NO MORE marketing to women

...well at least for today. As some of you who know me will know, I am madly in love with South Africa (a marriage of the soul "through good and bad times"). But very few of you will know that deep down at heart, this girl is a HUGE rugby fan (I hide it well). And at the moment, the World Cup Rugby is being played in France. Tomorrow is the finals....and guess who's playing???? South Africa! (Against England, if it should interest you). But don't worry about the details, that's not what this is about. Here we go: For once this closet-rugby-fan comes steps proudly into the public spotlight with her hidden boy-side. It's World Cup Finals and my team is playing!!! Out comes the green-and-yellow warpaint, the scarves, and god forbid, I'll even drink a Castle Lager if I could find one right now.... But even if rugby doesn't interest you one hoot (as I suspect it does), at least you can have a good laugh at this ad in support of the South African rugby team. ...And now here's hoping we win....!

Inspiration for all women

In 1934 she dropped out of school at the age of fourteen. In 2007, two weeks short of her 88th birthday, Doris Lessing, one of the great female intellectuals of our century, is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.

Although I could never be as presumptious as to put myself in the same category as Lessing, I can relate to her life and experiences as a woman, and she has served as a great source of reading-satisfaction and inspiration to me over the past years.

Lessing is a largely self-taught author who has drawn heavily from her time living in Africa, exploring the divide between whites and blacks, in much of her writing. Because of her criticism of the South Africa's former apartheid system, she was even prohibited from entering the country between 1956 and 1995.

Lessing however, is probably best known for her exploration of the male-female relationship in "The Golden Notebook", published in 1962 and considered by many a feminist classic, although Lessing does not consider the book to be a political statement.

Personally, I think Lessing deserves our respect not only for winning the world's foremost prize in literature, but also for the example she sets as a woman. For the way in which she has led her life, always questioning the status-quo, never taking 'the path of least resistance', always expecting the best of herself and living her life to the full - regardless of society's views of her choices. In this alone, she is already a memorable example to us all.

Here some memorable quotes by Doris Lessing

Dove does it again

After their win with the 'Evolution' campaign at the Cannes Advertising Festival earlier this year, Dove is back with another viral film called 'Dove Onslaught'.

It continues Dove's strategy of demystifying the beauty industry and helping set realistic beauty goals for all women.

Check it out!

Free Hugs Campaign.

I found this beautiful clip on the Rolling Talks blog. Caroline in turn found it on Facebook.
Talk about the power of viral marketing....

Take 5 minutes (3:39 minutes to be exact) out of your busy day to see this....It helps remind us all that being nice doesn't cost any money...And our world can do with a little more love and tolerance at the moment!