Gone Camping...in Africa.

I am lucky enough to be able to realise one of my biggest dreams in the coming 3 weeks: to take part in a rally that goes from Belgium all the way to Gambia. Called the "Antwerp-Banjul Challenge", it's a rally of which the concept holds that you get your vehicle to Gambia in as good a state as possible and then auction it for a good cause of your choice. My team partner and I will be donating the proceeds of our vehicle (a 15-year old Land Rover Discovery) to a small hospital in southern Gambia that is in dire need of a gynaecological ward (1 in 32 Gambian women still die due to birth related complications). So that's our goal!

We leave today. 7000 kilometers in 18 days.

I won't be posting here in the coming weeks, but I will be updating the Sunshine Shooters blog with Twitter updates daily and with blogposts whenever possible.

See you when I get back!

The marshmellow test and what it teaches us

Watch kids illustrate what happens when one pre-activates the "goal conflict mechanism" in relation to eating when an eating opportunity presents itself. Next time you can't resist that donut, you know why: goal conflict!

Here you can find an interesting study conducted at the University of Leuven on " The Effect of Prior Food Temptation Actionability on Goal Activation and Consumption"

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

Designing the Stop Sign (aka: how not to work with an agency)

Came across this funny video yesterday....!

The death of a blogger and other interesting topics.

Starting tomorrow, I'm off to seek a little bit of sunshine and a lot of rest. To launch into the 2-week radio silence, I thought I'd leave you with some interesting things I discovered in cyberspace this week.


Death of a Blogger.
There's a PR stunt targeting some of America's top bloggers with a rather heart-stopping message: their own death announcement. This blogger received a mysterious "message in a bottle", which leads to a site called "Frenzied Waters", which isn't any less spooky.

The answer as to "Who did it" (this PR stunt), still has not been revealed. Bloggers receive progressive clues until they solve the mystery. To be continued...

The Generation M Manifesto.
A "food for thought" manifesto that starts "Dear Old People" posted on Harvard Business Online.

Girl Geek Go Green
A blogpost on Girl Geek Chic about a nifty little device that helps you save energy on your PC. I wonder if this is available in Belgium.
Note to companies: isn't this a great little gadget to hand out to prospects & customers at your next exhibition?

That's it for now folks!

We'll be back on August 3rd! In the mean time I wish you a summer of safe travels, lots of belly-aching laughter, peaceful sleep and healthy thoughts!

Sabine

A woman's day in brands

This is so great, I just had to take time out to post it!


Also check out "A man's day in brands"

The future of marketing to women = great marketing to everyone?

How about that: an ad that uses humor and gets it right for both sexes!
Well done Heineken!

The Undeniable importance of Denial

(original english text of a column I wrote for De Morgen's weekend supplement "Wax" this week)

The undeniable importance of denial.

Oscar Wilde once said: “Illusion is the first of all pleasures”. Now it’s not that I want to bump chests with the larger-than-life Mr. Wilde, but I think he got it wrong on this one. Denial is the first of all pleasures. And having just turned 36 (ok, ok, damnit: 37), I know a thing or two about the pleasures, and necessities, of denial.

Let me give an example of unequivocal denial that all those over thirty will relate to. (Those under thirty can skip this paragraph; you won’t know what I’m talking about – yet. If you keep reading, don’t smirk too conceitedly, your time will come.). Those over thirty will know the guilty pleasure of bumping into an old high-school friend you haven’t seen since platform shoes were in fashion (the first time round), and with a pang of glee noticing the first fanning wrinkles around their eyes, the extra few good-living kilos that pad out their face a little too ruddily. And while your eyes stealthily scan their face the way a thousand-watt searchlight scans a midnight sea for survivors, you quietly think to yourself: “Boy, I’m glad I didn’t age the way they did. At least I still look pretty much the way I did at 25”.
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is denial in its purest form.

But not all forms of denial are born equal, and not all afford us the same measure of pleasure.

First there’s pragmatic, necessary denial. The accountant of denials, this dependable, rational form of denial protects us against the harsh, inescapable realities of life: the cruel ending of love, sky-high taxes and sagging breasts.

Then there’s the second kind of denial: impractical, non-essential denial. Now don’t get me wrong: it is not because this denial is non-essential that it is therefore less valuable. Au contraire: non-essential denial can be very essential indeed. This irrepressible dancing harlot of denials, non-essential denial is every girl’s best friend.

It’s the kind of denial that assures us our jeans don’t fit any tighter than they did last month, that we just left them in the dryer too long.
It’s the kind of denial that convinces us to break the cardinal fashion rule “no miniskirts after 30” because well… it is Rock Werchter and we do don’t look a day over 28.
It’s the kind of denial that whispers soothingly that just one more little cookie won’t make the difference, or with a reassuring shoulder pat reminds us that a glass of red wine a day is good for the heart. It’s the kind of denial that cheers us on to climb a bar counter at 2am to do the Two-Tequila Boogie with a boy barely out of college, knowing we have an 8am meeting the next morning.

