See the game on Saturday? Painful wasn’t it. If we can’t beat a team that doesn’t even call football by its real name, then we have some serious issues.

The England camp is more optimistic than me. Robert Green is confident he has the mental resolve to bounce back from the World Cup howler that helped the United States draw 1-1 with England.

“I’m sure there’s 50-odd million people disappointed with me, but I’ll come back, work hard and it won’t affect me,” said West Ham goalkeeper Green.

“At half time I walked in, apologised to the lads and moved on.”

Gerrard added: “Conceding the goal shocked us a bit because when you go in front a team like us expects to go on and win… we can’t criticise the keeper - the ball is tricky and we’ll get behind Rob. I’m sure he’ll come back from this, learn from this, and go from strength to strength. He’ll play his part further down the line. Terry added: “It’s one of those things. Mistakes happen and we’re in this together. We need to get behind Rob - he’s got good friends here.”

Capello’s strategy of naming his team just before the game was backed by the Football Association’s Trevor Brooking.

“His idea has always been that sometimes when you have a big squad and you know the team, those not involved switch off and you become a playing group and a non-playing group,” the Football Association’s director of football development told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.

Remember it’s not to late to get your hands on some World Cup based promotional products. You know you don’t have to travel all the way to South Africa, to have your own brand vuvuzela!

This type of plastic horn or trumpet has been used in Mexican stadiums since the 1970s. Originally made out of tin, the vuvuzela became popular in South Africa in the 1990s. Well-known Kaizer Chiefs FC fan Freddie “Saddam” Maake claims to have invented the vuvuzela by adapting an aluminium version as early as 1965 from a bicycle horn after removing the black rubber to blow with his mouth. He later found it to be too short and joined a pipe to make it longer.

Contact the friendly team over at Gift Selection for your branded Vuvuzelas!

Did you see the Golden Globe Awards the other night? It was the 67th year, but the first that the star-studded ceremony had seen a host for 15 years.

An unlikely choice of host was Briton’s own Ricky Gervais, who had the nerve racking honour of keeping banter levels high. His targets included Sir Paul McCartney, Angelina Jolie, Steve Carrell, TV network NBC and the Hollywood smart set in general.

My favourite line of the night was: “Looking at all the faces here makes me remember all the great work that’s been done this year by cosmetic surgeons,” he joked.

He went down a lot easier then fellow Brit, Russell Brand, who the American public did not warm to, after his attempt at hosting the MTV Music Awards. The Associated Press called Gervais “cheeky, silly and funny as heck” for his gentle jabs at the Hollywood A List.

If your organisation is handing out awards of its own, then going to a quality supplier like Gift Selection will ensure you can find exactly what you’re looking for. Personalised awards can look really impressive, if done in the right way, while a great choice of styles and materials are available.

If for example your business had links with the travel and tourism industry, handing out crystal globe awards would send out a real smart corporate image. Maybe you don’t have the same budget as the Golden Globes, but Gift Selection can still accommodate those on a lesser budget too.

Rather than a large crystal award, a smartly engraved crystal tumbler or even a paperweight would do the job nicely also. Remember, if you have any questions at all about engraved crystal, contact the friendly team over at Gift Selection.

For 2010 Giftselection and Pens2order are launching a new range of low cost promotional pens – the Scripto series.

Scripto being the Latin word for ‘I write’, this budget pen brand is actually rooted in early 20th Century American ingenuity and design. Scripto went into business in 1923 and was known as the M. A. Ferst Company. It was a major supplier of graphite leads. The following year the company name was changed to Scripto. The company hasn’t looked back, and is popular in the U.S promotions market.

In the New Year they will offer a collection of “noteworthy” promotional items, in a range of smart designs and expressive colour ways. There is the eye catching Scripto feather ballpoint, right through to the cost effective Stockholm and Marcos models, set to rival popular models such as the Senator Superhit or the Alaska Frost.

