The Guardian received just 13 emails criticising the title’s coverage of whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and surveillance capabilities on citizens.

According to a blog by the Guardian’s readers’ editor, Chris Elliot, 48 emails were received in support of the Guardian’s work on the story while seven email even requested to offer help to Snowden by way of money, visas or places to stay.

Another 27 emails offered further information and 13 emails were received with concerns about how people were affected by the surveillance.

“More than 300 articles have been published since the first, on 6 June 2013, which revealed that a top-secret court had ordered a US telephone company, Verizon, to hand over data on millions of calls,” wrote Elliot.

“However, since then, the readers' editor's office has received only 108 emails in relation to the series, of which just 13 were critical. Of the 13, only two specifically criticised the Guardian for publishing the disclosures, which is unusual for such a high-profile story.”

Elliot went on to discuss a range of issues the paper had dealt with in the aftermath of the story, including the detention of journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, and suggested that newspaper rivalry in the UK and “a nudge from the DA-notice committee” could partly explain the lack of comment from politicians on the story and the reluctance of other titles to pursue it.

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger told The Drum that the paper’s breaking of the story hadn’t prevented US titles from covering it.

“I think the fact that the Guardian has broken it in America has been a surprise to some American news organisations but it hasn’t put them off covering it,” he said.

EE has unveiled a new ad, this time showing Kevin Bacon going head to head with chef Jamie Oliver for a bacon sandwich making competition.

Designed to highlight the variety of content available on YouTube as well as the benefit of watching this content using EE’s 4G network, the video sees Oliver set to beat Bacon until the chef starts to buffer.

“This unique partnership with YouTube is a first for us and demonstrates one of the key benefits of our network – a far superior video streaming experience with less buffering,” Spencer McHugh, director of brand at EE, said. “The mobile internet speeds and breadth of coverage we offer across the UK remain unrivalled and we’re always looking for innovative ways to communicate the benefits of our network online.”

The idea for the digital campaign was conceived and developed by lead creative agency Poke and the video content was produced and directed by Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube channel production company.

Hamish Nicklin, head of creative agency partnerships at YouTube, said: “With around 40 per cent of YouTube views in the UK coming from mobile devices, speed is integral to our users to be able to watch whatever content they wish, whenever. YouTube partners such as Jamie Oliver have a loyal and passionate audience that really engages with the content. By partnering with them, brands are able to tap into these passionate fans to extend their message.”

The ‘Bacon Don’t Buffer’ video will be hosted on Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube channel as well as the EE page.

Twitter has announced that it has signed an advertising partnership with US broadcaster CBS as part of its latest efforts to translate users into revenues.

This will see CBS advertisers invited to sponsor one minute clips from TV shows which will be hosted on the social network through the feeds of users deemed likely to be interested.

It marks a divergence in tactics from other social media portals which have chosen to fight for advertising head on with the big TV networks, which retain the lion’s share of spending.

Mathew Derella, Twitter’s vice-president of sales said: “If you’re a [television] network working to drive [audience] engagement and ratings, this is a very powerful opportunity. This is word of mouth marketing at scale.”

The micro blogging service is in the midst of preparing a £9.4bn flotation on the New York stock market

Channel 4 Sales has signed a sponsorship deal with Schwartz which will see the online recipes site sponsor ‘Cooking Inspirations on Good Food’ on UKTV’s Good Food channel.

Commencing immediately for a period of six months the partnership will cover 30 hours of content a week on the channel with TV idents and a dedicated Schwartz Cooking Club Hub on the Good Food website.
This will play host to a series of ‘how to’ instructional videos, supported by social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

Rob Ramsey, partnership leader at Channel 4 said: “This new partnership is a great example of how advertisers can align themselves with like-minded popular lifestyle brands like Good Food on a truly bespoke combined TV and digital campaign.”

Paola Bassi at Schwartz said: “The Good Food Cooking Inspirations sponsorship is a great opportunity for Schwartz to appeal to our strategic consumer target by leveraging the inspirational nature of the sponsorship strand and the seasonal recipes that use our herbs and spices range.”

Steve Parker, MD, MediaVest said: “We are delighted to have negotiated this partnership between Schwartz and Good Food. We believe that their combined force will be extremely beneficial for both brands.”

Camelot, the operator of The National Lottery, is set to unveil a £15m campaign with AMV BBDO to promote a ‘new dawn for Lotto’.

The new multi-platform campaign is set to break on billboards and will teaser TV ads this week, with a 60-second ad airing in a prime slot during The X Factor on Saturday 28 September.

