This paper tells the story of the 2013 John Lewis Christmas Campaign. It was the most ambitious marketing communications undertaken by the retailer to date.

In the 1920s one of the Philip Morris’ leading brands of cigarettes was marketed to women as being as 'mild as May'.

A powerful application of the oblique principle lies in the finding that goals are better achieved by focusing on the underlying belief system, rather than on the goal itself. As the proverb has it, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Direct response ads pay for themselves (at least they do when they work). Socially acceptable paid-for interruption leads to response, and the response (a sale, generally) generates revenue and you can run the ad again.

From 2010 onwards, easyJet boldly repositioned from a pure low cost proposition, to a customer-centric, affinity-driving brand.

The BT Sport campaign explored a paradox of how a very expensive asset was made more valuable to a business because it was given away to the customer base for free. It’s a story set within the world of telco’s and it starts in 2012.