Last week our PR company gave us some tickets to attend the very mysterious Desperados Twisted Mission; an exclusive event to celebrate their new lime and mint flavour, which involved an Instagram challenge followed by a private Sub Focus gig. It was hard finding out anything about this apart from the fact we had to turn up at 7pm in London's XOYO. On entering the luminous green bar area which was urbanly decorated with gritty metal cages of Desperado beer, we were handed a wristband, two tokens for a couple of Verdes, and a lanyard with instructions for the mission. The challenge was simple; to visit 5 bars around the area, take a selfie, and tag it with the hashtag #DVTM. Make it back to the bar in time and you'll get to see Sub Focus. It was a fun, simple challenge which didn't require too much effort and wasn't too cringe so people would back out. Missions and challenges to win is something I've always wanted to do on social for the brand I work on, how...

At the risk of sounding like I use my blog to just rant about ads that annoy me... I need to get this off my chest. Has anyone else noticed the increase in ads which use old hip hop classics? First, Money Supermarket and their bizarre Snoop Dogg partnership. This ad never bothered me much until I was about to get down to 'What's My Name?' in the car, when my sister immediately changed the song and said that she couldn't enjoy it now because it reminded her of ' You're So Money Supermarket '! Such a thoughtless ad, ruining a great song for my sister and most likely the nation. Twat A one off? Well no. Because suddenly comes along a mankini-wearing gnome , exposing himself to one of my all-time faves, 'Mr Boombastic'. They have called this paedophilic gnome Gavin, in hope of making him some kind of fun spokesperson for the brand. Fine, I don't even have time to go into the pointlessness of this disturbing ad: I'll never be able ...

I'm so sick of non-sexual foods doing overly sexual ads. Main reason for this outburst is Muller's new Deluxe Fruit Corner ad featuring Nicole Scherzinger. Her 'muller-licious' line was cringe enough without her now orgasming in the back of a cab. Not only does she scream 'yes baby.. YES!' after taking a bite of a yogurt (A YOGURT), but then when the cab throws her forward, she sits up with the creamy substance on her nose... basically like the yogurt just jizzed on her face. She then giggles it off like this is normal behaviour whilst the cab driver is most likely thinking she is clinically insane. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY4lH4q9DUY Nicole really shows off her wide range of acting skills as she's also the current spokesperson for Herbal Essences, another ad in which she climaxes whilst washing her hair. No wonder guys think they don't have to work hard. She really loves chocolate sprinkles Another one that rea...

Tesco's have really impressed me in the past year. I don't know what changes they have made internally, but they seem to be doing everything right; from their funny ads , to their legendary Twitter banter , to their very well-timed advice online… they have really stood out as a brand that, well, stands out. My reason for this sudden Tesco love-fest is because I saw their new F&F summer range advert today. At first I thought it was for a big high street store, maybe H&M or TopShop, because the music was cool, the clothes were bang on trend, and the models looked liked something out of Victoria Secret (which they are). Take a look... I don't buy clothes from Tesco's; mainly because I assume the F&F range is for the older woman or children. In fact, I don't buy my clothes from supermarket chains at all.  Clothing ads from supermarkets are always so try hard and always feature Coleen Rooney or someone else you'd rather not look like. How...

Today was the day that my team, Lucozade Energy, released their brand new advert. "When the energy flows, and everything clicks… there's a word for it…. YES" The advert is for our YES Moment campaign which celebrates, inspires and creates YES moments. A YES moment is basically when you're with your mates, having the greatest, most memorable time - you're lost in the moment and you never want it to end. A moment of spontaneity or madness; a moment you will never forget. Being part of the marketing team and working on this campaign, I am heading up the social side of it; promoting #YESMoment on Twitter and spreading this message online. 2014 is set to be a really exciting year. A partnership with Club MTV, another year on the festival scene, plus a long running on-pack offer called The YES Project which offers hourly prizes. This month we are offering trips to Cancun for spring break (which I am still trying to blag a spot… for business reasons…), and...

You may have heard of the Australian bestseller, ' I Quit Sugar ', by Sarah Wilson. After reading her interview and recipes in YOU Magazine, I was intrigued. Dietary essentials are carbs, protein and veg... sugar is actually the one thing we don't need. 'That's easy!' I thought, 'all I really need to cut out is cake, chocolate, sweets etc. I still get to eat meat, carbs, dairy... '. The first meal time was a party. But that kind of diet has no longevity. I need food for lunch at work, food for on the go, and meals that are sustainable. So I stepped foot inside Sainsbury's to find some sugar-free delights. Here's a tip - THERE ARE NONE. I was wandering the aisles like a lost little match girl for an hour, clinging olives and salami close to my chest, gasping at how much sugar is in everything. The world is literally against people who are trying to cut out sugar. There was an aisle for products that had no gluten, no dairy, no wheat.....

Happy New Year! I spent my New Year in Paris. What a spectacularly, mind-blowingly, awesomely... shit idea. They don't do countdowns, fireworks or sing Auld Lang Syne. In true British fashion, I silently grumbled and shuffled off. I may do a blog post on the highs and lows of Paris eventually as I'd love to try and put the Moulin Rouge experience into words - attempting something more detailed than 'very camp'. Anyway, my first post of 2014 is unfortunately one of my employer's competitors, Coca Cola. I only spotted their new ad last night so forgive my tardiness. If you haven't seen it take a look below with the volume up. This ad is part of their 'Reasons to Believe' campaign, a campaign that has already run successfully in 70 other countries. I loved the gritty feel to the ad, using news clips and real footage. Brid Drohan-Stewart, Marketing Activation Director says, " This campaign takes us back to the heartland of what our brand ha...

I'm sure you have all by now seen or heard of Tesco Mobile's Twitter responses. If you haven't yet, check them out here . Tesco Mobile have been praised and raved about for the past month or so, because of the quick and witty comebacks they send to the internet trolls who mock Tesco's mobile service. It's a great idea. If you have seen the Tesco Mobile adverts , you'll see that they were the first to take the piss out of themselves. When they created the service, they knew that young people would be sending them abuse and calling them shit. So, when creating their social platform, Tesco Mobile knew they had to get someone to respond who could give as good as they got. It makes perfect sense for their brand. You have also probably seen the ' Best Twitter Conversation Ever ', whereby Tesco Mobile, Yorkshire Tea and Jaffa Cakes have humorous banter with each other. Now that other brands have seen this, they want a piece of the action. They want...

As a first time buyer, the recent Lloyd's ad really caught my attention. It's the first mortgage-related ad that has ever done that, most probably because it has been obviously targeted to people in their 20's, like me.  Take a look... So the guy has reached the point where he is fed up with the critical comments, the incessant questions and constant nagging that comes with living with his parents whilst saving to buy. At times I have too felt like this so I can relate to it well (apart from being 31 of course...) You generally feel quite hopeless. I'm sure most twenty-somethings still living with their parents will be drawn in by this familiar scenario, so the light at the end of the tunnel seems brighter when Lloyd's announce their first-time buyers scheme. Lloyd's make it sound ever so simple, '... I got a nice little place of my own with my own deposit, and some help from my parents.' Well, based on my experience so far, it's not that...

What other way to spend a lazy Sunday than channeling that creativity into making a scenic cake! Calorific AND fun - what could be better? However, I free-style recipes and have severe lack of patience. Do you really have to sieve? Do you really  have to wait for the sponge to cool before applying the icing? The aim was this: The reality was this: Didn't bother finishing it. Never baking again.