 So if you are looking for a low cost promotional pen, the sort of thing to give out at trade stands, or to send out in the mail, why not make some enquiries about the new Script range of branded pens.

Marketing site Brand Republic recently interviewed the great British public, asking for their opinions over the proposed plans to change the image of dear old Mickey Mouse. The consensus was that Mickey should not be changed into cunning and cantankerous character as it would “spoil the essence” of the 71-year-old Disney character and be “a very expensive mistake. Not only that, but how many six year olds know what cantankerous means anyway?

Similarly when ordering promotional products, I always advise people to use the same branding across all their products, and only change your brand if you’re absolutely certain. It is unwise to have your branded mugs clashing with your branded pens for example.

Unfortunately Disney hasn’t got wind of their research and, in a bid to make him appeal to a new generation; the iconic character will now take on a “cunning and cantankerous streak” for a new Disney video game, ‘Epic Mickey’, to be released in 2010. The industry in general agrees with this survey; “There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character,” said Matt Britton, managing partner of brand consultancy Mr. Youth.

Epic Mickey, designed for Nintendo’s Wii console, is set in a “cartoon wasteland” where Disney’s forgotten and retired creations live….The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World.”

The Guinness world record holder for the person with the longest fingernails in the world has lost them in a car crash – only in the US. Lee Redmond, of Salt Lake City, Utah, sustained serious but not fatal injuries in the accident. Whether these injuries were the result of her ridiculously long nails or not I’m unsure.  Her once record-breaking nails, which hadn’t been cut since 1979, measured in at 35 inches before the accident.

I think this was God’s way of hinting that better personal hygiene was in order. If your staff are looking like they could do with a manicure - then promotional nail files makes a handy corporate gift. Personalised nail files make for a cost effective marketing tool, that would work well as a mailer.With this personalised nail file and polish set, your clients and staff will keep looking their best. This promotional beauty product would make a welcome addition to any ladies handbag. Alternatively it would a great promotional product for any business involved with the beauty industry.

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.

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…

 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.

For as long as anyone can remember Walt Disney has been the most globally recognisable entertainment corporation. The company embodies America, success and capitalism. With a gigantic merchandise business, are we all in love with Disney?

It seems an interesting dualism that many professionals scoff at the sight of a Mickey Mouse watch or Donald Duck socks. Depending on where you work, wearing a Mickey Mouse tie to the office would not only warrant a frown, but will lead co-workers and managers to question your professionalism. One more careless trip to the Disney Store and you’ll be collecting your p45.

On the other hand many see Disney as the epitome of creativity, success and growth. No matter what your business, that plastic keep sake you got from Florida last summer, is a reminder to work hard and achieve great things.

Where do you stand on the issue? All this talk of cheese has given me food for thought…

With the previous blog entries being on the gloomy side, I felt it was time for a something a little more light hearted.

Little Britain USA is to return for a second series, casting a shadow of the claims that the American audience where too offended, or that they simply didn’t understand the humour.

Despite the US having stricter rules about what is allowed to be on TV, David Walliams said they didn’t tone down any scenes. The comedy duo said the American network were very happy about there first series, despite having; “some of our most outrageous things in it.”

To celebrate our British boys flying the comedy flag for us across the pond, why not have a Little Britain/ Americana themed party? When it comes to promotional gift companies, then I want that one… www.giftselection.com  

To get everyone in the mood for a party, slap a personalised Spiro cap on their head, shove a promotional party whistle in their mouth, and pour them a drink into a custom printed American style tumbler.

Ye but no but, but obviously a party, wouldn’t be a party without some decorations. I’ve noticed that the website also has some excellent printed foil balloons. For the only gay in the village, there are corporate latex balloons… but you’ll have to provide your own shorts. To really get your place kitted out, then their printed roller banners and  corporate ad flags are just the thing.

If your order with www.giftselection.com, then the computer would defiantly say yes.