Take a look at the article below from Saturday’s business section of the Guardian. As you can see from the ad above, mightysmall, ahead of the curve as ever, tried exactly the same strategy for a pitch to the ailing talk 107. They gave us access to their frankly damming research findings and we came back with a very simple advertising solution. Don’t patronise the audience, just say sorry and tell them how you’re going to change for the better. To borrow a very famous line once quoted by Tim Delaney “it wasn’t the work that ran and ran, it was the client.” Now it seems everyone’s about to start saying it. Here’s the article.

Marks & Spencer support advertising's latest buzzword: sorry

Sorry, Elton John sang, seems to be the hardest word. But no longer for advertisers. In the last few days Marks & Spencer and the London Evening Standard have decided that large advertising campaigns displaying contrition are the best route to win over the public.

In the case of M&S a national press advertising campaign with the headline "We boobed" told women it was dropping its unpopular policy of charging more for larger bra sizes.

The Evening Standard, now under the ownership of Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev and the editorship of former Tatler editor Geordie Greig, decided to use the opportunity of its rebirth of sorts to run billboards and posters apologising to Londoners for its previous attitude. The campaign, developed by ad agency McCann Erickson London has very low-level branding and the word "Sorry" used in conjunction with phrases such as "for being negative".

It is tempting perhaps to wonder whether the current lack of faith in big business, fuelled by the economic downturn, has led to a new advertising ethos of transparency.

"Over the years the public have become sick and tired of being ripped off and misled and as a result we are now in an age of brand transparency," said Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski PR. "Trust has gone – look at the government and banks. Where we are now, brands have to admit their mistakes."