Eircom, the Irish incumbent telco, has introduced a ‘four strikes and you're out’ anti-piracy policy, making Ireland the first European country to take such measures, beating even France to the punch. Under the provisions of the policy, the Irish Recorded Music Association (Irma) will supply Eircom with IP addresses of thousands of infringers from which the ISP will select just 50 a week and match them against postal addresses. These 50 will then receive notification letters, a phone call, and potentially a browser pop-up. If they are identified a 3^rd time, they will have their connection temporarily cut off, and if they are caught a 4^th time, they will lose access for an entire year.

There are a number of interesting issues here:

Click the embedded video below to view our latest Consumer Product Strategy Podcast episode. This is episode two in our 'Find Your Popcorn' series in which analyst Nick Thomas looks at new ways to build revenue around content in the digital age.

This podcast series is part of the buildup to a major research report on the same topic, and we'd love your feedback and thoughts as we develop the thinking. So please feel free to make any comments and suggestions as we progress. Enjoy the podcast!

I enjoyed listening to Carol Bartz, the CEO of Yahoo!, who was in London last week to address the European press and analysts. She’s smart, focused and entertaining – a rarer combination than it should be. But one thing in particular struck me. When she was asked about the future of online advertising, she commented that in the future, “ads should be as interesting as the content.”

A truism? Perhaps, but one that still eludes many advertisers off- or online. And while my usual focus is on the content side of media, let me extend my brief a little to comment on some current ad campaigns, bearing in mind Bartz’s words. Excuse the non-scientific survey, but three campaigns I’ve watched in the past week have stuck in my mind.

John Lewis’ lengthy TV ad has been extensively written about  - with several commenters noting its uncanny ability to make them cry. It’s all about brand positioning, but it’s a beautifully crafted bit of content that bears repeated viewing.  In my household (like many others in the blogosphere) this is a rare example of a TV ad that viewers actually hope will be shown. In essence it’s not revolutionary, but it’s hugely effective (and affecting). Check it out here.

I saw it on TV last week when in a cruel twist it was shown before the corresponding new campaign from Marks and Spencer, its erstwhile competitor as the UK shopper’s best-loved retailer.  But what a terrible ad (no link - unsurprisingly it has not been uploaded to YouTube). Uninspiring, unaspirational, humdrum and failing to convey anything great about the M&S brand. Its message? Something about shopping at M&S if you can’t be bothered to cook. That’s what I recall, anyway. Not the finest call to action I’ve ever come across.