Hi all, I haven't posted much recently, but that's been deliberate. I'm getting so many people still asking about that amazing Honda Cog TV commercial, I'm almost reluctant to put much more on the Home page right now, because it will scroll the Honda stuff into the Archive! However, I have a reputation for updating regularly, so I can't ignore everyone else forever! An interesting aside to all this is, I have had three separate enquiries from journalists writing about various aspects of this ad'. As I'm a marketing person myself, I'm delighted to reply and who knows, maybe stephenbell.net may appear in an article somewhere! As for Honda, I suppose telling you good people how to get the commercial on your PC Desktop is, strictly speaking, against copyright, but it's a compliment, and what incredible viral marketing! I didn't see John West complaining when people started sending around the "Man Vs. Bear" TV commercial, so I reckon Honda will forgive me. I'll state here and now though, if Honda or their lawyers object, I'll remove everything immediately, so there you are; the offer is sincerely made.

Whilst on the subject, some of the requests I have received have been so enthusiastic! They include: "Hi Steve, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!", "I want to show it to others, and you're right- it's great 'viral marketing'.", "Please, I love that commercial", "Gotta have it!!! it's so brilliant." and "I was convinced it was computer animated! Please, PLEEEAAASSSEEE send me a copy so I can marvel at it again and again."

Wrigleys "Dog Breath" Commercial
Next subject: I received a letter this morning from the ITC. (British TV advertising watchdog organisation.) I have never, ever, complained about a TV commercial before, but I did about the recent Wrigleys "Dog Breath" commercial. It turns out, I was apparently one of 860 people who complained about it - an "unprecedented number" according to the ITC. The ad' was withdrawn voluntarily by Wrigleys. The interesting thing is the pure number of people who objected to this UK TV Commercial. Part of the letter I received today reads: "The number of complaints that the ITC received was without precedent. On hearing from the ITC of the viewer reaction, the advertising agency expressed its concern and took steps to restrict transmission to after 9pm whilst considering how the material could be appropriately edited. When the ITC informed the agency that complaints were still being received in large numbers, and it was clear that significant offence was being caused, the Wrigley Company announced the withdrawal of the advertisement." Good job too!

Just as I will laud a commercial like "Honda Cog" I will complain (maybe more in future) when commercials disgust me as much as this one did. Wrigleys - I'm genuinely surprised at you, and withdrawing it was the right thing to do. You can read about the commercial (which I am certainly not about to describe here) and the full ITC adjudication here.

And finally: The site statistics for last week are in. 1,483 unique visitors - down from last week, but I was expecting that. Nobody with a site like this could expect to maintain over 1,800 unique visitors a week. However, it's great to know you people are finding something interesting here. Back to normal soon I'm sure.