Condom Advertising relaxed in light of rise in teenage pregnancies

Here is an article I have written for my column in Leeds On.

With the news that the ban on condom company’s advertising before the watershed is going to be lifted and that pregnancy advisory services will also be permitted to advertise, Adam Burns ponders exactly what this will mean for the plight of Britains sexually charged teenagers.

I have long tried to understand the reasons to why Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe. The figures were all ready embarrassing, but with new figures out in the spring, word on the grapevine is that the number of teenagers falling pregnant on our Great Island has risen for the first time in five years. I find it hard to fathom how children of such a young age become sexually active and how little is being done to combat this social epidemic.

Now you may think that my use of the word epidemic is slightly sensational but take the case of Alfie Patten, the 13 year old who for about two weeks became Britain’s youngest father, earlier this year. Unfortunately for Alfie fatherhood was short lived, and even before the men from the Guinness Book of records could get round to his house, a DNA test proved Alfie was not the father. In fact it turned out that a number of young boys had spent a night of romance with 15 year old Chantelle. The Daily Mirror reported “The result will be a blow to Alfie who was "devastated" by the boys' claims and "adored" Maisie”. Luckily Alfie’s mum eased the pain by buying him a new Spiderman suit.

O.K I’m sorry for making jokes but if this is a snapshot of Britain in 2009 then get me on the next plane out of here. The Netherlands who sit rock bottom of the table and heading for relegation seem to be getting it right, but what are they doing differently? Well for a start both forms of sex education are compulsory in the Netherlands whereas in Britain only the biology part is, parents can opt to take their children out of the personal and social side of the subject. As well as this Dutch schools have nationally set attainment targets for sex education whereas Great Britain has no such targets. Another major difference is the openness that the Dutch seem to exude when dealing with sex, this is often mistaken for permissiveness, but if the British were less reserved when dealing with sex then it would surely not be such a taboo and not so appealing to teenagers. The British reserve was illustrated excellently to me not so long ago. I was watching a film with my dad and my girlfriend earlier this year, and as Leonardo Dicaprio ripped off Kate Winslet’s clothes on Revolutionary Road, my Dad decided it rather conveniently that it was time to make a cup of tea. Later in the film when Kate cheated on Leo with the neighbour my Dad decided it was time to feed the cats. This was mildly amusing, and it got me thinking about when I was a teenager. Back then my Dad didn’t just find a job to do, when the screen was filled with rumpy-pumpy, he used to censor the film for me, by “checking the news”. I’m sure this is a familiar story for most of you, and I believe it is because of this type of behaviour that sex still remains a taboo, I’m not suggesting that children should be allowed to watch gratuitous sex scenes, but the total disregard to acknowledge what is the most natural thing in the world seems to be the wrong approach.

My opinion of the recent shake up by the Advertising standards Authority is still a dubious one. There decision to allow condom’s and pregnancy advice to be advertised before the watershed is undoubtedly a controversial one, well we are in Britain after all, but what impact will these adverts have on teenagers thinking about indulging in a game of bed sports. My opinion is probably very little; I believe the buck stops with the parents and to some extent the schools. If children are properly educated about sex then surely they will be able to make the correct decisions.

What is clear is that we are inline for some potentially titillating adverts. Durex the market leader in prophylactics has had some great slogans in the past, “Durex.Crowdstopper” and “For a hundred million reasons”. The best one I have found is a French advert which depicts a son and father in the supermarket, when the father refuses to buy his son some sweets the boy screams the place down; the tagline reads simply “use condoms”.

I do hope that the introduction of condom and pregnancy advisory services helps the number of teenage pregnancies decrease, if not for the teenagers who are cutting their own childhood short, then for the children they are bringing into the world who stand very little chance of a happy existence. I am however quite confident that this will not be the case. In my opinion we are in a vicious cycle, children are having children who will most probably have children when their just children. It will take something drastic to change the state of “Broken Britain”, any jobs going at the Daily Mail are there?

I leave you with the news that Alfie Patten has recently joined the fathers for justice campaign, you know, them dads who dress up as superhero’s and climb up Big Ben, apparently Alfie isn’t quite sure what fathers for justice is all about, but he does have his own Spiderman suit.

Adam Burns

Survival of the fittest? I best get to the gym!

In his latest blog entry "Survival of the fittest" Richard Bailey discusses the different types of placement students. The two types according to Richard are closed and open. He explains that the closed students "take a self-centred view of their placement year. 'It's all about me: my role, my aspirations, my portfolio.'" and that they are confident, assertive and sure to succeed in good times. The only problem is that we are living in volatile times, businesses are being asked to do more for less and having to be extremely adaptable in the process. Richard points out that closed students would be much better off if they "get their heads down and show some adaptability". What I think Richard is trying to say is that in these testing times, a student has got to be a whole number of things, not just a P.R student collecting pieces for their portfolio. They will gain much more cache if they roll their sleeves up and help the team wade through this financial quagmire. Richard goes on to say that a closed student will find it difficult to adapt, so it is the tutors job to make them see the bigger picture.

