Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’

Apres Ski – The Look Book

Monday, April 4th, 2011
Apres Ski

In December, The Gate and our sister PR agency Smarts went off piste and enjoyed an agency Christmas night out with a difference… at “a recreation of an Alpine village inside an Edinburgh Georgian townhouse, complete with individual ski chalets, snow-covered trees, and a star-lit sky”.

There was only one thing that troubled the invitees… what to wear?

The dress code was apres ski. But what did that mean?

Thankfully our digital guru Jonathan was on hand to help.

“Since there seemed to be some sartorial confusion about exactly what “Apres Ski” is I have complied a quick look book for the ladies. But be prepared, the D&G gear might be a little heavy on the price tag and light on the, well, clothes. Any questions, don’t ask me.”

Here’s Jonathan’s somewhat stylist suggestions for a cosy night out in Scotland:

And of course… a what not to wear too!

First image via Hawke & Hunter Rest of images via google images.

Zoe’s Room 101

Monday, September 27th, 2010

In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Room 101 was the torture chamber where your worst nightmare came true.

On the telly, Room 101 was a comedy show where celebrities attempted to convince us that their pet peeves should be banished forever.

Here at The Gate, our own version of Room 101 was somewhere in the middle. We asked everyone at the agency what their most loathed things were and to share their phobias with us all. Some were surprising, some enlightening, while others just plain disturbing!

Decide for yourself what my Room 101s are…


1. Crocs…

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Crocs are just wrong. I don’t care how comfy they are, they are extremely ugly.

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Also have you ever picked one up? They’re ridiculously light. Shoes should not weigh less than polystyrene packaging peanuts.

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Ex-president George Bush wears them. Case closed.

2.The Lighthouse Family…

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The song ‘Lifted’ makes my skin crawl. So much so, that I couldn’t even bare to find the video.

It’s the musical equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

3.Bad business names…

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Do I even need to explain why these are so bad?

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Why are hairdressers particularly guilty of this crime?

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And in lovely Portobello, I wonder if they are ‘konscious’ of what a terrible name this is?

4. Prepackaged sandwiches

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Stale bread. Soggy sides. Gunky fillings. I can’t stand prepackaged sandwiches.

I believe they are the epitome of human misery encapsulated in a depressing cardboard wrapper.

(But don’t let that put you off your lunch if you’re eating one right now!)

5. Clowns…

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You can blame Stephen King’s IT – watched at an impressionable age – for this one.

*shudder*

All via google images

Recommended Scottish Albums

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Here’s the complete list of Scottish rock ‘n’ pop albums as recommended by men and women of taste and judgement. (The Top 30 – as judged by most frequently mentioned – can be found here.) Big thanks to all contributors.

If you’re ever in the mood to buy music, and can’t quite decide what to spend your cash on, simply invest in any album from this list that you don’t already own. You won’t be wasting a cent, and you’ll be supporting some of the greatest artists this country, nay the world, has ever seen.

Love on y’all.

