A peak audience of 11.2 million watched Channel 4's broadcast of the rousing opening ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, titled “Enlightenment.” An average 7.7 million tuned in to see the four-hour show on August 29th. (Not coincidentally, the Queen entered the stadium at 8:45pm, when viewing peaked.)

The British broadcaster reported that it was its largest audience in more than 10 years. "Last night's opening ceremony was a spectacular start to the London 2012 Paralympic Games," said Channel 4's Jay Hunt. "I'm delighted that so many viewers enjoyed it with us." 

The ceremony, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and following on from the "pandemonium" of the London 2012 Games Opening Ceremony, focused on the story of scientific discovery and education.

Sir Ian McKellen danced to a stirring version of "I Am What I Am," as the stadium was transformed into a representation of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. Accompanied by narration from physicist Stephen Hawking, a new musical piece based on Newton’s Principia Mathematica underscored the theme of the Games: ability and achievement come in many forms.Continue reading...

The five Olympic rings are being replaced by the three Paralympic agitos as the London 2012 Games prepare for new venues, world records and athletes, including 1,800 wheelchair users, 22 assistance dogs, and 293 buses converted for extra wide access.

This will be the biggest Paralympics in history, with 4,200 Paralympians from 165 nations competing in sports ranging from wheelchair racing, athletics, and blind football to wheelchair rugby.

"We are seeing the nation really embracing the Paralympics, buying tickets and putting us on the way to being the first sold-out Paralympics and showing a huge amount of interest in Paralympics GB," said Paralympics GB's chief executive Tim Hollingsworth. 

Paralympics TV broadcaster Channel 4 is offering packages of eight-ten spots, including both daytime and prime. “We think that the Paralympics will perform strongly from a viewing standpoint, so it is a smart buy,” said Adrian English, head of media investment at agency Carat. Continue reading...

David Beckham was all over the London 2012 Olympics, bringing the torch to the Olympic stadium in a boat, photo-bombing Adidas-sponsored local marketing, "directing" the brand's last commercial, hyping Samsung's Galaxy III and cheering on wife Victoria's Posh Spice revisited turn at the Closing Ceremony. He was even projected onto England's iconic white cliffs of Dover wearing only his H&M skivvies, a controversial stunt that foreshadowed the latest phase of his underwear campaign for the brand that continues this week.

Nine larger-than-life 11-foot statues of Beckham are coming to Los Angeles, New York's Flatiron District and San Francisco as H&M looks to drive sales of Beckham's bodywear line. (Follow the hashtag #HMBeckham for details on a related contest.) He's also the Paralympics brand ambassador for British grocer Sainsbury's, with a new campaign breaking Thursday that promotes the Games' UK telecast on Channel 4. Check it out below.Continue reading...

FanCulture is a short film that explores the relationship between fans and brands and the methods used to harness that enthusiasm in marketing.

Featuring interviews with leading academics, brand strategists and fans including Dr. Matt Hills, Sony PlayStation, Fred Perry, UK broadcaster Channel 4, Polydor Records, the Kaiser Chiefs and "superfans" of brands from Nike to Marmite, it explores the issues at the heart of the brand-fan relationship such as: Is there a formula to creating fans, how much can fans be worth to a brand, and why engaging enthusiasts and brand ambassadors should become more than just buying "Likes" on Facebook.Continue reading...

A little bit Kickstarter and Pepsi Refresh Project but with a layer of ‘savvy mentors’ and backing by Britain's Barclays Bank (with media help by Channel 4), The Stake is a competition with a £100,000 reward for ideas that get the most support from the public. It's open to youths living in the U.K. (age 16-21) who have a fantastic idea and a smart plan for how to spend that £100,000.

The ideas could be "anything, from the heart warming to the hilarious, whether it’s a streetwear start-up, a new school skate ramp or a major charitable donation." Applicants can apply at TheStake.co.uk or on Facebook, where users can pitch or back their ideas. What makes it fun and engaging: by completing challenges along the way, they can increase the number of voting stakes out of a possible total of six.

According to Channel 4's press release, the peer-to-peer game with the big jackpot "aims to show the UK's young people that business and social enterprise can be creative, fun, challenging and that good ideas and passion can be rewarded."Continue reading...

Wikileaks spoofed Mastercard's "Priceless" campaign this week. Watch the spot below, along with new perfume commercials featuring Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera, plus place branding with a twist and more.Continue reading...

AOL reports earnings, says brand has taken a "meaningful" step forward.

Budweiser tops beer advertising effectiveness ranking.

Channel 4 tests interactive advertising.

Comcast and DirecTV spat continues.

Disney theme parks concerns investors.

Facebook and Twitter users rally to clean up U.K. riots.

Fred Perry to release Amy Winehouse's final designs early.Continue reading...

As part of its billion-dollar global marketing spend, Microsoft is touting how Windows Phone 7 (which it's starting to promote as just Windows Phone) integrates Xbox Live (above), Bing search and other products in new spots rolling out in the UK.

The spots will be featured in Microsoft's two-night pre-Christmas ad buy on Channel 4 (running Dec. 21/22) that will encompass Jamie Oliver's Christmas show and another holiday special. Apple also just released a new holiday spot in the US — check it out after the jump.Continue reading...