The US pharmaceutical industry has spoken out against promotional products in a response to the growing concerns the medical community has over potential conflicts of interests. This is big bad news for the promotional product industry as it is estimated that it will cost the US industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

There certainly was a thriving market as drug companies across the pond spent over $6 billion in total on marketing activities in 2007. This money was spent on surgery visits, breakfast and lunch presentations as well as printed promotional pens and other promotional corporate gifts.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America had already issued a code of conduct, which had banned expensive goods such as free holidays already. However this didn’t go far enough according to the ‘No Free Lunch’ lobby, which campaigned hard for even small gifts not to be allowed.

If you’re thinking of bribing your local GP, and are wondering where the law lies in the UK - then I can tell you. The promotions of medicines is controlled in part by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and a self regulatory body. Basically corporate gifts are allowed - but they must be “inexpensive and relevant.” This means that things that a GP would actually use like a pen or notebook are acceptable, but they cannot exceed the value of £6.

MP’s have spoken over the “unacceptably”, of the high numbers of people in England who cannot read, write and count properly.

The Public Accounts Committee said that in 2007; “51,000 pupils left school without a GCSE of any kind in maths and 39,000 left without this in English.” Call me a snob but one doesn’t have to be an Albert Einstein or a William Shakespeare to get a grade F in Maths or English either. It seems that these struggling youngsters are simply following in the foot steps, of their older pears. The report also announced that only one in five people with these poor basic skills had enrolled in a course to help them.

The government has defended itself, by saying that no other previous party has ever invested so much in basic skills for the nation.

Isn’t the answer obvious? Let’s help improve our nation’s literacy by using more (eco friendly) promotional pens and promotional paper!

In Mexico an 11 year old boy has killed six bulls in a single fight! Little blood thirsty Franco as been bullfighting since he was just four years old. In the past many of his fights have been banned after protests by animal rights groups, but this time he wasn’t taking no for an answer and the fight went ahead.

Some 3,500 gore lovers including many children, reportedly gathered to witness the fight at the ring in the eastern city of Merida in Yucatan State. The little matador is already an international star in the world of bullfighting, as he first entered the ring when he was just four and killing his first bull calf two years later – what a moooving achievement for the lad.

Incidentally if you were wondering if this was a world record – it isn’t.  Due to the fact that Guinness, does not accept records that are based upon the harming of animals.

If your looking to drum up some excitement for a large outdoor event, be it a bull fight or your kids Sunday league team then their are a great range of promotional products available. One could invest in promotional blimps, balloons or adflags to cheer your team on with.

The other day a New Zealander by the name of Chris Ogle 29, stumbled upon some confidential data about US military personnel on an MP3 player he bought from a thrift shop in Oklahoma!

Unbelievably according to New Zealand TV, included in the files where the names, social security and telephone numbers of American soldiers and bits of information to do with Afghanistan briefings. All of this came with warnings, saying that the release of these contents is “prohibited by federal law.”

This loss of sensitive data from the world’s most powerful organisation, which landed into the hands of someone who didn’t even try and get hold of it both laughable and worrying.

Security issues have never been more apparent, with the need to protect one’s data crucial for any business or body of people large or small. For promotional security items, then gadgets2order is one supplier who could really help you. Their friendly team is always on hand to discuss promotional gadgets that are designed to keep your business safe. Maybe the U.S army should get in touch with them…

For any self respecting Scott, Saturday night was one of the biggest nights of the year (like they need an excuse to party). Burns night is something of an institution over the border, with everyone getting merry and taking the opportunity to celebrate the life and work of their national Bard.  Having (more than) a few drams of Scottish malt whisky and wolfing down haggis, neeps and tatties certainly sounds like a good night in to me.

 Personally I can take or leave the piping precessions that lead up to the real business of all the eating and drinking. A burns night wouldn’t be a Burns night without the famous reading of his words before any eating can begin; “Some hae meat and canna eat,and some wad eat that want it, but we hae meat and we can eat, and sae the Lord be thankit”

For those hosting the event, the night offers some real opportunities for promotional products. A stylish touch I think would be having your own whiskey tumblers or shot glasses made with your business logo on. Cheeers!

It seems we are officially in a recession for the first time since 1991, government figures have confirmed.

The exact figures show that gross domestic product has fallen by 1.5% in the last three months of 2008 - after a 0.6% drop in the previous quarter. What we are seeing now is classed as a recession - as two consecutive quarters of falling economic growth has been seen.

For those of you who like a good statistic it shows the largest quarter-to-quarter fall since 1980, with a 1.8% reduction on the same quarter a year ago. The weakness of the pound is apparent with the sterling reaching a 24-year low against the dollar, with one pound buying a measly $1.355.