Armoury Show    Waiting For The Floods
Associates    Sulk
Aztec Camera    High Land, Hard Rain
Aztec Camera    Love
Bathers    Pandemonium
Belle and Sebastian    Tigermilk
Biffy Clyro    Blackened Sky
Big Country    The Crossing
Billy MacKenzie    Beyond The Sun
Blue Nile    Hats
Blue Nile.    Walk across the Rooftops
Cado Belle    Cado Belle
Clanadonia    Keepin’ it Tribal
Cocteau Twins     Head Over Heels
Danny Wilson    Bebop Moptop
Danny Wilson.    Meet Danny Wilson
Deacon Blue    Raintown
Del Amitri    Twisted
Del Amitri    Waking Hours
Eddi Reader  Mirmama
Edwyn Collins    Hope & Despair
Frankie Miller    Full House
Franz Ferdinand    Franz Ferdinand
Friends Again    Trapped & Unwrapped
Gerry Rafferty    City to City
Glasvegas    Glasvegas
Goodbye MrMackenzie    Good Deeds & Dirty Rags
Hipsway    Hipsway
Hobotalk    Notes On Sunset
Hue & Cry    Bittersuite
Idlewild    Hope is Important
Ivor Cutler    Dandruff
Ivor Cutler     Life In A Scotch Living Room Part 2
James Grant    Holy Love
James Grant    My Thrawn Glory
James Grant    Sawdust in My Veins
James Grant    Strange Flowers
James Yorkston    When the Haar Rolls
Jerry Burns    Jerry Burns
Jesus & Mary Chain    Psychocandy
Ricahrd Jobson    Badman
Karen Matheson    Dreaming Sea
Karen Mathieson    Downriver
Kevin McDermott Orchestra    Bedazzled
King Creosote    KC Rules OK
King L (Gary Clark)    Great Day for Gravity
KMO    Mother Nature’s Kitcken
Kris Drever    Black Water
Lau    Lightweights & Gentlemen
Liberties    Distracted
Lloyd Cole    Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole & Commotions    Mainstream
Love & Money    All you need is…
Love & Money    Dogs in the Traffic
Love & Money    Little Death
Love & Money    Strange Kind of Love
McCusker, Woomble, and Drever    Before the Ruin
Michael Marra    Poster Sober
Mull Historical Society   Loss
Nazareth    Hair of the Dog
Orange Juice    You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
Paul Quinn & Independent Group    Phantoms & Archetypes
Pearlfishers    Across the Milky Way.
Pearlfishers    Za Za’s Garden
River Detectives    Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
Roddy Frame    Surf
Roddy Hart.    Bookmarks
Roddy Woobble    My Secret Is My Silence
Runrig    The Cutter & the Clan
Sensational Alex Harvey Band    SAHB Stories
Silly Wizard    So Many Partings
Simple Minds    Celebrate
Simple Minds    Empires & Dance
Simple Minds    Life In A Day
Simple Minds    New Gold Dream
Skids    Days In Europa
Skids    Scared To Dance
Stephen Lindsay    Exit Music
Teenage Fanclub    Bandwagonesque
Teenage Fanclub    Grand Prix
Teenage Fanclub    Howdy
Teenage Fanclub.    Songs From Northern Britain
Texas    Southside
Texas    White on Blond
The Bathers    Unusual Places to Die
The Beta Band    The Three E.P.s
The Big Dish    Swimmer
The Big Dish    Creeping up on Jesus
The Big       Dish & Satellites
The Fortunate Sons    The Fortunate Sons
The Pearlfishers    Za Za’s Garden
The Proclaimers    This is The Story
The Silencers    A Blues For Buddha
Trashcan Sinatras    Weightlifting
Uncle Devil Show    A Terrible Beauty
Waterboys    Fisherman’s Blues
Whiteout    Bite it

Is advertising history?

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Frankly, yes. But not in the way industry insiders think.

The communications challenges that brands and organisations face are greater than ever. There’s more noise in the market. More competition for the spending and attention of the consumer. More ways of reaching people. And even greater resistance from the audience. More cynicism. More demands. Less trust.

And yet, if you look at the real history of ‘advertising’ in its widest sense, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Literally, for the marketing challenge, it’s more of the same.

So, why not take the long-term view? Take a few minutes to view our interactive history of advertising. As well as giving your fevered marketing mind a breather (and that’s a good thing), you’ll benefit from the perspective. After all, when you recall that writing itself was once considered so new and remarkable, you may begin to remember that ‘new media’ itself is not the issue. Developing trust – built on frequency and relevance of communication with your audience – that will always be the issue.

Creeping Hitler

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

Berlin sky

The London School of Economics has published a study on the economic impact of immigration in the UK. Using 35 years of data, the researchers found that increased immigration has no impact on the wages of indigenous males. This counters the ‘popular’ view that an increase in the supply of ‘cheap labour’ tends to suppress wages for native workers. (It’s a more sophisticated version of ‘immigrants steal our jobs’.)

(more…)

The Cost of Booze Culture

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

Alcohol Awareness Week

“Does your drinking add up?” That’s the question SMARTS’ PR consultant Claire Scott posed during the first ever Alcohol Awareness Week in Scotland. The campaign is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between the Scottish Government and the alcohol industry. Effective stakeholder engagement was crucial throughout this challenging brief. It ensures buy-in from a diverse range of partners, from health professionals to alcohol producers, retailers and the licensed trade. Yet the message is relevant to the person on the street. (more…)

Proclaimers Fight Suicide

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

Can Scots lift the lid on their emotions? Is the nation’s traditional reticence behind worryingly high statistics for suicide and serf-harm? Rebecca Charles of top Scots PR consultancy SMARTS talked to Scottish pop icons The Proclaimers about their support for Suicide Prevention Day. The campaign calls for Scots to be more open in their emotional lives. The aim of the campaign was to encourage people to help save lives by shattering the silence around suicide. (more…)