Strong Language

Marketing integrity – Putting consumers out of their misery

Late-night television commercial: “It does everything you need it to do. It slices, it dices, it juliennes, it solves world hunger and writes lyrics for U2. The new Humanitarian Slicer and Songwriter is available for just €9.99. If you order right now, you’ll also get a free Bono figurine complete with ethically sourced cotton shirt!”

Fighting fraud

PICTURE THE scene: greedy executives, shady solicitors, lying politicians, child- abusing priests, cover-ups, fraud and lots of brown envelopes. It sounds like an episode of US cops and corruption show The Wire, but it’s actually the horrifying reality show known as Noughties Ireland.

How an honest Ulsterman crowned the customer

MORE THAN 130 years ago this month, one of Ireland’s most entrepreneurial sons was kidnapped. Strangely enough, he was already dead.

On November 7th, 1878, the body of Lisburn man Alexander Turney Stewart was stolen from its grave at St Mark’s Church in the Bowery area of lower Manhattan. The kidnappers demanded a substantial ransom.

When words are not enough

Sometimes words are not enough. Words – that lovely collection of pre-ordained letters – don’t always work best.