The other side of the coin is the open student, described by Richard as "much less confident of their abilities and have a more flexible view of their role in the placement organisation." these type of students are thriving because they are adaptable and can turn their hand to all sorts of different tasks, such as marketing, sales and that dreaded word admin. Richard comments that adaptability within an organization is "a good survival strategy" and that tutors have to work with open students to coax out their confidence, whilst helping them understand the relationship between their degree course and their role during their placement.

This all got me thinking about my future placement and also how I have acted whilst on my previous placements. My first placement was with a Leeds based consultancy, I worked one day a week and my responsibilities included photocopying and making the tea. Now I expected to be given very little responsibility but after five weeks working 9-6 and not getting paid, I made my excuses and left. I had taken the placement to get a feel for what it was like to work in a consultancy and also hoped that I would be able to get a piece for my portfolio, I thought this was not to much to ask after working very hard on organizing the massive back log of press cuttings. In my fifth week when I asked if I could have a go at writing a press release and was turned down, I decided to call it a day. If I would have stuck at it for a few more weeks would my portfolio now be bulging with pieces? I very much doubt it, but maybe if I would have been a little bit more "open" chances may have started to materialise.

Anyway I secured a two week placement at Trimedia UK in Roundhay, which although was again unpaid, I was determined to be paid in portfolio pieces. Two weeks later I had three superb pieces, I had not photocopied a single thing and I was tremendously upbeat about working in a consultancy. The staff were warm and welcoming, they gave me credible tasks which involved me using my initiative and allowed me to be creative.

Now although my placement year is approximately 16 months away, I have begun to think seriously about the type of placement I want and the skills that I will have to develop to succeed. I know however after my brief experience of working in P.R that I will have to be the open student that Richard talks about, I will have to develop my adaptability and master the art of SURVIVAL.

It is now 3.30pm on a warm Friday afternoon, I am retiring for the day. I hear the Oak beer garden is splendid this time of year.

I am still having problems with the Video of my interview with Lewis. I have formatted it and compressed it but still Youtube won't have it. I will work on getting up by Sunday.

Yesterday my press release about Superpowerless was published in the Pontefract and Castleford express. I will scan it in for your reading pleasure very soon.

Good afternoon

Adam

Room for one more?

Name: Charlotte Richardson

Hometown: Cambridge

Course: Public Relations

Question One: Who is your role model?

I really want to say Dangermouse, as he’s so cool and super! Think it might need to be a real person though. Real person… I’d say Richard Branson and not just for the facial hair. He’s a multi-billionaire who started off selling old vinyl’s from the boot of his car. Genius! I admire him as he came from nothing and did it all himself; which is what I want to do. Because even though I come from Cambridge “Daddy” doesn’t pay for everything.

Question Two: Why Leeds and Why P.R?

I can’t even remember why or how I got this obsession with Leeds, but I have it. So choosing Leeds was pretty simple, except for the random three months at UEA, but we’ll forget that. As for PR that’s simple, a computer told me to. I did one of them random tests and it came up with PR, Marine Biology and Accounting. Tried the accounting for three months didn’t get on so well with that and am now giving PR a go. So far so good, rather like this vocation, so don’t think I’ll be moving on to Marine Biology anytime soon.

Question Three: What would be your ideal profession apart from Public Relations be?

Easy or what….I want to be a ROCKSTAR!!!!! Who doesn’t? One slight problem though I can’t play an instrument. So next best thing be their PR.

Question 4: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Still travelling the world. Apparently we are estimated to live till we’re 125. Figured I’ve got ample time to make my millions owning my own PR Company and settle down. After I’ve finished my degree and got at least a 2:1, I plan to see the world. Start in Russia, down to Asia, then to Australia, stop off in South America, make my way to Africa, get some street food in India then back on home soil. This might take me a while as I plan to volunteer and do PR work in a few of these places. Hence, the still travelling in 5 years time.

This team just keeps agrowin'

Name: Will Jones

Hometown: West Kirby

Course: Public Relations

Hi, I’m Will Jones and I’m a first year student at Leeds Metropolitan University studying Public Relations. I’m really glad to be part of this blog, not only has it helped with my portfolio but it’s given me different areas of PR to pursue. I’m hoping that more and more students get involved. This is a good opportunity for everyone studying PR to get useful information on current events and also to discuss what they’ve achieved or learnt in the trade. Anyway, below is my profile for Leeds Met SU. Enjoy!