Unfortunately unemployment is accelerating sharply, with 1.92 million people now looking for work, while the housing market remains depressed and retail sales lacking. However with property prices falling - this is great news for first time buyers, a long with any one who loves a good bargain like myself.

Coinciding with Obama’s promotional campaign, Pepsi cola have tweaked their famous logo. Their logo has seen various alterations over their history. The artist responsible for their first logo was also one of the chaps who developed the drink. The very first Pepsi logo was drawn by hand back in 1898 by the pharmacist Caleb Bradham.

The latest theme revolves around the white band in the middle of the logo, which will form a series of ’smiles’. These different smiles are set to characterise the different Pepsi’s on the market. A ‘grin’ is used for Diet Pepsi and a ‘laugh’ is used for Pepsi Max, while the smile pictured is for regular Pepsi.

Pepsi is going crazy for marketing at the moment. From October last year it plans to spend $1.2 billion over three years to change all aspects of the brand – “How they look, how they’re packaged, how they will be merchandised on the shelves, and how they connect with consumers”, all of which will be carried out by the Arnell Group.

In case you are interested I have complied a list of their famous marketing phrases from the last century:

AND NOW FOR 2009…     “Refresh Everything”

 In a few hours Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th and first mixed race president of the United States. At least two million people are expected to attend the inauguration, with an estimated one billion people watching the event on their televisions. Mr Obama will take the oath of office on the historic President Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural Bible at 1200 local time (1700 GMT). He will be sworn in on the steps of the Capitol building looking across the city towards the iconic White House.

Mr Obama has played an interesting role in the world of marketing and promotional products, with many brands making ongoing efforts to align themselves with Obama, and his message of hope in particular. The new Pepsi logo and the Obama campaign logo are similar, both  of which use swirls of red, white, and blue. While Pepsi have launched a new website called RefreshEverything.com. The site is dedicated to “the man who is about to refresh our nation”, and invites people “help us refresh America” by uploading a video message to the soon to be President.

Pepsi of course are not the only ones. Ikea have become the new champions of America despite being Sweden’s most famous export. They have been compiling a “WELCOME OBAMA!” guestbook, to kick of the start of his presidency. While Facebook has joined forces with The New York Times to launch a Presidential Suggestion sub-site.

Also according to the 2008 Presidential Image Power Survey from branding firm Landor Associates and research firm Penn, Schoen & Berland, apparantely Barack Obama is particular associated with brands such as BMW, Target, Google and Samuel Adams, while John McCain conjured up images of Ford, Wal-Mart , AOL and Budweiser.

We are becoming baffled by our mobile phones, turning us into an angry mob, a new study has suggested. A massive 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said, setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts.  Also the survey found 85% of users reported they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and running.

Apparently the general public are keen to use new technology such as; browsing the web, reading e-mail, or sending picture messages, but the complexity of modern handsets is leaving us bamboozled.

Consultants Mformation who compiled the survey also found that of the 4,000 people questioned for the survey, 95% said they would be more likely to use new features if the initial set-up was easier.

As we are so fond of our mobile phones, marketing your business with promotional products that relate to them could be a smart move.  Gadgets2order is one promotional product supplier with all kinds of quality corporate gifts such as; flash stickers, telephone torches and bluetooth headsets for example.                                              

“THERES PROBABLY NO GOD. NOW STOP WORRYING AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE”

Do you find this offensive? Or does it fill you with optimism? The more eagle eyed of you will have seen them on the side of buses or on the tube, in the latest marketing campaign by the British Humanist Association. The ad which is meant to make people feel good about themselves, is bound to cause offence to some people. The view held by prominent Atheists such as Richard Dawkins who personally donated to the scheme, is that we have Bishops seated in the House of Lords so atheists should at least be aloud to market there beliefs.

In the news today was reports of a bus driver in Southampton who refused to drive the bus and just went home! Ron Heather, 62, an evangelical Christian from Southampton, refused to drive a bus bearing an advert from a national campaign aimed at persuading more people to “come out” as atheists. Although he later bravely said, “I’m not going to let passengers down because of my feelings.”

How do you feel about the scheme? Is it right for Atheists to market themselves, and advertise their godless morality? Do you respect their liberty, but disagree with their message?

The ASA are looking into the matter, as they have received nearly 150 complaints (although that doesn’t strike me as being that many). Interestingly Stephen Green the mouthpiece for ‘Christian Voice’, argues that the advert breaks the advertising code on the grounds of a lack of truthfulness.

The case continues…