Camelot’s in-house creative services team created all in-store, press, outdoor and digital executions, while media planning and digital buying was done by Havas, media buying (offline) by OMD, and out of home planning and buying by Talon.

Sally Cowdry, Camelot’s consumer and marketing director, said: “The launch of new Lotto is the culmination of an incredible amount of work across the company over more than two years. And the new campaign we’ve unveiled today is also epic in its scale and ambition – this is the biggest thing we’ve done since The National Lottery launched in 1994 and is a truly innovative, exciting and ground-breaking campaign for us.

“We want to reach every corner of the nation, every Lotto player across the UK – and even the small number of adults out there who’ve never played. We want everyone to sing our song and understand the great prizes new Lotto has to offer.”

The TV ads begin with a sun rising over an urban landscape to initiate the ‘new dawn’ and the song is then performed by a total of over 300 people, with the theme also carried through the outdoor, digital and print executions.

Designed to be digitally interactive, the campaign is set to include a YouTube sing-along competition where people can upload videos of themselves signing the new Lotto song, either by using the ad’s lyrics or by making up their own.

eBay and Argos have formed a partnership to provide a “click and collect” service as both restructure themselves to meet the increasing demands of multichannel consumers.

The partnership, revealed this morning in London at an eBay press conference, will kick off with a click and collect trial, in which the products of 50 eBay merchants can be collected in 150 Argos stores.

eBay president Devin Wenig said the economic climate has put pressure on the high street and “eroded” traditional retail models, but that the UK is a “hotbed” for retail innovation and consumers now expect to be able to shop at any time and on any device.

Argos managing director John Walden, who co-announced the news this morning, said the ecommerce market continues to “explode” but there are knock-on effects including an erosion in UK wages and overall retail margins.

“These trends have structurally altered the retail landscape as well. With more business shifting from traditional stores to online and profit margins under pressure because of online prices, it becomes very hard for retailers to make money,” said Walden.

He said the rise of online shopping has changed the landscape fundamentally, but until now ecommerce has been complementary to offline shopping. Yet the last few years has seen this change with the result that ecommerce is now competitive to offline shopping, according to Walden.

“The role and configuration of physical retail space will change, to become more complementary and reflective of the online customer journey – rather than competitive,” he said.

The click and collect service will operate on a “hub and spoke” distribution network, and marks the latest step in Argos’ ongoing “transformation” strategy which centres on repositioning its channels to provide a digital-centric proposition, in which mobile and other digital-channel shopping plays a more prominent role.

Walden added that once the pilot has rolled out it may consider applying the fulfillment services to other retailers that don’t have the distribution network.

Meanwhile eBay also revealed a raft of other changes including the launch of eBay money back guarantee service in the UK. It is also preparing to roll out its eBay Now service to the UK, which lets people order an item with fast delivery to the device they have ordered from, be it mobile or desktop computer.

Wenig said: “For more than a decade ecommerce has been an important force. For many years ecommerce has been largely complimentary to retail – but in the last few years something has changed and we have begun to reshape the entire commerce landscape. I say commerce, not ecommerce, because it’s not a meaningful distinction anymore – it has all converged. If I walk into a shop and scan a product on my mobile and buy it, is that on or offline?"

eBay is on a mission to become a more engaging platform for users, having launched its personalised homepage, called the “feed”, in the UK this summer. Wenig added: “Response since launch has been incredible. ebay is becoming a destination. It’s a place you go to discover and be inspired.”

It is also planning a host of other changes to its homepage including more social integration, and personalisation and curation of content, according to Wenig.

A BBC Trust review into the broadcasters children’s programming has concluded that some shows should be aired after 19:00.

At present both CBBC and CBeebies are switched off after this time but the Trust noted that ‘some 4.5 million 4-to-12 year olds’ are still up watching television.

To reach this audience it is proposed that content aimed at older children be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two to extend the current offer.

Despite this both children’s channels were praised by the Trust for their ‘high quality content’ and ‘focus on learning and development’.

Older children however were found to be more reluctant to engage with the channels.

BBC Trustee Alison Hastings said: "We heard an overwhelming amount of praise for the BBC's children's services, both from their young audiences and from adults, and it's clear that CBeebies and CBBC have earned their place at the heart of many families' viewing habits."

Dr. Wolff has rolled out an advert for its Plantur 39 brand of shampoo as it looks to increase awareness in the UK.

Devised by Driven, the recently appointed agency, the ad looks to dramatise the brand’s success in Europe, especially with women over 40.