Question one: Who is your role model?

I’ve taken some time thinking about this question, it’s a hard one…I wasn’t slacking Adam, just pondering. To be honest there aren’t many successful people out there that I’d be proud to call a role model. If I ever came up with someone I’d probably be lying! So I’ve decided to keep this answer in the family, my role model would have to be my Dad. He’s a short balding man in his late 40’s to early 50’s, there is absolutely nothing special about him but he’s taught me a lot and I don’t really know where I’d be without him today. If I had even half of his wisdom I’d be happy. From the age of thirteen I’ve always had a job. He told me from a young age to rely on yourself and always try to earn your own way. Work hard and you’ll reap the benefits. My Dad’s a tireless a worker and rarely does he moan. He’ll think things through calmly and he’s almost always irritatingly right. Obviously I haven’t always lived up to what he’s said or done! But I know never to take anything for granted. The best advice I’ve ever had has been from my “old man”.

Question 2: Why Leeds and Why PR?

Originally I wanted to go to Newcastle to study Media, but after performing badly in my A levels I was rejected. Hopefully I won’t say this a lot but I’m very glad I failed! Leeds is a quality city, vibrant, exciting, unique..the list goes one! After getting into Leeds Met I began a degree in Media, it was interesting enough but I didn’t feel I could do anything with it when I eventually graduated. I dropped out of that course and then found myself doing PR. My best friend’s Dad is in PR so I’ve always known there’s a good living to make from it. After some thorough in depth reading of courses I decided that PR sounded like the most interesting and different. It’s a job filled with creativity and opportunities to see the world. The importance of PR in any organisation is crucial. It’s definitely underestimated by prospective students. Question three:

Question 3: What would your ideal profession apart from Public Relations be?

Being a full time well paid athlete wouldn’t be bad! Boxing, football, rugby; these are three sports that I’d love to be able to play professionally. But after coming to Leeds Met and witnessing the serious potential some sports members have I decided the couch is my best option. Question four: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?In five years from now I will have a degree in Public Relations and I’d be finished travelling the world. The money situation will be awful at this point but I’ll be probably very happy, full to the brim with life experience! Ideally I’d have found a country that I’d love to earn a living in. Hopefully one day I’ll be in that country working in PR either in house or as part of a consultancy. But as we all know from studying planning in lectures and seminars things don’t always go the way you want!

Good Afternoon,

And what a lovely morning it is. It seems the sun has put his very best hat on and is ready to come out to play. It does make it very hard to resist the urge of the first year student inside of me that is telling me "The Oak beer garden is splendid this time of year" but with portfolio hand in on the horizon I have assured him that there will be plenty of time for The Oak and it's splendid beer garden.

So the coverage for Superpowerless is coming on well, splendidly. H2B magazine and the Castleford and Pontefract Express are both running the story and I have a few other promising leads.

The first Adam Burns meets....interview is finished. Here it is.

P.R team gets Superpowers

Good afternoon ladies and gents,

It has been a little while since our last outing in the blogosphere, since then Colin Jackson seems to have got off scot free, our team has two new additions and we have two new clients.

One of our most promising new clients is Superpowerless, a chiptune electro band who recently won a national competition. I have included the press release below and a picture of my alter ego "Slightly Receding Man"



We are also working with Ben Mcdougal to arrange an event which will keep the streets of student areas clean of the usual mess left after the "moving house weekend", this is still in the pipeline and not for a few months but I will keep you updated.

The two new additions to our team come in the form of Charlotte Richardson and Will Jones, they are both first year P.R students and have both promised me a profile to add to the blog, but being first years, of course I'm still waiting. Slackers!!!

Tomorrow we are meeting with S.U president Lewis Coakley for the first of a series of interviews with the Student Union execs, they will be hosted by myself, Adam Burns, and I am thinking my interview style will be a mixture between David Frost and Alan Partridge.

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Leeds band scoops national award

Leeds based electro artist Superpowerless fought off competition from 200,000 entrants to win the MTV Vodaphone Soundbites competition .

Oliver Hindle’s track “Wasted my time” impressed the judging panel, which comprised of industry experts, and after being short listed to the final ten he was crowned winner in a ceremony held in London.

Oliver has won the chance to work with renowned producer and D.J Andy Chatterley as well as shooting a video with director Luc Janin, who has worked with The Fratellis, Stereophonics and Boy Kill Boy. The single and video will be launched on the 23rd of March and broadcast on MTV.

