V-Energy has a humorous campaign breaking today that blends our wired, social media-savvy culture with the real world—and not necessarily with the right consequences.
It’s very well timed. The campaign breaks soon after Facebook announced it would begin supporting hashtags, the six-year-old invention that began on Twitter that purported to categorize messages. The hashtag has since been misused, almost to indicate one’s inner thoughts.
V-Energy’s campaign takes that to a new level, with people venting with hashtags, internet slang (the word pwned is uttered), and trolling—the behaviour of netizens, usually with anonymity, to provoke disagreement. The comments have come from real-life references, including online gaming, Twitter, and YouTube—where plenty of trolling can be found.
The actors in the new commercial troll, as online behaviours seep in to the real world. V-Energy’s pitch is to ‘silence the trolls’, with the shush-kitten, an online troll antithesis.
Users are invited to check in to V-Hab, a new website where there are “treatments†for trolling, in the hope that that dark energy can turn into something brighter in real life. V-Hab is what the company describes as an ‘online troll rehabilitation clinic … to diagnose and treat different kinds of online trollisms.’
The site is actually quite sophisticated: there’s a comment converter built around the film, which can convert negative trolling comments into positive statements. Programmers used Python to build the converter over six weeks and V-Energy believes it could contain ‘the largest database of profanity known to mankind’. It could be an interesting test for all those who have gone to swear words first when receiving a foreign-language dictionary.
There’s a ‘diagnostic room’ to analyse what kind of troll one is dealing with, while V-Hab also offers a De-troll Your Life browser extension, which uses the comment converter and applies them to other parts of the internet, ‘to help avoid a relapse.’ V-Hab’s ‘troll intervention’ features a Facebook app on which netizens can silence their trolling friends.
Check out V-Energy’s humorous video below, and check into V-Hab here.
In Lucire readership terms, this won’t net us as much attention as when Gemma Arterton went to Harrods to open its 2011 summer sale, but, for those in London for the 2013 edition’s opening, they were in for a real treat.
The 2013 sale saw 100 dancers take to a space outside the Kensington store for what Harrods calls a ‘Green Man Flash Dance’, paying tribute to its iconic green men. Flashdance probably has a different meaning since we first saw the term in the early 1980s—what Harrods meant is, of course, a flash-mob presentation, although those there might not have been too surprised that something was about to happen given that the dance area had barriers erected. And the first green man looked suspiciously fitter than the ones usually at the doors at Harrods.
However, it turned out that the security personnel, the paparazzi and even some of the customers were part of the performance, as they launched the sale with ‘twirls, leaps and chasses,’ says Harrods.
Fifty of the dancers wore replica green-man outfits. The dance ended with confetti raining down on the crowd as the sale opened at 9 a.m.
The sale began on June 15 and runs till July 7. Brands available include Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Givenchy, DKNY, and Alexander McQueen.
Highlights include: Salvatore Ferragamo blue snakeskin flat shoes (was £365, now £259); McQ razor-blade scarf (was £135, now £79·95); Victoria printed organza layered dress (was £975, now £499); Balmain leather biker jacket, exclusive to Harrods (was £3,575, now £1,750); Sony 42-inch Smart 3D LED TV (was £1,249, now £949); and a Bollinger 1999 magnum of champagne (was £340, now £255).
Updated with Henry Cavill interview on June 14, 2013, at 2.57 p.m. GMT
The Man of Steel promotion has moved on to a rainy London, where the Superman reboot had its première yesterday at the Empire Leicester Square, in the home country of lead actor Henry Cavill.
Amy Adams, wearing a strapless Valentino gown, says she agrees with ITN’s sentiment that Cavill is ‘the hottest man on the planet’ and that has some qualities in common with Lois Lane, namely that she is ‘very determined, very sassy, I don’t take no for an answer.’ However, she says that she could not be a reporter, because, ‘I’m not good at pushing past a barrier. If some body sets a boundary for me, I want to respect it.’
Cavill says he has similarities to Kal-El: ‘He’s always trying to do the right thing. He doesn’t always get it right, but his intentions are always honest and good.’ If he had a second identity, Cavill says he would consider joining the armed forces, but was less sure about how he would change the world if given the wish.
Director–producer couple, Zack and Deborah Snyder, meanwhile, have an umbrella malfunction in the videos below. Director Zack Snyder revealed that Cavill was the only actor screen-tested, though producer Deborah Snyder points out that there was a considerably lengthy search process prior to that. ‘We scoured the ends of the earth to find him,’ she reveals, but notes that he has ‘charisma’.
The director found Cavill ‘earnest’ and easy to work with. He adds, ‘It’s a big immigration story. It’s also a story where if you feel like you’re different or if you don’t fit in, you yourself are important, and that’s what Henry brings to it.’
Many of our female readers are already sold on ASOS, so it’s great to see the online retailer give the men some consideration.
It’s started on an item of clothing that most men should have no trouble ordering online: denim. The two new videos promoting the ASOS Menswear Denim range—which has over 600 styles—are cheeky and should appeal to most men. It’s asking men to send them challenges, and ASOS will respond to the best ones using items from the range.
The first video is a humorous look at how one can become a drummer—with ASOS skinny jeans, of course—while the second, on how to save a football team from relegation, requires ASOS denim shorts.
Netizens are asked to submit a challenge to ASOS at its Twitter account at ASOS_Menswear, hashtagging denimchallenge, or via an email form at the end of its videos.
Challenges could include a request for help to meet a girl, or freezing jeans, as the company.
ASOS says it will reply back to the best challenges, each using a product from its denim line.
The idea behind the humorous campaign is to spark a conversation.
