist. Massively paid film actors are beyond reproach and too terrified to call Bale's bluff, McG (wasn't he Madame Cholet's hubby in The Wombles?) cowers into his panaflex lens. It's one thing to chide someone for wandering onto set during an emotionally charged scene, another to smash up their fluorescent tubes. Christian Bale is so big for his boots that there is now only one course of action; send a cyborg back in time to teach the punk some manners.

Monday 2 February 2009

Wonkana's unbridled success

There's much to crow about in Wonkana podcasting circles. The new media chattering classes are agog at how we've taken a previously un commercial format and made it work for business. The BBC and some of their mass media bedfellows latched onto the podcast with an almost dilatory air. It was almost perfunctory. Nothing so reckless from the nattily dressed chaps at Wonkana Productions.
Without exception, we have broken ground in this medium and stimulated interest previously unseen. Of course, a good deal of our strategy is about cutting through the plethora of marketing white noise that permeates much of 21st century society. To create something different, listenable, watchable and unforgettable is our key aim.
Even more satisfying is when you pick up a client who shares your vision, enthusiasm and sense of humour. Lloyd Richards, owner of LPR Mortgage Services is positioning himself as not just another mortgage broker, but someone champions the cause of the consumer. I think the spirit of that has been captured succinctly in The Real Mortgage Show, an audio podcast that is available on iTunes and on the home page of Lloyd's website at http://www.lprmortgages.co.uk

It's not about the hard sell, it's conveying personality, insight and trust. 550 downloads and rising says the podcast reigns.