“Millions of women in other countries use Plantur 39 as an essential part of their cosmetic routine,” said Emma Raeburn, account manager at Driven. “From today women in the UK won’t have to miss out any more. The creative concept brings this high demand to life and shows that if you’re over forty you can now get the hair you really, really want”.

The 30 second spot uses Mariella Fostrup as the voiceover and was directed by Chris Gaffery at The Mob, with post production at VTR North.

Lloyds Bank has this week unveiled an outdoor campaign with Primesight, as part of its rebrand campaign following the drop of TSB from its name.

The OOH campaign includes a complete takeover of all Primesight’s advertising space in the London Waterloo area, surrounding the UK’s busiest railway station.

Eithne Anderson, head of marketing communications at Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland: “Outdoor media plays a key part in launching Lloyds Bank. These high impact executions use imagery and language that will resonate strongly with our target market, helping us to establish the brand as a bank that is there for the key moments that matter to our customers.”

Covering 21 billboards, the campaign, which was brokered with Kinetic and MEC UK, is set to run for two weeks.

The great and good of the design industry descended on the Institute of Directors in London on Friday (20 September) for the 19th annual Podge Lunch.

Podge founder Phil Jones said: "WOW, 19 years and counting. Hard to believe the first Podge lunch was in 1994 with legends like Marcelo Minale, Erik Spiekermann and Alan Fletcher in the room and 19 years on the room was again filled with legends as well as many up and coming designers.

"It was a really fantastic day at the IoD on Pall Mall with 250 guests and a great theme created by Holmes & Marchant based around The People’s Republic of Podge. Comrades Vaughan, Farrow, Fitch, etc etc were enjoying the superb food being served up by IoD award winning chef Roger Evans.

"2014 will see us celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Podge lunch and creative ideas from guests over the last 20 years are very welcome. Send them to phil@philjones.co.uk and we can start making plans."

Photographer Jonathan Cole was on hand to capture this year's action. Here are some of his snaps from the day...

Prisoners Abroad has appointed Curzon PR to handle strategy and media relations, ahead of its 35-year anniversary.

The UK charity cares for the welfare of all British citizens held in foreign prisons and is set to celebrate its 35th anniversary in November 2013.

“Charities such as this provide a vital link in connecting families with loved ones,” said Farzana Baduel, MD of Curzon PR. “Their non-judgemental position means that they can focus on what is important – the wellbeing of all those affected by incarceration abroad, from the prisoner themselves to family members, in particular, children, who are often the innocent victims of events such as this. I am delighted to be able to offer support for this noble initiative.”

Curzon PR will also be involved in a charity auction which Prisoners Abroad is organising in February of 2014 with work by contemporary artist and author, Edmund de Waal.

Yorkshire Building Society has launched a fully integrated campaign, focused on its low-rate mortgages.

Devised by BJL, the activity has comprised radio, press, online, outdoor and in-branch activity, which was activated today, 24 September.

Across all mediums, the campaign targets a more specific audience with a tailored message around home ownership. The messaging revolves around the concept of opening new doors for aspiring homeowners and movers, while referencing the building society’s history of helping customers to buy their homes.

“Having benefitted from a fantastic brand campaign over the past year with “Built on Trust”, we’re pleased to be working with BJL once again on further integrated activity,” explained Anna Higgins, customer acquisition manager at Yorkshire Building Society. “We’re seeking to remind both current and prospective customers of the role Yorkshire Building Society continues to play in some of the most defining moments of their lives.”

The work has been rolled out across Scotland, Wales, Tyne Tees, Granada, and Yorkshire & Humber, with media strategy handled by Universal McCann, Birmingham.

Time Out London has unveiled its user generated issue of the magazine, as the magazine marks one year since it moved to a free distribution model.

Billed as ‘The Great Time Out Takeover’, the content for this week’s magazine has been entirely created by a team of 150 readers, chosen by Time Out’s section editors, following a competition hosted on the Time Out website.

Tim Arthur, CEO of Time Out, said: “We wanted to celebrate the first anniversary of the magazine going free with our readers, as they are just as passionate about London as we are. The standard of entries we received was exceptionally high and it was evident just how much our readers love their city. We’ve had a fantastic time putting together the pages of this issue with our winning team, who displayed a real talent for capturing the wit, knowledge and unique spirit that has made Time Out such an iconic brand over the last 45 years.”

The Great Time Out Takeover issue will be distributed across London today.

In July, The Drum created a live issue of the magazine, with readers helping to mold the features.

Channel 4 has appointed Matt Rennie to the role of managing director for Box Television.

