Ballygowan 'Think Pink' Week

This week (14th – 20th February) is "Think Pink Week" in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and the Marie Keating Foundation, with thanks to Ballygwowan Pink. Throughout the week Ballygowan Pink are encouraging people to raise awareness and get behind this worthy cause by ‘Thinking Pink’ in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation.

Above, sporting stunning pink dresses courtesy of Covet (Powerscourt Centre, Dublin), models Sarah McGovern and Emily MacKeogh kicked off Think Pink Week. The girls, College students and office workers all over the country will be ‘Thinking Pink’ this week, by wearing a pink accessory or by sporting a pink outfit, to show their support and help raise funds for the Marie Keating Foundation.

For those of us who don't have any pink to wear Ballygowan Pink is encouraging us to ‘Think Pink’ by choosing the pink Ballygowan bottle which is now a permanent part of the Ballygowan range. So by simply choosing pink people can make a difference and help raise awareness for breast cancer.

Lillian McGovern, CEO, the Marie Keating Foundation said, “While breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women in Ireland, the good news is that survival rates are improving both overall and for all age groups. A large contributing factor to this is an increase in breast awareness and early detection so we are calling on people to ‘Think Pink’ and show their support this week.”

Working closely with the Marie Keating Foundation, Ballygowan continues to raise awareness of breast cancer and highlighting the importance of early detection. Ballygowan Pink has already raised over 200K for the Marie Keating Foundation and will continue to raise much needed awareness throughout the year.

Ballygowan was at the IFTAs on Saturday to generate awareness and support from the stars and they got some amazing video footage featuring Kim Cattrall, Pierce Brosnan plus lots lots more. Check it out, it's well worth a watch, with Kim singing at the end!!

Carphone Warehouse: I Just Called to Say I Love You

The nature of how people communicate has changed in the last twenty years in ways that no one could have predicted. So when it comes to a day like today, built around telling someone special exactly how you feel, there are now a multitude of public, private, digital and non-diital ways to do it. What may surprise you is that a poll conducted by The Carphone Warehouse has revealed that 53% of people use their mobile phone to say I love you on St. Valentine's Day.

The poll also revealed:

• Only 2% of people favour a traditional love letter to say “I love you”
• 20% of people have sent a saucy text to the wrong person
• 89% of people would not break up with someone via text or in an email
• Flowers are the most popular gift to buy online (36%) for a loved one on Valentine’s Day, with DVD’s and CD’s the next most popular online gifts
• The gift people most covet is the iPad, with the iPhone and other smartphones following closely behind

Taking the last point to heart (pardon the pun), Carphone Warehouse have announced that they will be offering a FREE selected Pre Pay phone to anyone that buys the Nokia C7 on O2 Bill pay.

Visit www.carphonewarehouse.ie for more information.

Kildare Village & The Dublin Chinese New Year Festival 2011

Kildare Village will play a key role this year in the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, which is taking place from today, Thursday (3rd February), until Sunday next (13th February). Events are a fascinating mix of Chinese culture and heritage, and Kildare Village will be marking the start of the Year of the Rabbit in spectacular style with Chinese arts and entertainment from a host of home-grown artists.

The festivities at Kildare Village will take place next weekend (12th - 13th February) with a number of traditional and contemporary entertainment acts such as vibrant and energetic Lion and Dragon Dance displays and traditional Chinese kite-making classes for the whole family to enjoy. Se sure to don your finest red fashion pieces and head to Kildare Village for a great time.

To help you celebrate the weekend anyone visiting Kildare Village will have the chance to win one of the thousands of prizes by simply picking up a fortune cookie. Ranging from Kildare Village VIP cards to gift vouchers and much more, this is just another reason to pop down to Kildare.

Maria McGovern, Marketing and Retail Director of Kildare Village said, ‘Kildare Village is delighted to be involved with the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival again this year. It’s an opportunity for our customers to celebrate experience and engage in Chinese culture, while also being a great family day out. Supporting the Dublin Chinese New Year allows us to further extend our offering as a cultural and shopping destination for shoppers and tourists alike and we look forward to welcoming new visitors to Kildare Village.’

Declan Hayden, Dublin Chinese New Year Festival Director, at Dublin City Council agrees that the collaboration has again been a success, “We at the Chinese New Year festival are delighted to be working with Kildare Village again this year and hosting a weekend of Chinese festivities. Kildare Village is a popular shopping destination among the Chinese community in Ireland and we are proud to partner with them on such a unique cultural event”.

