Americans are currently streaming to the polling booths, and within twenty four hours we will know who George Bush’s successor will be. Marie Kemplay thinks for a final time. Who will be the next president of the United States?

After months of hard campaigning, debates and Tina Fey’s wonderful Sarah Palin impersonations the U.S presidential election is finally upon us.

There has been talk over the last week about just how little it will matter in the long term which candidate is elected president. It has been argued that such is the state of the US economy and finances that the agenda is largely stitched up by financial constraints. But psychologically it matters hugely, after the final depressing years of the Bush Presidency with its historic low approval ratings and the recent economic turmoil; Americans desperately crave something to be optimistic about. Both candidates want to completely disassociate themselves from the past eight years and offer Americans a new exciting chapter in their country’s history.

All the polls are predicting a clear win for Barack Obama but Americans are fickle creatures and polls are not always a reliable indicator of who will win. Many are worried Obama could be a victim of the so-called ‘Bradley effect’ named after Tom Bradley, a black man who was Mayor of Los Angeles who ran for Governor of California in 1972 with a 10-point lead in the polls but lost after white voters who promised their votes did not actually vote for him. Also to be considered is the effect Sarah Palin has had on John McCain’s campaign, has she been a boost or a liability? And whether when push comes to shove Americans will opt for an experienced politician like McCain or for the excitement and vibrancy of Barack Obama.

It’s exciting stuff and we’ve got a great vantage point at this side of the Atlantic, all the drama without and responsibility or input. So if you’re anything like me you’ll be settling down in front of the TV tonight with a beer and a big bowl of pistachio nuts, it’s going to be a long night.

Tags: Politics // Add Comment »

In a secular, capitalist society, our aspirations often lead us towards celebrity - but is this dream lifestyle laced with a curse? Marie Kemplay looks at the case of Kerry Katona

It’s been a bad week for Kerry Katona, - “what week isn’t?” I may hear you ask - after she slurred her way through a cringe inducing interview on This Morning last week. Her publicist Max Clifford, who Kerry once described as a ‘surrogate father’, has announced he will no longer represent her. In an interview with Heat magazine he said he was increasingly worried about the foundering celeb after being told by Kerry’s friends that she is drinking more and more, earlier and earlier. It completes what has been a spectacular fall from grace for the bubbly 28 year old who was once ‘Queen of the Jungle’ and a mum of the year candidate.

Kerry who was in and out of care from an early age did not have an easy start in life. But things started looking up for her after a brief and modestly successful career in girl band Atomic Kitten who had chart success with songs such as Whole Again which made it to number one. Lyrics like “So come on baby do it to me good now, Do it to me slowly (oh yeah), Do it to me Right Now” might explain why Atomic Kitten aren’t remembered for their profound lyrical talent.

In 2001 she had every tweenager’s dream marriage to blonde, airbrushed popstar, Bryan McFadden of Westlife ‘fame’. But the marriage was short-lived and after having two daughters, Molly and Lilly-Sue the pair split in 2004, causing Kerry to spiral into a drug fuelled depression followed by a spell in rehab. Last year she married taxi driver Mark Croft and the pair have two children, Heidi and Mark. Kerry provoked outrage in the media for continuing to smoke and drink during the pregnancies, claiming she didn’t think a few puffs would do much harm.

Add to this an armed robbery at her home in July 2007 triggering symptoms of bi-polar disorder, being declared bankrupt in August 2008 for failing to pay a tax bill, constant rumours that she is on drugs and her ongoing custody battle with her McFadden and it’s little wonder she is struggling to hold it together.

It’s all a far cry from her former Atomic Kitten band mates who are both preparing to release solo albums. Natasha Hamilton has recently finished touring with Lionel Ritchie, appeared in the BBC series “Just the Two of Us” and won the ‘Rear of the Year’ award in 2003. Liz McClarnon won Celebrity Masterchef in July and made her debut as a National Lottery presenter last Wednesday.

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Kerry; the media thrives on her and other celebrities like her. For example Amy Winehouse has constantly been in the papers over the past year for her drink and drug fuelled exploits in Camden. Allegedly shoplifting, attacking people in the street and wandering around in her bra in the early hours of the morning, all perfect tabloid fodder; sometimes all that’s necessary is for her to come out of her house and look a bit ropey. In America Britney Spears hasn’t had it much better. Her whole bitter custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline and her mental health problems have been lapped up by the media. Her personal nadir arrived when she was filmed being taken to hospital in an ambulance chasing frenzy.

Despite Kerry complaining that Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton stitched her up, they would never have exposed her to that kind of media firestorm and conducted the interview had they known what a state she was. They claimed that she arrived too late for them to speak to her before going on air. Schofield said in the Daily Mail earlier this week: “In my mind she shouldn’t be paraded on television - she should be taken home and loved up and cared for.” I couldn’t agree more. But it seems MTV do not agree and their documentary Whole Again, broadcast on Sundays, shows Kerry giving birth and having breast reduction surgery.

