The Man Who Brought You OK!, Brings You The Health Lottery
The Health Lottery is launched today by Richard Desmond, who owns Channel 5, the Daily Express, OK and other media interests.
Surely, with the state the country is in, we don’t need a venture like this. This is an extract from the BBC article.
Some charity leaders have been critical that less will go to good causes than from each National Lottery ticket.
The Health Lottery will donate over 20p per £1 ticket, compared with 28p for every National Lottery ticket.
That has been branded a “pretty disgraceful development” by Sir Stephen Bubb, of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.
I shall not be buying a ticket. In addition, I shall not be buying anything from any shop that sells the tickets either, as now is not the time, to inflict another tax on the poor and the stupid.
One point about the Daily Express and the Daily Star is that if you click on their web sites or arrive there through Google, you immediately get a new browser window with an advert. How long before these windows are advertising the Health Lottery?
I also like this bit from the Independent diary of March 2nd, this year.
More sterling work from brand synergy specialist Elisa Roche, showbusiness editor of the Daily Express, who yesterday managed to squeeze an entire two-page spread from the news that her boss – philanthropist and former publisher of Asian Babes, Richard Desmond – had launched “The Health Lottery”, a new lottery game designed to raise money for health charities. Admittedly, almost half of the aforementioned spread was taken up by a large picture of Desmond (who owns Television X, Express Newspapers, OK! magazine and Channel 5) and his girlfriend, flanked by fellow guests at the “star-studded” launch. “Celebrities who were keen to show their support for the fantastic new lottery,” the optimistic Ms Roche dutifully reports, “included Kirsty Duffy, from Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, [Channel 5] weathergirl Sian Welby, OK! TV’s Matt Johnson and Kate Walsh, Zoe Salmon of Fiver’s The Love Bus and Channel 5 news presenters Emma Crosby and Matt Barbet.”
I’ve never heard of any of those celebrities at the launch of the Health Lottery, but then I’ve never read OK magazine.
Were BBC Radio 5 and ITV Watching Different Rugby Matches?
At half time in the England-Romania match, I switched over to BBC Radio 5 to avoid the adverts.
Whereas the ITV commentators were gushing about England’s performance by leading comfortably, Ian Robertson on the BBC was more professional and clinical in his analysis.
Here is a typical comment from Robertson.
If I was a fanatical England supporter I wouldn’t be thrilled.
I know he’s a Scot and I know little about rugby, but England did seem to make too many mistakes for my liking against Romania’s second team.
But then ITV commentators are more interested in ratings to get more adverts, than good balanced commentary.
But could you expect any more from a channel that produces some of the rubbish it does?
The Daily Express Annoys Their Jewish and Muslim Readers
According to the BBC this morning, the Express is giving away a voucher for a free gammon steak today.
I would link to the Express, but as when you access that website, it opens another window selling the viewer something he or she doesn’t want, I won’t. I wonder how many others hate that practice with as much venom as I do?
I did find the details on the excellent Money Saving Expert website. Here is what you get.
Just spotted the add in todays paper
Weekday paper is 45p, Saturday 70p, Sunday £1
Get from Budgens & Londis
Saturday – Gammon Steaks
Monday – Crumpets
Tuesday – Natural Yoghurt
Wednesday – Pack of Wagon Wheels
Thursday – Ocean Spray Cranberry & Blueberry Drink
Friday – Quaker Porridge Oats
What a wonderfully balanced diet! Especially for a coeliac like me. Cranberries are also banned if you’re on Warfarin.
They didn’t mention that you could tear the newspaper into squares and use it for toilet paper.
A Funny Thing To Advertise At Football
I was intrigued by this advert at Bloomfield Road.
What is pata-ab.eu?
What does pata-ab.eu do? It’s nothing dodgy, but a timber company. I wouldn’t get a wonga loan to buy your timber though!
Strange!
Who Would Want To Watch Court TV?