20 year old Oliver ,who was born and raised in Pontefract and is now in his first year studying Music Technology at Leeds Metroplitan University said:

“After winning the competetion things have gathered pace, and with the single and video released soon it doesn’t seem like slowing down. Although this is all fantastic the live shows are the most important thing to me and the ones we have had so far in Leeds have been amazing”

Superpowerless are the most exciting new breed of “Chiptune” or “Chipmusic” artists that are emerging around the country. Chiptune is software used to programme Gameboys so that they can be used to create music. With the very unique sound and exhilirating live shows.
Superpowerless are causing quite a stir in the Leeds music scene after selling out their first two gigs.

Bradford Based music Magazine described their latest gig as

“Electro dance music at its best, not only is it a sight for the eyes, the music they create is top class”

Along with the single and video launch Vodaphone have also commissioned a Viral Marketing campaign to be run by goviral.com which will coincide with the launch on the 23rd. of March. With many musical success stories being written in Yorkshire over the past years, The Cribs, The Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs to name a few, Superpowerless are well on the road to writing another chapter in the musical heritage of Yorkshire.

The next Superpowerless gig is at Subculture on March 19th at 8.00pm.

Paul Harrison: A Leeds Met success story.

After my last rant about the urban Olympics I witnessed outside my front door (Are we fighting a loosing battle?) I was left pondering the task which we had undertaken. I decided to cheer myself up by trying to find a student who doesn't believe climbing over cars like a monkey on E is acceptable walking home etiquette. It didn't take much research to find that Leeds Met has success stories coming out of its....ears or arse, you choose.

The first bundle of brilliance to baffle beyond belief (those alliteration classes are paying for themselves) is Paul Harrison. Below is an unedited version of the article I have sent to the local press and the student paper. Take heed those amongst you, who are contemplating competing in Saturday nights urban Olympics and see what you can achieve if you put your energy into something constructive. For those of you who still want to compete, I just thought I would mention that I have recently purchased an air rifle and am looking for some target practise.

(the last sentence is a joke and I in know way condone the use of firearms and it is not my intention to glorify the use of them, I was only joshing)

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Leeds born footballer Paul Harrison has become the latest success story of Leeds Metropolitan University. After graduating with a 2nd class honours in Sport Coaching and Development, Paul has secured a one year contract at Glenn Hoddle’s Football academy in Spain.

Paul has played football for Leeds Met throughout his three year course at university. As a 1st year he was selected to play for the 3rd team, but after soon impressing he was moved up to the 2nd team, who went on to be only the second Leeds Met team in history to win the national title. In his second year of studies he was selected by John Hall to play for the 1st team in which he stayed for the rest of his time at Leeds Met, winning many trophies, including a final victory at Elland Road.

Whilst Paul was playing for Leeds Met he was spotted by former England international Glenn Hoddle. Glenn was launching his partnership with Carnegie, who were sponsoring the Glenn Hoddle Academy trials at Chelsea Football Club. Two weeks after the game Glenn rang Paul personally to ask him if he would like to attend the upcoming trials at Chelsea. Although Paul got injured on the day, Glenn decided he had seen enough and offered Paul a two week trial at the Spanish resort of Montecastillo. The two week trial culminated with a game against Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough United, in which Paul impressed and was offered a one year contract at the Glenn Hoddle Academy.

Paul is still enjoying his time in Spain, his daily routine involves an early breakfast with his team mates, followed by a morning session concentrating on fitness, techniques and small sided games. After lunch the players can take advantage of the 5 star facilities by either working out in the gym or relaxing by the pool. The afternoon session is usually larger sided games with a tactical theme in which ideas are broadened and the players are challenged by new information with tactical and technical input from the coaches. The coaching staff includes ex pro’s such as Nigel Spackman, Dave Beasant, Graham Rix and Hoddle himself.

In a recent tour of England the Gelnn Hoddle academy played fixtures against Chelsea, Southampton, Derby and Manchester City, in which the likes of Bojinov, Nathan Ellington, Leo Franco and other under 21 internationals played.
Paul is well aware of how privileged he is to be playing in such high profile games and said he owes much of his success to Leeds Metropolitan University

Paul said:

“Without Leeds Mets football programme I literally wouldn't be where I am today. I only heard about the football team through the Students Union, who do a fantastic job getting students involved with all kinds of activities . I also owe a lot to the likes of Kev Hammond who gave me my first game, and to John Hall who recognised my abilities and invited me to join the 1st team squad, where I was spotted by Glenn Hoddle. Also the support from my tutors helped me achieve my degree but also allowed me to concentrate on my football.”

Although Paul is enjoying himself in Spain he hopes that his stay will be as short as possible and that he will be offered a trial at a professional club. So far 3 of his team mates are currently on trial at professional clubs.

Paul added:

“My time at Leeds Met was a fantastic chapter in my life, and has played a massive part in my development, I am very grateful for the chances I have received and hope I can pay back all the time people have invested in me by securing a professional contract.