Tags: Digital TV // Add Comment »

With half of England scandalised by the actions of two of its favourite comedians, Marie Kemplay asks whether it is all justified

I must admit I do actually quite like Jonathan Ross. His Friday night questioning of people from all corners of celebrity is one of my favourite programmes and as a result of his suspension my Friday evenings will be far less entertaining. Granted tonight I’ll be too busy stumbling around in whatever costume I can find in Tesco later.

But I find myself thinking is Jonathan Ross really the reason why I tune in on a Friday or is for the celebrities themselves. And is Russell Brand really that funny or is it his scriptwriters? I went to watch his chat show being filmed last year and it was one of the most disillusioning experiences. He read the entire thing off an autocue and then threw in a bit of gesticulation and outlandish phraseology for good measure. They both have over-inflated egos that would benefit from being knocked down a couple of pegs.

I’m not baying for blood in the same way a lot of the right wing press appear to be but I do agree the line has to be drawn somewhere. The content of the message left on Andrew Sachs mobile was pretty disgusting, with Ross shouting “he f***** you granddaughter” and Brand retaliating “it’s ok I used a condom”.

The whole thing just reeks of stupidity; this was a BBC Radio 2 programme not a late night TV special, and they were leaving messages on a 78 year old man’s answer phone, someone you would perhaps expect to speak to more respectfully. As for Georgina Baillie, regardless of whether she is a “Satanic Slut” I’m sure she doesn’t want her sex life broadcast to the nation. You really would have expected Brand, Ross and whoever authorised the broadcast to know better.

But that was all it was, stupidity, certainly not enough to warrant Lesley Davies, Controller of Radio 2, a highly competent woman and who by all accounts did nothing wrong in this so called ‘scandal’, losing her job. Brand was right to resign, his radio show would never have been received in the same way and it was right that Ross was suspended, the BBC needed breathing space - but as even Andrew Sachs admitted performers make mistakes.

The BBC is a fantastic institution, highly regarded worldwide and something of which we should be immensely proud, of course it has its problems but that doesn’t mean we should allow it to be trounced out of all recognition by the right wing media. We want a broadcaster that’s willing to take risks, not one held back by the worst aspects conservative (with a small c) society.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV // Add Comment »

Buyology - The psychology behind why we buy

So what does the Roman Catholic Church have in common with Nintendo, the video games manufacturer? Not much you might assume. Both are quite old: in the case of the Roman Catholic Church a couple of millennia, whilst next year Nintendo will, rather surprisingly, celebrate its 120^th birthday. But, aside from this, you’d probably be stumped for an answer – and for inspiration you’d have to turn to the latest book from the Danish author Martin Lindstrom.

Lindstrom is generally regarded as one of the world’s top marketing gurus, spending the majority of his time skipping around the globe preaching on the fundamentals of his marketing theory – Buyology. More than a mere pun, the word Buyology, refers to an astute psychological analysis of human behaviour, asking the question: ‘just what psychological factors impel us towards brand allegiance?’

Why is it that we react positively to slogans, jingles and celebrity endorsements? Just think of Levi’s Flat Eric. How was it that a stuffed toy with attitude, riding the highways of California, could have a far more pronounced effect on the human mind than all the graphic warnings on the front of cigarette cartons can? Why are we tied so closely to our favourite brands? What is the psychology behind all of the symbols and logos? Why have Singapore Airways gone to the trouble of creating their own branded smell for their fleet of aircraft?

To explain these puzzling questions, Lindstrom has turned to that most horribly complicated of instruments, the human mind. Lindstrom argues that the reasons that we buy a brand, and why we remain fiercely loyal to it, are burrowed deep within our sub conscious.

This is the crux, where the psychology behind the success of the great religions of the world mirrors the psychology behind a successful brand – from Rolex to Coca Cola. ‘The same area of the human brain,’ Lindstrom argues, ties a person to their religious faith as makes a consumer loyal to a successful brand. Essentially it is the same impulses that keep Roman Catholics pious as keep newer generations hooked to products like the Nintendo Wii.

Understanding these impulses, Lindstrom advocates, is key to building a successful brand or product. From Richard Branson, to fourteenth century popes, he argues, successful branding lies at the root of their success. For aspiring marketers, businessmen on the lookout for new ideas, or psychologists merely interested in the motivations of the mind – this could be a book that is too good to be missed.

Tags: Digital TV, News // Add Comment »

A pit-bull in designer lipstick and Valentino suits, Marie Kemplay explains why Sarah Palin is perhaps not the ordinary hockey mom she professes to be.

In the absence of any serious politics at the other side of the Atlantic media attention has once again returned to the soap opera of Sarah Palin. Over the past few days the Republican party has been heavily criticised for going on a $150,000 spending spree of designer couture and make-up for Sarah Palin and her family – even her infant son – after she was chosen as the Republican’s vice presidential candidate in August.

The Republican Party claims it was always their intention to donate the clothes to charity but in these times of acute economic hardship for ordinary Americans, it would have perhaps reflected better on them if they had tightened their metaphorical belts rather than buying Sarah Palin several new ones and a host of designer suits.

The entire election campaign reeks of overspending and excess, and both parties are just as guilty. This election has broken all records for fundraising and spending; $961 million was raised by both parties by the end of September and the figure is set to pass the $1bn mark by November 4^th,with some estimates putting the total cost at more like $2bn.