Replacing Gidon Katz in the role, Rennie will be responsible for managing the entire Box TV portfolio comprised of seven music TV channels: 4Music, The Box, Kiss, Kerrang!, Magic, Heat and Smash Hits.

Rennie said: "I'm thrilled to be offered this opportunity to join the team at Box TV. As the music industry continues to work through massive change and disruption, there are some significant challenges, but also huge opportunities to build and develop this fantastic business. I can't wait to lead Box TV into its next phase of innovation and growth."

His remit will also include leading the commercial development strategy across platforms, advertisers, record labels and shareholders to grow the business.

Rennie will report to Channel 4’s director of commercial and business development, Sarah Rose, who said: “Matt is a talented and highly respected music executive with a strong background in digital, broadcasting and music. We look forward to having him on board to take the Box TV business forward in this rapidly changing media and music landscape.”

Joining from the role of enterprise director at Global Radio, Rennie will begin his new role on 7 October.

A study has claimed a lack of digital skills and poor management of website development could be costing the NHS tens of millions of pounds.

According to Mixd, a web design agency and specialist in the area, the NHS could be wasting more than £60m as a result of growing digital requirements. The agency said marketing spend in the NHS had rocketed following restructuring which prompted the need for the development of new brands and websites.

But while spend in the area is growing, most NHS Foundation Trusts and a number of NHS organisations are struggling to deliver adequate web services to increasing numbers of digital users, according to the study.

Mike Danford, director of Mixd, said: “From our experience of working with NHS Foundation Trusts and other NHS organisations, many are now getting in the region of 50 per cent of traffic regularly from mobile devices on top of an average across the board of 35 per cent.

“Some websites are beautifully creative but are falling down on not being usable; the information people want either isn’t there isn’t easily accessible.”

The agency examined a range of websites across the NHS and found the majority did not meet NHS brand guidelines, often for reasons as simple as using incorrect fonts and images. The study also found that only two per cent of Clinical Commissioning Group (CCP) and Trust websites were designed to be compatible with mobile devices with features such as responsive design.

Danford said that rather than functionality, the problem lay with content presentation and accessibility and while the move in website creation towards communications departments was a good thing, a lack of digital skills knowledge is hindering efforts.

“It’s about delivering the correct information and the ease of finding content. We’ve found that clients often put out news stories that a foundation trust should be putting out, key notes from an AGM for example, but that information isn’t necessarily relevant to the end user. The information should be available but within a website design that is best suited to what the user needs.

“There has been a big shift recently from the IT department being responsible for creating a Trust website to the communications department, who are more appreciative of the need to create something that works for users rather than just technical delivery. But the problem we find is that those people often lack the key skills required.”

The findings add to digital skills gap concerns across a range of industries alongside the rapid growth of smartphone and tablet devices and higher demand from users.

Weight loss aid Slimsticks has reported a 70 per cent rise in the last year following marketing activity designed to boost the brand's distribution deal with Boots.

The Agency handled press advertising, PR, social media, inline display advertising and search for the brand since distribution in Boots stores began at the end of last year.

Saman Mansourpour, partner at The Agency, said: "The initial test campaign aimed to drive rate of sale within Boots stores in April, the key dieting period for the summer. The campaign was lead by insertions in key womens’ press titles and backed up by PPC search activity with excellent results. Over the campaign period sales of Slimsticks in Boots stores increased by 23 per cent - an ROI of 216 per cent."

Franco Beer, managing director at Innovative Health, added: “We started steadily, growing our online search presence and we have continued to scale up now negotiating national press deals, most recently with Reveal, Look, OK Magazine and the Daily Mail.

“The Agency have been instrumental in helping us to develop the Slimsticks strategy and start building the brand, both in press and online.”

Former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas has been Slimsticks’ brand ambassador since 2011.

East Coast, the train operator, has teamed with Absolute Radio as it looks to promote its new ‘Feel at Home’ message.

The ‘Feel at Home’ brand campaign, which looks to highlight East Coast’s innovative customer service, fast and frequent journeys, and value for money Advance fares, will come to a peak on 11 October, when Absolute Radio will deliver four outside broadcasts in one day.

This move will see the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show being broadcast live from a listener’s home in London, while Geoff Lloyd will take his Hometime Show to a fan’s home in Edinburgh. Through the day, Russ Williams will broadcast in Leeds and Pete Donaldson in Newcastle.

“The ‘Feel at Home’ campaign is about the motivating idea of something which already happens: our customers travelling comfortably on our trains,” East Coast marketing and customer service director Peter Williams said.

