Take a look at the advertisement on the right. Now look again. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is actually an advertisement taken out by a financial institution to boast about supporting an SME manufacturing business based in the North of England!
What’s more it’s a true story, will wonders never cease? I wasn’t aware that most banks knew where Rochdale is let alone would actually support a business based there!
Fair play to GE Capital on this one, where most banks fear to tread they’ve gone in and backed a British manufacturer when far too many doors in our big UK banks are at best barely ajar and at worst are slammed in manager’s faces, despite the assurances given with Project Merlin.
What’s more GE Capital are telling the world about it with a series of advertisements. In fact this one is running across national newspapers including the FT, business publications and regional newspapers. It is next due to run in the Birmingham Post on 7th July.
If anything proves the extraordinary performance, resilience and all round “just get on with it” spirit of British manufacturers surely this it. As John Hanson, son of the managing director quoted in the advertisement, told me yesterday: “People want to know us [manufacturers] again. We’re hot.” Yes, even the banks!
Friday, 1 July 2011
UK Manufacturing: Suddenly it’s sexy again!
Friday, 11 June 2010
Fash Pack do Feminism, in an Ann Summers way that is...
Feminism is a dirty word. That’s what Stylist was telling us this week. Oh whatever, women care about their rights. Whether we pack it up in a pink box and wrap a ribbon around it, or tell women it’s about ‘burning bras’ and ‘hairy legs.’ Most of us will have an opinion on it. I know that you want to be ‘controversial,’ but this topic has been everywhere – from the page 3 ‘beauties’ in the Sun, to the most hoighty-toighty of broadsheet columnists. It’s been covered enough times to make you think watching Countryfile is fun. Genuinely it’s not. It’s about as fun as Scrapheap challenge. But that’s another blog in itself... I’m a liberal feminist. Am I defined by this? No - it’s gives my opinions a name. I’ve read my Marxist Feminists, Radical Feminists, Black Feminists... If you want to find out about it, you probably will. But this read more like Usborne’s first book of Feminism. The patronising level this magazine slowly tiptoed into was truly painful http://issue.stylist.co.uk/Stylist-style-fashion-beauty-news/1A4c0d0aa146bfd012.cde Now speaking really slowly, I ammmm goinggg to expllllainnn what the firrrrst waaave is ... I agree that rape conviction rates are atrocious, that the pay gap is far too wide – but this title is aimed at professional career-minded commuter ladies, non? I was so excited about Stylist’s launch http://willoughbypr.blogspot.com/2009/07/have-you-been-shortlisted-for-your-own.html that it felt such a missed opportunity. What was interesting is the fact they put 3 ad agencies on the case – most of which wanting to ‘reclaim feminsm’ and bring back its shine. The most radical of which (not) came up with an idea to produce special t-shirts – because if Lilly Allen and Alexa Chung wear something we’ll immediately copy it. Just give them slogans such as ‘Hello boys. I’m a feminist’ and ‘Feminists get laid more’ (I’m struggling to type these...) and then we’ll love the word again. Plus (I’m presuming) men will love it too. Ha. It’s less Katherine Hamnett, more Ann-Summers do intelligent - isn’t it? Stylist I like you. We do need to talk about women’s issues, but I don’t think you gave the ‘normal’ woman enough credit. Right, that over with, I’m off to buy some dungarees ;)
