DIPPING OUR TOES IN THE TINSEL
This is not the Drop Everything It’s The Christmas Party edition of the Clubhouse. That’s coming next week.
This is the We’ve Put Up The Christmas Tree But We’re Still Working Pretty Much As Normal Although Yes, We’re Playing Christmas Music And Kevin From Finance Has Got His Stupid Jumper On edition. Let’s not get carried away just yet.
We’ve got product demonstrations, robots and naming projects. And we’ve also got snowmen, festive playlists and David Bowie.
We are allowing mince pies, but only because they count as a substantial meal.
Welcome.
SHOW ME WHAT YOU’RE SELLING
The case for product demonstrations
You don't see too many product demonstration adverts these days. Copywriter Dave Dye has pulled together this selection of classic ads that show just how effective - and entertaining - this unfashionable format can be.
HOW DAVID BOWIE ENDED UP IN THE SNOWMAN
We didn’t dream it. It was real.
We often wondered if we’d imagined the David Bowie introduction to Raymond Briggs’ classic Christmas movie. But no, it’s real. This is the story of how it came to be.
PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT
This bit is only for humans
We know you’re not a robot - we made you prove it on the way in. Relive the memories of our wonderful testing process here.
(File under Good Videos We Saw on Twitter, along with this amazing animation loop)
HAVE A HAPPY CHRISTMAS. OR A SAD ONE.
It’s up to you
Here’s how it works: we’ve made two Christmas playlists - one happy, one sad.
The happy one is called Different Gravy, and is full of joyful Motown Christmas cuts, seasonal boogie woogies and nice cheese.
The sad one is called Cold Turkey, and it’s for those who prefer a more melancholy Christmas season, with Christmas miseries from the likes of Tom Waits, Belle and Sebastian and Joni Mitchell.
Talking of Joni Mitchell, here’s her classic album Blue performed as a camp northern monologue, a la Bennett.
HOW TO THRIVE WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS TERRIBLE
Staying positive in negative times
You don’t need a psychologist to tell you that this year has been a bit trying on the old positivity front. But a few tips on how to cultivate a sense of vitality and growth in the middle of it all might be helpful.
AND FINALLY, FROM THE WRITING CLUB DESKS...
THE FULL WORKS PLAN
Named by yours truly
EE created a brand new plan for the launch of the iPhone 12. It's pretty much the best phone plan you can get, with every cool Apple feature you could ever want on top of massive allowances of 5G data. We enjoyed helping Kevin and his colleagues name it.
