So the announcement has finally been made: Cape Town is World Design Capital for 2014, ahead of Dublin and Bilbao. This is great news for creativity in South Africa. Cape Town has long focused on positioning itself as a creative hub — film, advertising, design — and this is paying off. It’s the kind of […]
Media
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, Media
Germany — on being disconnected in a connected world
It’s so easy to take connection for granted. Sure, there are places, like the bush, where you expect to feel isolated from technology. But finding yourself in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and everyone else is connected — now that makes for the kind of cognitive dissonance that triggers panic attacks. […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, Lifestyle, Media
Why I’m boycotting the Foschini Group
T-shirts that are offensive towards women, ignorant of the HIV/Aids pandemic in South Africa, or are simply offensive are a reflection of a culture that says we shouldn’t care about these things, because misogyny, HIV/Aids and women’s rights are not something to be taken seriously. When a major brand like Foschini chooses to produce shirts […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
New! Improved! Designer vaginas
Insecurity is big business. We probably wouldn’t bother with half the things we buy if we felt good about ourselves. Your breath isn’t fresh enough (that’s how Listerine got its big break). Your hair isn’t straight enough (cue GHDs and Brazilian blowouts). Your teeth aren’t white or straight enough (aesthetic dentistry). You’re too pale (fake […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Black journalists’ role in the struggle needs to be re-examined
It was 34 years ago that the apartheid regime mounted its assault against the freedom and integrity of so-called black newspapers. On October 19 1977, the government silenced the World and Weekend World publications, which were mistaken for revolutionary voices simply because of the skin colour of the staff and the racially segmented market they […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, Sport
Rugby and the nation: Tweeting our devastation
“Sympathies to the Wallabies,” tweets the comedian Brendan Jack. “After the tournament, they still have to go back to Australia.” It’s a sardonic comment on a morning which for many across South Africa has been an emotional rollercoaster. I’m very aware of this because I’ve watched my fellow citizens veer crazily from hope to despair […]
Posted inMedia
Daydreaming into disaster
By Roger Diamond Fantasy and imagination will cause our downfall. The ability of humans to live inside their heads is allowing our civilisation to destroy everything around us, the things we can find most joy from and the very things we need to survive. While people watch computer-animated images of smiling creatures hopping across ice […]
Posted inMedia
Will tweet for Crocs
Crocs shot of the day It’s amazing where a blog entry will get you. A little more than a month ago, I wrote about Crocs here on Thought Leader. Why, I wondered, did everyone hate Crocs? Why the need to be seen to be hating the brand? It struck me as rather theatrical, a form […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
An open letter to MTN
Dear MTN, Recently I trudged through the plains of Mordor, chucked the Ring into the Mount Doom and emerged in one piece on the other side. Which is to say that I’ve just crossed my self-payment gap and Discovery will actually start to pay for things again. This is just as well for you, because […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Media, News/Politics
Why South Africa should be run like the Loeries
Two icons meet on stage Photo: Gallo Exhilarating, exhausting and, most of all, enlightening. I’ve just returned from a two week road trip and social media campaign, travelling down to Cape Town for the Loerie Awards. (You can read all about the campaign here.) It was unbelievably hard work and worth every Red Bull-fueled moment […]
Posted inMedia
New! Improved! The nation, on sale now
In 30 seconds, an ad can tell you more about the South African psyche than an entire day spent wading through a dissertation. A contentious statement to make, I know, but with the Loerie Awards festival taking place this weekend (I’ll be blogging it all here), worth some reflection. The significance of advertising’s role in […]
Posted inMedia
Rugby, braaivleis and Peter Stuyvesant
It’ll be interesting to see which campaigns win big at this year’s Loerie Awards this weekend in Cape Town. What will their legacy be? As a member of the very first group of South Africans to grow up with TV, the ads I grew up with are etched into my memory. My childhood was Knight […]