ASOS has also launched a competition to tie in with the campaign, opening the morning of May 10, and closing at 4.30 p.m. BST. The winner is the one who Tweets the best denim challenge, as determined by the judges—with humour and imagination the two criteria they are looking for. The winner takes home a denim item of their choice. Full rules can be found at ASOS’s website.
ASOS was founded in 2000 in the UK, and was floated on the AIM at the London Stock Exchange the following year. It now carries over 50,000 branded and own-label lines, with 1,500 new product lines being introduced each week.
Kate Moss is the new face of St Tropez, the self-tanning brand, leading its first global advertising campaign.
Two shots have been released: one of Moss in a white, one-piece swimsuit, and another in the nude.
The campaign will be in print and online, and appear in point-of-sale materials from summer 2013. St Tropez is also encouraging users to use the hashtag offtosttropez on Twitter for a prize draw, which will include a holiday.
The company has also issued a how-to video on how to get Moss’s tan in the campaign. Says Nichola Joss, St Tropez’s global tanning and skin-finishing expert, ‘To achieve Kate’s pool-side bronze for the shoot, the St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse applied with a St Tropez Applicator Mitt gives a natural-looking, streak-free result with a flawless finish. St Tropez Powder Bronzer perfects the look with a beautiful contoured effect and enhances the natural shape of Kate’s body.’
The iconic supermodel says she has used the St Tropez brand since its inception.
Michelle Feeney, CEO of PZ Cussons Beauty, the owner of St Tropez, said in a release, ‘As a global beauty brand with a heritage in tanning, St Tropez is now in 18 countries and women from Rio to LA are seeking the benefits of safe tanning. Kate’s fashion icon status is important to us but now her growing number of beauty campaigns proves that her appeal as a beauty icon resonates with confident women across all age groups globally.’
Actress Helen Flanagan (formerly of Coronation Street, where she played Rosie Webster) is the top-placed Briton on FHM’s Sexiest 100 Women list, thanks to reader votes. Mila Kunis topped the poll, voted via fhm.com, followed by Rihanna. Flanagan found herself in third place in the list of international celebrities.
Rounding off the top ten—and showing how FHM’s largely British reader base often voted in their own—were Michelle Keegan, Kelly Brook, Kaley Cuoco, Pixie Lott, Kate Upton, Cheryl Cole and Georgia Salpa. Tulisa Contostavlos just missed out on a top-10 placing, in 11th.
Our colleagues at ITN caught up with her in a very low-cut black gown at the party announcing the list, but presumably the volume prevented Flanagan from hearing the first questions posed to her.
Once tuned in to the interviewer, the 22-year-old Mancunian actress got through her questions more quickly.
Flanagan says that she has an obsession with Angelina Jolie and also regards eighth-placed Kate Upton as being sexy.
She also notes that she is ‘socially shy’ and would prefer a gentleman with manners to a ‘bad boy’.
Flanagan leapt from 47th place in last year’s poll.
The full list can be found at www.fhm.com/girls/100-sexiest-women.
Our second video features Emily Atack, Keeley Hazell, Jorgie Porter and Laura Whitmore.
Look out for the Body Shop’s Mothers’ Day gift packages. Lucire tried the White Musk shower gel and body lotion, a subtle scent of one of the Body Shop’s favourites. It’s an attractively packaged duo with a matching shower scrunchy. This would be a lovely treat for a travel gift when you just want a bit of pampering that’s a bit more than the hotel freebies, retailing at NZ$23. (Custom wrapping paper for Mothers’ Day is also available.) If white musk isn’t your scent, try the Japanese Cherry Blossom, a floral fragrance. There are several gift packages in this range: shower gel, body lotion, and hand cream. Most of the Body Shop’s top sellers have a gift package to suit your budget and your nose; Madagascan Vanilla Bean, Moringa Flower and my favourite, the Shea Pamper pack—anything with pamper in the title works for me.
The Body Shop is also all about eyes with the launch in May of 21 new eye colours. I particularly liked that they can be used both wet and dry, so when you want a defined line or depth of colour, use them wet; for that smouldering or smoky look, layer or blend them. There are shades in this range for all eye colours, moods and occasions. You can have the subtle hues of Caramel Flirt, which is much more than a nude—it has a lovely shimmer without being glitzy; or Sugar Gaze to give a lustrous highlight. Moonlight Kiss can be used as a liner or a smoky evening look, and for a young or more frivolous look, check out Berry Cute—think of a berry smoothy. Blueberry Night pairs wonderfully with Midnight Flirt. If you’re feeling earthy, the matte of Fig Leaf combined with the pearly Sweet Pea will fill the green tones beautifully.
Retailing at NZ$21 per mono eyeshadow, the Colour Crush range is produced in Italy from high-quality pigments and Community Fair Trade Oils to the Body Shop’s high standard of sustainability and quality. The individual clear pack is compact and enables you to see exactly what you’re buying.—Linden Sprunt
Look out for the Body Shop’s Mothers’ Day gift packages. Lucire tried the White Musk shower gel and body lotion, a subtle scent of one of the Body Shop’s favourites. It’s an attractively packaged duo with a matching shower scrunchy. This would be a lovely treat for a travel gift when you just want a bit of pampering that’s a bit more than the hotel freebies, retailing at NZ$23. (Custom wrapping paper for Mothers’ Day is also available.) If white musk isn’t your scent, try the Japanese Cherry Blossom, a floral fragrance. There are several gift packages in this range: shower gel, body lotion, and hand cream. Most of the Body Shop’s top sellers have a gift package to suit your budget and your nose; Madagascan Vanilla Bean, Moringa Flower and my favourite, the Shea Pamper pack—anything with pamper in the title works for me.
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