Marketing experts at Royal Holloway University of London have applied their mighty brains to explaining the power of the Simon Cowell/X Factor brand. Their conclusion, reports the Sun, is that Cowell is akin to a "high priest" who has tapped in to a human need for ritual and sacrifice. Hmmm. "Cowell serves as an intermediary between the world of dead-end jobs and the sacred space of superstardom," said Prof Chris Hackley.
