Smirnoff 'Be There' - Nightlife Exchange Project

So last night..... WOW! I couldn't even begin to tell you how brilliant last night was. I was surprised last week by being invited to host a Smirnoff warm-up party. As is tradition in Argentina before a big night out, people through warm up parties for all their friends to get together and plan out what's happening, listen to a few tunes and enjoy a drink or two. Well I was lucky enough to be one of 3 people invited by Smirnoff to host such a party.

So last night basically kicked off in my apartment with 12 close friends and I. We enjoyed a few, extremely tasty Smirnoff Mules (Argentina style - see below) expertly mixed and served by a Smirnoff barperson and listening to a little mix that I put together. From here we all boarded taxis and set off for The Wright Venue in Swords.

To say that The Wright Venue was spectacular would be a grievous understatement. Upon arrival we were greeted by pyrotechnics, a mechanical horse and a venue that begged to be entered and explored. We were welcomed inside by our Smirnoff hosts and shown to a private suite overlooking the dancefloor. The thing is, as difficult as this may sound, the rest of the night just got better and better.

As well as having our own room and bar to chill out in between nightclub expeditions, we also got to sample the best of Argentinian nightlife as selected by the people of Argentina and curated by DJ Ale Lacroix. From cocktail glasses of fresh fruit to Argentinian BBQ delights to free-styling football skills, we spent the rest of the evening having a thoroughly wonderful time. For me personally, a huge part of this was the opportunity to meet the folk from Smirnoff and really get an understanding of why all this was done, what the inspirations were and how they themselves were enjoying the event.


As an extra bonus I also got the chance to catch up with the Irish curator, Siobhan O'Dowd. While I'm sure Siobhan would have loved to join her crate in Argentina, she was definitely as excited as all of my guests and I to experience an amazing Argentinian night out.

And with all of that said, I for one am very, very happy to be able to say that I was there. And there, was very, very fun and exciting. I'm not sure what Smirnoff will do next, and I'm not even sure I can imagine what will top this, but I said that before about the their Wedding Night and the Masquerade Ball. So basically, I don't know what is next but you can be certain I will be waiting in eager anticipation.

Serious hat tips to all involved. You've got a fan for life :)

Smirnoff Mule Argentina
Ingredients:
35.5ml Smirnoff Vodka,
20ml Pomelo juice,
2 fresh wedges of lime
and topped with ginger ale.
Fill your glass with cubed ice before pouring all the liquid ingredients. Squeeze your fresh lime on top and stir well to mix all the ingredients together and enjoy!

Miwadi - Miwadifesto

Yesterday, Monday 22nd November, Miwadi launched its brand new packaging and branding. To celebrate the event, Miwadi is calling on Irish kids to tell them what they would do to make our island a more fun place to live in!

Miwadi wants kids to join in the “Miwadifesto”!

Through a brand new website kids can upload their suggestions for and ideas. Of course as being kids these ideas don't exactly need to be too grounded and anything goes...

• Little boys could be given super powers
• Girls provided with fairy wings to get to school
• Buses would be replaced with pretty pink carriages drawn by unicorns
• Trains would provide special areas for kids to host a Teddy’s Bear Picnic, and
• Every shopping list could include magic dust!

Miwadi is looking for all fascinating and magical suggestions to be collated into a Miwadifesto containing the most colourful suggestions - ideas that fill a dull moment with colour and make the mundane fantastic. With the help of their Mums or Dads, kids can enter their Miwadifesto, for the chance to ultimately see their own suggestions up on the site and perhaps win a family holiday or a host of other prizes.

Speaking about the Miwadifesto, Miwadi Marketing Manager, Christine Keohane said “We are delighted to introduce our new look Miwadi and what better way to celebrate then asking our biggest fans, kids, about their world. The aim of the the Miwadifesto is to tap into the imagination of children and to capture how our world might look if it were run by kids!”.

The campaign was launched with the help of Lucy Kennedy yesterday morning outside Government Buildings on Merrion Street. A rather fitting location considering everything going on right now.

Meteor and Barnardos Launch Christmas Text Appeal

Last Thursday Meteor CEO Fergus Finlay and actress and Barnardos Ambassador Sarah Bolger launched the Meteor Christmas text appeal for children's charity Barnardos. This is the first time that this type of appeal has been run between the two organisations although they have shared a strong partnership for the past number of years. Through simple texting, Meteor customers can donate directly to the charity.

Meteor customers just text ‘Barnardos’ to 57502. These texts cost the customer €2 and every cent goes directly to the charity. For the appeal Meteor are waving all costs.

Meteor’s Chief Commercial Office, John Penberthy Smith, said: “Our Meteor Christmas Campaign this year is focused on ‘Spreading the Christmas Spirit’ and we really hope to do exactly that for people who need it the most at this special time of year. We have been charity partners now with Barnardos for a number of years and really hope to raise lots of funds for this very deserving charity. Our sponsorship of The Spirit of Christmas Ball and The Today FM ‘Us2’ book which will be launched later this month are just some of the other projects that we’re working on together over the coming weeks. We hope that our customers will join with us in supporting Barnardos this Christmas. Every cent will go to making Christmas special for families and children that are suffering the most, especially at this time of year.”

The text activity is also being supported with a range of other fundraising activities taking place over the next couple of weeks by Meteor staff. These will include a collection day in Connolly station, volunteering at Barnardos Christmas project parties and the ‘Give a Gift Campaign’ where staff members buy gifts for Barnardos to distribute to children this Christmas.

