Iran's image-makers may not permit the horrors that would ensue from mass deportations, but the days of sectarian solidarity are over.

ECONOMIST: Iran

On December 17th one of Germany's top image-makers, Gabriele Eick of Burson-Marsteller, a public-relations agency, was named the bank's new media manager.

ECONOMIST: Dresdner Bank

It would be tempting to conclude that Mrs Clinton's image-makers have successfully disguised her ambitious side, conning Middle America into identifying with her.

ECONOMIST: Lexington

The trouble with this sober and sensible-sounding approach, in the eyes of Mr Aznar's image-makers, was that if you go by opinion polls it was not winning over enough voters.

ECONOMIST: Spain

It says a lot about Australian attitudes on the subject that Ms Gillard's image-makers clearly saw the sit-down interview with Channel Nine as a plus rather than as a negative.

BBC: The first bloke

Virtually every morning, it seems, image-makers in the gainful employ of opposition leader Tony Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard conjure up some kind of unimaginative photo-opportunity, where their leaders appear brandishing a blow-torch, a spade, a butcher's knife, an on-button or some kind of piece of light industrial machinery.

BBC: The scandal that could bring down Australia's government

Once the makers had an image, they found a white-coated scientist to devise a recipe, which was described on the bottle as being more than 400 years old.

ECONOMIST: Drinking fashions