Digital cameras have hit the mainstream this year, at least as far as Olympus and Hewlett Packard are concerned. Here in the UK, these two manufacturers have both spent a small fortune on TV advertising. During every commercial break, one of them is running their ad campaign. Well, maybe not every break, but it sure seems like it after spending the last few days watching too much TV.

HP is advertising the wider picture by promoting both the digital camera and printer as an all-in-one experience, whilst not actually mentioning any specific products. Olympus has opted for an entirely different approach by wrapping up David Bailey in Christmas paper. Yes, you read that right, the most famous British photographer stands looking slightly bemused as he’s wrapped up by a woman in her mid-30’s. Then the ad cuts away to a picture of the Olympus 400 Digital camera, with some voiceover along the lines of “you can’t send someone David Bailey, so send them this camera instead”. Very cheesy and very, very annoying after the 100th repeat viewing.

Canon, Nikon and Sony are conspicuous by their absence…