It’s also the kind of denial that keeps our best friends looking as youthful to us at 36 as they did at 22; the denial that keeps our hips slim and our husbands from growing beer bellies. It’s the kind of denial that keeps our parents from becoming senior citizens and the one that keeps us animatedly crooning “Like A Virgin” in the presence of our preteen son.

But most importantly it’s the kind of denial that gives us the courage to backpack across India at forty, climb Mount Kilimanjaro at fifty or sell the house to motor along Route 66 in an open-top Alfa Romeo Spider at sixty-five.

It’s the kind of denial that is the racy red lingerie, the little black whip and the fluffy pink handcuffs in our pragmatic underwear drawer of life. It’s the denial that allows us to dream crazy dreams and take courageous decisions, regardless of the realities of our age or circumstances.

Its the priceless kind of denial that keeps us kicking up our skirts to dance on the bar counter of life – at 36, 56, and yes, also at 76.

www.demorgen.be

Friday Fun: gender stereotyping

Here's a fun ad for a friday afternoon! It's called "Beware of the doghouse" and forms part of J.C. Penny's end of year print & viral campaign (agency: Saatchi & Saatchi).

We here at Muse really like the ad: it deals with gender stereotypes (and some very realistic situations we can all relate to) in a light-hearted, non-offensive way that still respects both sexes. And as we're 3 weeks away from the festive season, it also highlights the gift-buying anxiety many of us feel at this time of year.

...And if the number of presents pawned on ebay on January 1st is anything to go by, this ad reminds us: make sure you get it right, or you end up 'in the doghouse' (and your gift on ebay)!

Enjoy!

How to Shower: Women vs. Men

...because laughing at ourselves once in a while is healthy!

Monday memo: gutsy women and great blogs

A short post on a busy busy busy monday morning:

1. this weekend I discovered 'Diablo Cody'....(It's a name, by the way). I know...it didn't mean much to me either when I first read it. Cody is the Oscar-winning writer of this season's big indy movie hit 'Juno'. Interesting thing is, Cody is 29 years old and as so often mentioned in press surrounding her: an ex-stripper. What's very intestesing is that this very outspoken girl (I won't mention her own description of her "occupation" here, for fear of offending more sensitive souls), but have a look at her blog on myspace to see the amount of support she gets from her mostly female fans! Young women are very obviously totally supportive of this girl...and so am I! Kudoz to Cody for living her life by her own rules!

2. Belgian blog awards - women's blogs win the top prizes!
These are the winners:
First place: zattemadammen.be
Second place: talesfromthecrib.be
Third place: asfaltkonijn.be

Happy reading!

2007 - the good, the bad, the ugly

One has until the end of January to wish people well for the new year. Taking that reasoning and stretching it a bit, I also have time until the end of January to make my personal review of 2007...the good, the bad and the ugly in a nutshell.

THE GOOD:
A much needed break of 4 days in sunny Barcelona (a luxury in the first year of starting a business)

Attending the James Nachtwey photo exhibition in Amsterdam

Growing Muse faster than I thought possible in my wildest dreams

Finally getting round to sending a 5-year overdue 'thank you' letter to Jack & Val Leone in Australia...just in the nick of time. Which proves: ALWAYS say thank you to those you really love...before it's too late.

Meeting Isabella & Caroline...It's going to be a great year, ladies!

Having our "Big Bear St Bernard" spend another year with us

"Prutske" joining the family

A sunny, sunny, sunny April

Being able to take my 82-year old granny to Cirque Du Soleil for her birthday

Reading 'Shantaram' and 'Eat, Pray, Love' - two life-changing books

Surviving Pukkelpop (without any major injuries)

THE BAD:
Loosing Val Leone, my surrogate mom while I lived in Australia, to cancer on August 14th.

Falling very ill while visiting Amsterdam and spending 4 days in the hotel, in bed.

Burning my fingers trying to help someone

Promising myself I'd give up smoking in 2007 and not sticking to my promise.

THE UGLY:
Rediscovering how ugly money can make people (you know who you are)

Seeing too many animals put down at the rescue centre.

Tearing my calf-muscle in the middle of my first day at Rock Werchter. Arrival at 12 noon by car, departure at 5pm by ambulance. Yeah, Werchter in an ambulance really ROCKS!

A song to remind us of what's really important

As I was rushing through another monday morning filled with little 'to do lists', urgent phone calls, impatient clients and forgetful suppliers, I heard this beautiful song on the radio. It made me stop and think about things for a few minutes.

It's so beautiful (and so true) I wanted to share it with you all.

STOP for a few minutes to listen to it.
It's your day, your life. Everything REALLY can wait that long.

Happy Monday!

Mercator Insurance - funny or not?

When this ad first came on TV and I began to watch it, I found it quite funny. I could so totally imagine myself trying to drill a hole in the wall - with very little success (and a lot of damage to the wall). But then, as the ad comes to an end and the tagline is shown, I ain't laughing no more. I'm not going to give away the tagline here, you'll have to judge for yourself whether you think it's funny...or not.

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....!

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!