It's been a good week for … Christmas adverts
It's been a good week for … Christmas adverts
I'm as bah humbug as the next person when it comes to television commercials during the festive season. They tend to start too early and are cheesier than a packet of Wotsits, all rosy-faced, cherubic children and roaring log fires.
But even Scroogey old me has to acknowledge that the John Lewis adverts are becoming the stuff of legend. Last year's snow-couple love story was charming (and spawned some very funny YouTube spoofs, but that's another story). It was a hard act to follow, but this year's bear and hare have pulled it off with beautifully animated aplomb.
However, those furry friends should beware - there's a dark horse on the horizon which I'm tipping for the prize of top Christmas advert. Socks the moonwalking Shetland pony is under starter's orders for a festive frolic.
Socks shot to fame when a mobile phone advert showing him strutting his stuff to the tune of Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere went viral earlier this year, racking up more than seven million YouTube hits.
The dancing pony will star in a second commercial for Three, again set on the beaches of Shetland.
The company has teamed up with VisitScotland and Promote Shetland for The Knitwear Before Christmas campaign.
Socks will sport a Fair Isle sweater created by Shetland designer Doreen Brown in accompanying print adverts.
A case of Shetland pony meets show jumper.
It's been a bad week for … bitcoin millionaires
I don't pretend to understand how the bitcoin works. Let's just say it's virtual currency and leave it at that. However, when I'm told that 7500 bitcoins translate into more than £4 million, I get that they are rather valuable bawbees.
So you have got to feel for James Howells, from Newport in Wales, who threw out an old computer hard drive which contained 7500 bitcoins.
He had obtained them in 2009 for almost nothing, but had forgotten all about them.
Last week, a single bitcoin's value hit $1000 (£613) for the first time, meaning Howells's collection is now worth $7.5m (£4.6m). Oops.
He is now frantically searching a landfill site in south Wales in the hope of finding the discarded hard drive.
If he does, it will be filthy lucre indeed.
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