Having seen the odd case in a Court of Law, I can’t understand why anybody would want to watch it on television. It must only be for the same freak show reasons, that people watch crap like Big Brother, Britain’s Got Talent, basketball and American football. I’m thinking of setting up a channel where you can watch kettles boil or paint dry. It would be a lot more exciting!
I suppose if it was funded by advertising, Court TV might get them out of programs worth seeing.
But I won’t be watching!
After Ruining Horse Racing and Cricket Coverage, are Channel 4 Now Doing It With Athletics?
I have not watched any of Channel 4’s coverage of the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, and it seems according to this article in the Guardian, I’m not missing much, by listening on the radio.
They try too hard to make sure they get the advertisers, that they ruin the product. They did this with horseracing and now it has been dumbed down so much I don’t watch.
In the end, there is only two ways to show quality sport; either-free-to-air without advertising or by subscription. I know Sky has adverts and they can be irritating, but their presenters are generally professional. Comparing Sky coverage of the Champions League, with that of ITV, is much more than a matter of chalk and cheese.
We won’t have to worry for long though, as events like the Athletics World Championship will be available on a quality basis over the Internet in the near future for a fee. And hopefully for a fee that has two levels; one with advertising and one without.
Virgin’s Bare-Faced Cheek!
Today’s Evening Standard ia wrapped in an advert for Virgin Media. Many were just tearing it off and using it as litter.
But the thing I objected to was this on the back.
Our repair team won’t take your money.
Well not directly, but if you haven’t got a landline because of a fault, and you have to use a more expensive mobile phone, isn’t that costing you money.
Hopefully, I’ll have got rid of the shower in a few weeks.
I have submitted a complaint to the ASA.
This was my description of the complaint.
The advert contains the wording “our repair team won’t take your money.”
About the 1st of August my landline with Virgin Media failed. I have used my mobile phone to make several calls to them to try to get it fixed. They did once. but it failed a couple of days later.
So their repair team, hasn’t taken my money directly, but in practice I have been charged quite a bit in trying to get an adequate response from Virgin Media. I have done what any sane man, who has lost his wife and son to cancer would do and cancelled. I have a feeling that my anger is so great that it caused Richard Branson’s house on Necker to burn down. I am of course sorry if it did, as I wish him, his family or his companies no harm, other than what they are due because they have offended against various codes.
Let’s see what happens.
Vodafone Waste Their Money
In the Evening Standard tonight amongst the reports of the riots was a Vodafone advert with the headline Free iPhone4 for summer.
Hasn’t anybody who wants one, nicked it by now?
The phone might be free, but you have to pay forty pounds a month to use it.
Formula One Goes Partly to Sky
I’m actually not that bothered as I can get Sky on my cable. Especially, as they have said they are not going to have adverts during the racing. At least it didn’t go to ITV, who have so many adverts they can turn the best television into gibberrish.
My problem with Sky, is that I can’t get it over broadband, unless I sign up to their broadband.
I only want Sky Sports, so would be happy to pay on a pay-per-view basis over the Internet.
As to Virgin Cable, it’s crap, as the box is very unuser friendly and the channels are laid out illogically Since I’ve moved, I haven’t recorded anything at all, but I have watch a few programs through iPlayer on my computer.
A Web Site Not To Use
In my previous post, I mentioned that some web sites, when you access them, open a new browser with a full page advert.
I find this practice very unacceptable. I know that some of the more sleazy tabloids use this practice, but I just opened the web site for the Daily Express. I got a very unacceptable advertisement in another copy of my browser. Incidentally, when I closed this unwanted browser window, it immediately reopened and only by closing the original page containing the Daily Express web site, was I able to continue without being interrupted by offensive advertising.
So I shall be continuing of my policy of never having bought this rag in my lifetime! And I’ll never look at their web site again, unless there is a story there, that I have to look at. But I haven’t needed to yet!
I shall be reporting them to someone. But who?
The Anonymous Widower 