Speaking at the launch, Barnardos’ CEO, Fergus Finlay said: “We truly appreciate the support of Meteor. For many of the children and families we work with, Christmas is an exceptionally difficult time. It’s great to know that every cent of the two euro donation will go directly to the children and families that we work with. Support like this will help us to continue our work with more than 5,500 children and hopefully bring them some comfort this festive season and it really couldn’t be easier to help out, simply text ‘Barnardos’ to 57502.”

The Meteor Barnardos text appeal is fully live and available to all Meteor customers.

Guinness 'This Is Rugby Country' TV Ad

Ahead of their support for the Guinness Series and the upcoming 2011 RBS 6 Nations Championship, Guinness is launching their latest advertising campaign. The highlight of which is the new TV ad entitled 'This is Rugby Country'.

The ad, which is part of a bigger ATL campaign, will air for the first time tomorrow evening (Friday 19th November), during the TV3 News at 5.30pm and also during 6.1 News on RTE 1. The ad will also air during the rugby coverage on RTE 2 tomorrow night, and again on RTE on Saturday evening during the broadcast of the Ireland V All Blacks game.

While the initial ad, launched tomorrow, will be a 60 second version, there will also be a 40 second TV edit for the 2011 RBS 6 Nations, and Leinster and Munster specific edits for airing around key provincial games. Finally it will also feature as a prominent cinema ad aired in support of the 2011 RBS 6 Nations.

Thankfully though there's no need to wait until tomorrow. Here's the full 60 second version of the ad for your enjoyment...

The ad was directed by award-winning photographer Alex Telfer. Alex is widely recognised for his powerful, realistic and emotive imagery. The 'This is Rugby Country' ad was shot in various locations around Dublin and Wicklow. The most interesting thing about the commercial is that it features real rugby fans as opposed to actors. The aim was to allow each fan to have a role in bringing 'This is Rugby Country' to life through the anticipation and build up to the drama of the game.

Speaking about the campaign, Guinness Senior Brand Manager, Stuart Kinch said, "With This is Rugby Country, we want to show that rugby is part of who we are, it is embedded in our communities across the country, which is why we feel there is a real value in featuring genuine fans in these ads, not actors. This is one of the key ingredients of the campaign. The main stage for international rugby might be in Dublin, but it’s roots are spread across the country."

Director Information:
Alex Telfer is an award winning photographer, known for his strong portrait photographs. His has previously has work commissioned by Nike, Sony Music, the BBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland, amongst others. He works globally with agents in Milan, London, New York Paris and Hong Kong.

The full cast for the ad is as follows:

• Slattery's Pub – all locals: Tadhg Kennelly, Pat Scully, Alex Cordero (manager), David Keenahan, William Griffith, Cian Duggan, John Fahy, Jane Fitzgerald, John Boyle, Neasa Ni Dhurcain
• Fishermen from Howth: David Doyle, Dougal Cousins, Tadek Wagiel, Cathal Lafferty, Terry Kelly, Benedict Byrne, Michael O’Brien, Pierce O'Shea, Michael Farren, Ivan Wilde
• Office Cleaners - Dublin: Larissa, Charlie Thompson, Bernie Ward, Bernadette McCoughlin, Tiago Palma de Castro
• Firemen - Dublin: David Murray, Chris Beregen, Paul Marsh, Brendan Magratan, Tony Devoy, Neil Mcabe, Eddie Duffy
• Club Rugby Players: Marcus Stewart, Lucas O'Ceallachain, David Campbell, Damien Hall
• Farmers - Wicklow: Ruth Henderson, Elga Fox, Mark Cunnane, Rory Murphy, Patrick Gill, David Tyrell, Michael Behan
• Scientists - Shot in the Mater Hospital: Lyndsey Kane, Maggie Smith, Stewart Williams, Patrick Heavney, John Byrne, Patrick Smith, Therese O'Sullivan, Ben Griffin,
• Munster Pub - all locals: Lisa McCarthy, John Hennessy, Anthony Kavanagh, Michael Goggin, Joy Neville, Ian Hanly, Donal Mulcahy (manager)

FUSE@GN1 - Pop-up Shop

Two weeks ago I was asked to pop along to the launch of something really cool. A friend of mine, Danielle Mac Innes, who runs the Dublin-based furniture and design company FUSE Interiors has partnered up with Gallery Number One to transform the space into a mid-century, vintage and recycled furniture exhibition and shop. The shop launched on October 29th and will be open for 4 weeks.

If you have any sort of interest in vintage furniture or design this will be a treasure trove of wonder that you need to visit. The pop-up shop has a wide selection of seating, tables, lighting, storage and cool accessories from a variety of sources and ages.


In case you're not familiar with Gallery Number One, it's located just beside Dublin Castle at 1 Castle Street, Dublin 2. The shop is open Monday to Friday 10am - 6pm (late Thursday) and Saturday & Sunday 11am - 6pm. And don't fear while the shop was due for a 4 week run, things have been going so well that it's now going to stay open until Christmas.

About Fuse Interiors
Fuse Interiors carefully source and select a mix of mid century investment pieces, flea market finds and restored vintage pieces. Through pre-owned vintage and re-cycled pieces, as well as seeking suppliers who use sustainable methods and materials, Fuse aim to bring responsible yet exciting design to their customers.

They work on large and small projects with both individual and business clients.
They offer a full range of design services which include floor plans, 3D drawings, sourcing and specification of furniture and finishes, colour consultancy and project management.