“Our partnership with Absolute Radio is all about bringing our ‘Feel at Home’ messaging to life through unique and engaging programming. We were won over by the radio station’s creative ideas for integrating our campaign into their award-winning schedule with such an innovative proposal. Absolute Radio’s programmes are enjoyed by a wide audience throughout the East Coast route – we’re sure listeners will enjoy this promotion and be encouraged to ‘Feel at Home’ with us.”

The campaign will also see East Coast sponsor Absolute Radio’s travel bulletins for two weeks and listeners invited to log on to an East Coast ‘Feel at Home’ branded ‘Smart Hub’ where they can win prizes, including trips to exciting destinations along its route.

East Coast’s promotions on Absolute Radio form part of a wider £7m marketing campaign, encompassing radio, TV and outdoor advertising.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has placed its multi-million pound advertising account up for review.

The account has been held by SapientNitro since its appointment as lead creative agency in July 2011, its first advertising account at the time. But The Drum understands it is now being put out to pitch.

It is understood that SapientNitro has been invited to repitch for the account, although neither the agency, nor Ladbrokes, would comment on the review.

Ladbrokes called the review following the departure of its chief marketer Stephen Vowles to Argos. It was Vowles who made the last agency appointment.

Vowles' exit led to a reshuffle within the Ladbrokes marketing team. It is now headed up by Andrew May, who joined as head of internet in May and was promoted to director of brand and research earlier this month, and Adam Collette, marketing communications director.

Upon its appointment, SapientNitro was tasked with handling the brand's multi-channel advertising, including print and TV.

During the agency's time on the account it developed the 'Game On' campaign featuring the renowned and very loud Italian football commentator Tiziano Crudeli and more recently 'The Odds Father' with football pundit and face of the brand, Chris Kamara.

According to the Holden Pearmain Advertising study, conducted by Kantar in 2012 following the brand's live odds campaign during the European Championships, Ladbrokes had the highest awareness in the UK bookmaking marketplace, with a year-on-year increase in awareness of 53 per cent.

Former TBWA creative director Andrew Charles has been appointed head of art by creative agency Anthem.

Charles will be responsible for developing the ‘big ideas from the shelf out’ approach favouring packaging as a lead for FMCG product campaigns. He brings with him experience from spells at BBDO, Ogilvy and M&C Saatchi.

Charles will report to executive creative director Mark Ringer, who he previously worked with during his time at TBWA in Asia-Pacific.

Ringer said: “He is an art director’s art director who developed the colour separation campaign for M&Ms at BBDO Europe, which became the global look for the brand and won many gongs.

“He will work with all our raft of highly specialised creative talent at Anthem to continue to generate ‘big ideas from the shelf out’.”

Other brands Charles has worked with include Mars, VW, The Economist, Shangri-La, BMW and Mini.

The value exchange through social media has grown to see 43 per cent of consumers support the use of online behaviorial data to improve their online experience, according to the latest social media report by IPG MediaBrands agency UM.

The seventh annual Wave report, which surveyed 48,945 active Internet users across 65 countries, has revealed consumer behaviour and brand insights into smartphone users, with almost 70 per cent expressing concern over the use of their personal data online, with consumers in the UK proving to be least comfortable with being tracked.

However, membership of branded communities was also found to have grown by 10 per cent in the last year, demonstrating a developed understanding by consumers over improved engagement levels led by a branded strategic approach.

Despite this, the most reluctant audience to join brand communities was found to be in the UK, with larger incentives for loyalty demanded, or the opportunity to make a difference. UK audiences also expected a fast response to online complaints, which led to the conclusion that by offering control and reward, brands can overcome an audience's online apathy towards them.

The UK also had the largest usage of tablets, smartphones and laptops during TV viewing, in comparison with the global average.

Wave 7 also discovered that UK consumers kept their personal and professional lives separate when it came to their online footprint, using Facebook to message friends and LinkedIn purely for work related activities.

Of Wave 7, Glen Parker, research director for UM G14, said that it was clear that tracking the latest trends was no longer enough, with understanding the motivations behind emerging trends becoming the main focus due to the superficial nature of online interaction.

"Wave 7 has identified that consumers will connect with brands that meet five basic needs. By answering these needs, and by combining technology, social platforms and media in a more cohesive way, brands can put themselves in an extremely powerful position. We believe Wave 7 can guide them through this journey," he added.

Over half (56 per cent) of those surveyed agreed that social media use had become an integral aspect of their own social lives, with the Chinese market proving most active, with 71 per cent of Internet users active on a microblogging such as Sina Weibo or Twitter.