Obama has always viewed high spending as the key to victory and since September has bought 330,000 adverts in all the battleground states compared with 100,000 by McCain. And despite his populist pretensions, only a quarter of the $600m his team have raised so far has come from the small donors of $200 or less who he likes to claim are the lifeblood of his campaign. But with Obama 7.4% ahead in the polls at the time of writing it seems his strategy is paying off.

Tags: Politics // Add Comment »

Timing is everything

One of South Africa’s finance ministers takes a television tumble.

This one was just too good to pass up. just think of all the jokes that you have heard recently. Even the best of them will not stand up to this one, which shows a South African finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, taking a tumble mid-way through a live television debate. I hope you enjoy it!

Tags: Digital TV // Add Comment »

You’ve seen all of the advertising, but what actually is HD television? Marie Kemplay cuts through the jargon on our behalf.

Even speaking as a complete technophobe I must concede that HD television is pretty spectacular, the vivid colours and clarity is really impressive. And the good news is that media regulators, Ofcom, have announced that the next world cup in 2010 and the 2012 Olympics will be broadcast in HD. Imagine seeing Fabio Capello’s tears (of joy or shame) in all their glory.

Although you may think the quality of TV you can get from a decent television set and digital signal is already pretty impressive, HD really does take it to the next level with HD picture quality up to five times more detailed than standard TV. This is because the picture is made up of 720 or 1028 optical lines rather than the 576 of conventional television and the gaps between pixels are smaller, which all translates for the layman into a far sharper image. This is accompanied by Dolby Digital surround sound. All good news for viewers, but not so good for TV stars whose every wrinkle and grey hair will now far more visible.

To view HD you need a HD ready television set, a digital service provider and a HD set top box. If you are on a budget there are basic HD ready TVs available for about £130 and if you have more money to burn top of the market televisions can cost more like £1,500.

There are currently three HD service providers in the UK, Freesat, Virgin Media and Sky Digital. It is important to remember that HDTV is still very new in the UK and while the amount of HD programming available is increasing all the time it is still very limited compared to ordinary television. Currently, Sky Digital is by far the best in terms of the amount of programming available with 26 HD dedicated channels such as 4 sports channels which regularly show premiership matches, 9 movie channels, Channel 4 HD and BBC HD. Sky charge £75 for their set top box as well as £10 a month on top of a regular Sky digital subscription.

Virgin’s v+ box will set you back £99 and costs £5 a month with a virgin phone line. Unlike Sky, Virgin only has one dedicated HD channel, BBC HD, but it does have a selection of on demand HD programmes. The cheapest option and unfortunately therefore the least useful is Freesat which as the name suggests doesn’t require a subscription, but it’s not as simple as they would have you believe. You must either purchase a set-top box or Freesat HDTV television from one of their approved retailers - John Lewis, Argos, Comet and Currys – a set top box will cost upwards of £50, or a Freesat television over £900 and you must also pay for a satellite dish to be installed if you don’t have one already, this usually costs around £80. At the moment freesat only offers limited HDTV programming from ITV and BBC.

If you are prepared to hang back for a while Ofcom has said that HD TV should be available on Freeview by the end of next year and the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are all expected to be broadcasting much more HD television by that time.

Realistically, anybody without a Sky subscription would be better waiting for a year or so when you are likely to pay less for the appropriate equipment and get more programmes for your money.

Tags: Digital TV // Add Comment »

Forget Bob the Builder, it’s Joe the Plumber that could fix this election for McCain, explains Marie Kemplay

On Wednesday night another character was added to the presidential soap opera, Joe the Plumber. I’m sure nobody, least of all Joe himself, expected the final presidential debate to focus so much on one voter. Every one of the 26 times good ol’ Joe was mentioned I couldn’t help but raise my hands in despair, is this what the election has come down to; whether one man from Ohio may or may not be taxed more if Barack Obama wins? Worst of all was John McCain referring to him as “my old buddy Joe the Plumber”, when he’s never met him, if he had he might be more cautious about granting him his new found American hero status. McCain had hoped that the 34 year old plumber who accused Obama’s plans to increase taxes for households earning over £250,000 as “killing the American dream” would be his perfect attack weapon. But it turns out 34 year old Joe Wurzelbacher is actually called Samuel, doesn’t even have a plumber’s license and his earnings are way below $250,000 and are unlikely to go above that anytime soon, so perhaps not the anti-Obama hero he had been searching for.

McCain and Obama really came to blows over the negative campaigning that has taken over in recent weeks, Obama was once again forced to repudiate his ties with Bill Ayers, a 1970s terrorist and to his credit he did it very convincingly. Despite McCain trying to take the moral highground, claiming he has always defended Obama when Republican critics have taken it too far Obama delivered the killer line of the whole debate “John, 100% of your TV ads are negative.”

Unfortunately for McCain doing trying to undermine his opponent is the only option he really has left. It’s looking like even, to use his own words, spending his entire life in the service of the nation may not be enough to get him elected.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Politics, Virgin // Add Comment »