The desperate attempts of the advertising industry to milk the digital sphere have met an unlikely foe. Asked on BBC Radio 1 what irritates him most, the actor Peter Capaldi, below, let rip at the message “You can skip this ad in three seconds” that pops up on online video clips. “Doesn’t that annoy you? I don’t want to even see your ad for three seconds,” he said. “I came on this to look for some obscure scrap of video of some band that I like. I don’t want to see your stupid advert, in three seconds or not. And why waste three seconds of my life? If you add them all up, all of those three seconds, you would end up with minutes of your life being wasted. Who decides you can skip this ad in three seconds? I never asked you in the first place.” Nevertheless, advertisers will be reassured that even Doctor Who cannot skip straight through to the videos.
That’s a tonic
The resurgence of gin is getting out of hand. Scarcely a week seems to pass without news being sent to me of a new and exciting gin targeting the G&T brigade. Today, Portobello Road Gin, launched in 2011, will take things a step further by opening what it claims is the world’s first boutique gin hotel. It has converted a former pub on Portobello Road, Notting Hill, into a distillery with a bar and restaurant, gin museum, a shop and three guest rooms.
Blended news
Still on booze. A feather in the cap for Lidl, whose own-label 34-year-old Glen Alba sherry cask finish Scotch whisky has just been awarded 95.5 out of 100 by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2017, the, er, bible for whisky lovers. The blended whisky, costing £44.99 a bottle, is described by the author as having “a beautiful liquid Jaffa Cake effect”.
What rubbish
RPC Group, a plastics engineer, announced the €262.5 million acquisition yesterday of ESE World, which it described as “Europe’s largest pure play temporary waste storage solutions provider”. Sounds very high tech — in fact, it makes rubbish bins — in the same way that dustmen are now waste management operatives, I suppose.
City People will now be on holiday until the new year. A happy Christmas to all our readers
Business big shot
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Name Gerry Murphy
Age 61
Position Chairman-designate, Tate & Lyle
Having spent the early years of his working life in the food and drinks industry, Gerry Murphy is returning to focus on the sweeter things in life. The former Carlton Communications and Kingfisher boss has landed a chairmanship role at Tate & Lyle.
The sweeteners and starches maker announced yesterday that Sir Peter Gershon will retire as chairman in April. Dr Murphy will join the board as a non-executive director in January and take the helm after Sir Peter’s departure.
“Having started my career in the food industry, joining Tate & Lyle feels like coming home,” Dr Murphy said. He started at Grand Metropolitan, which formed with Guinness to become Diageo in 1997. He led Greencore, the Irish food company, between 1991 and 1995, before moving to Exel. He became boss of Carlton in 2000.