Author of the Bryant & May detective novels, short stories and essays on forgotten writers – including himself In a brief biographical sketch, the crime writer Christopher Fowler, who has died aged 69, claimed he had achieved several of his “pathetic schoolboy fantasies”: releasing an “appalling” Christmas pop single; working as a male model; posing as the villain in a Batman graphic novel; running a Soho night club; appearing in The Pan Book of Horror series; and standing in for James Bond. Rather than examples of Fowler’s wicked sense of humour, all these claims were true. Time Out, mean ..read more

As the civil rights movement grew, the Black Panthers become an influential and innovative activist group, focused on redressing systemic oppression. At a new exhibition at Poster House in New York, some of their most powerful posters and newspaper advertisements show a specific graphic language that helped spread their message to the people ..read more

Promoter says title – Dawn French is a Huge Twat – is humorous and aims any offence at comedian herself An ad that read “Dawn French is a Huge Twat” – the title of her live show – has been cleared by the advertising watchdog after complaints it was offensive. The ad for the actor and comedian’s forthcoming UK tour, which featured in the Sunday Times Culture magazine on 4 December, also included a picture of French and text stating: “Back due to phenomenal demand.” Two people complained it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence ..read more

Exclusive: One of UK’s biggest ad deals for 15 years is expected to be signed this week but may yet fall through The Japanese marketing giant Dentsu is understood to have struck a £533m (€600m) deal to buy Tag, the British-headquartered global content production group, in one of the largest UK ad deals of the last 15 years. The move by Dentsu – which became a global force in advertising with its £3.2bn takeover of the UK media group Aegis in 2012, the largest-ever deal for a British-based ad group – marks its latest push to challenge rivals including WPP, IPG and Omnicom in the US and France’s ..read more

Chief executive says ‘no place on ITV’ for comments Jeremy Clarkson made in the Sun, but says brand has not been affected ITV has insisted its reputation is intact despite the controversy over Jeremy Clarkson, as the broadcaster said it expected a steep drop in advertising sales this year as the economy weakens. Clarkson, a former Top Gear presenter, presents ITV’s long-running gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but he was forced to apologise over an article in the Sun in December in which he said he was dreaming of the day the Duchess of Sussex was made to parade naked in public while pe ..read more

Airline claim that it was protecting the world’s future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “mislead ..read more

Cem Özdemir said measure would help protect children from obesity and diabetes Germany’s agriculture minister has called for a ban on all advertising accessible by children of unhealthy food including sweets and items with a high salt, fat and sugar content, arguing that the future health of Germany’s young people is at stake. Cem Özdemir, of the Greens, said it was time to protect children from the effects of unhealthy food including obesity, diabetes and other illnesses ..read more

Animal rights campaigners are concerned about the breathing problems experienced by flat-faced breeds – and they want the insurance-flogging TV dog to be dropped from advertising Name: Churchill Age: He made his television debut in 1996, so that would make him 27. Or 189 ..read more

Meta says it removed ads for failing to state they were sponsored by an initiative of British American Tobacco Australia Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A pro-vaping lobby group has run a series of advertisements targeting those over 18 without disclosing the ads were sponsored by big tobacco, despite Facebook requiring groups advertising political or social issues to disclose who paid for the ad. An initiative of British American Tobacco Australia, “Responsible Vaping Australia” emerged in November, and on Facebook describes itself as an “education ..read more

Mark Read says artificial intelligence is helping firm win clients keen to tap into technology’s potential From Serena Williams playing against incarnations of her younger self to millions of personalised messages from a Bollywood superstar to support small businesses in India, artificial intelligence and machine learning is driving a revolution in the global advertising industry. Mark Read, the chief executive of London-listed WPP, the world’s largest marketing services company, said AI-led advertising practices were helping it win clients hungry to embrace the potential of a new technology ..read more