Lyons Gold Blend 'Rich Talk'

Anyone reading my blog should remember the two previous Lyons Tea campaigns that I've written about. Well I'm delighted to say that the latest in the series of Master Teablender ads is right on the ball, and continues this great campaign.

The latest advertising campaign reveals that a ‘richer talk’ added to the tea is what gives Lyons Gold Blend its richer, full bodied taste. The new campaign launched on television screens this week bringing to life those richer, more colourful conversations, where what begins as a casual chat, delivers more than expected.

The campaign has been developed by Rothco with this 30 second instalment directed by JJ Keith, produced by H2 Films and post-produced by Windmill Lane Studios. The campaign also comprises of one radio execution, and outdoor advertising on 48-sheet and 6-sheets, which will roll out next Monday (31st January 2011).

Speaking of the new advertising campaign, Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea said, “Irish people come from a long line of storytellers, poets and authors – talking is one of the things we do best. Lyons Tea is all about talk and the fuller flavour of our Gold Blend enhances this talk, making it richer, more colourful and leading to the slightly exaggerated tales we all know and love. We’re delighted with our new TV advertisement and we’ll be supporting the new campaign with some really exciting BTL and PR activity over the coming months.”

Ad Outline
The TV advertisement opens on the magical Lyons tea factory and the Master Blender and his young apprentice. The apprentice quizzes the Master Blender on why Lyons Gold Blend is so special, who replies, “It’s richer. Richer taste.” We see the rows of different boxes each with a different type of Gold Blend talk and the Master Blender continues, “So we put in richer talk… which leads to…. Richer STORIES.” The two then enter the Blending Room where we see the Master Blender adding the richer talk to the tea, creating Lyons Gold Blend.


The ad then cuts to a family home with Dad, Mum and their 3 year old boy sitting on the couch. Mum and Dad are enjoying a cup of Lyons Gold Blend and Dad is recounting the age-old fairytale ‘there was an old woman who lived in a shoe’ to his son. Dad begins the tale, takes a sip of his Lyons Gold Blend and then continues with a somewhat embellished version of the story, “which if her taste was anything like your mother’s...it wouldn’t have been cheap….still at least she only had one shoe…not 50 pairs. The voiceover then reveals ‘A richer taste for richer talk’.

Visit the Lyons Tea Facebook page for more Lyons info, or check out the ad here...

About Lyons Tea

• Lyons Tea employs expert master blenders and tasters to select the best blends and combination of some of the finest teas from Kenya, Assam from India and Ceylon from Sri Lanka to produce the highest quality tea. Lyons Tea is available from leading supermarkets and retailers nationwide.
• Lyons is Ireland’s number one tea brand with 42.8% market share***; Lyons is an iconic Irish brand with more than 100 years of tradition in Ireland, having started business in Dublin in 1902 near Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland.
• Lyons Tea is Ireland’s favourite tea. The Lyons Tea range includes Lyons Gold Blend, Lyons Original Blend, Lyons Gold Blend Reserve, Lyons Kenya Blend, and Lyons Decaffeinated Tea. Lyons Green Tea is available in original, with Lemon and with Mint. For further information on Lyons Tea visit www.lyonstea.ie
• Lyons tea is currently working with the Rainforest Alliance - independent experts in sustainability and by 2012 all our tea will only come from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.
• For more information visit www.lyonstea.ie

Maltesers The Great Indoors

Maltesers have just launched a new campaign - celebrate the great indoors. Through a multi-channel startegy Maltesers want to help their fans through the January blues by staying in and enjoying everything the great indoors has to offer. The campaign has hundreds of 'Great Indoors' packs to be won.

To be in with a chance of winning the prizes enter either by texting MALTESERS to 51500, through the Maltesers Facebook Page or by tuning in to the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM every morning from Monday 24th until Friday 28th January.

The prizes include a fantastic Rock Band Starter Kit including game, guitar, drum kit and mic (Rock band starter kit prizes available online only) or “Great Indoors” packs. The packs are a one stop kit for your perfect night in including a blanket, slippers, a DVD and, of course, some Maltesers.

Of course it's not just a matter of staying in, sometimes you need a reason to avoid having to go out. For that Maltesers have even created an “excuse generator” right on their Facebook Page, to help you come up with hilarious reasons why you must stay in!