Thursday 6th May:
Election fever spreads
Marmite is surely the No.1 candidate with its Marmite Love Party’s ‘Spread the Love’ campaign. Their aim? To make every man, woman and child in the world into a Marmite lover – even though they may not know it yet. Many are just ignorant of Marmite’s many qualities, such as how good it tastes and how it’s full of B vitamins. Many believe instead the vicious lies told about it by the Hate Party.
The first priority therefore of the Love Party is one of education. Once the wonderful truth about Marmite is known throughout the world, there will be no more fear or hatred. Only love.
(Thanks to Chris in Edinburgh.)
The Marmite Manifesto:
1. To accord ministerial powers to everyday Marmite lovers so they can help spread the message.
2. To develop new ways for Marmite to help tackle society’s issues.
3. To set up anger management courses for Marmite haters.
4. To criminalise all acts of face-pulling towards the Marmite-loving community.
5. Upon victory, to build a Marmite shrine for lovers across the world to congregate and worship.
Ref. http://www.lifescapemag.com/the-marmite-love-party-spread-the-love/
Tagged with: Food and drink, Government, Politics
Friday 18th December:
iDrink
The Department of Health has announced that people can download a mobile phone application to keep track of their festive drinking. Public health minister Gillian Merron launched the ‘alcohol tracker’, which is available from iTunes and www.nhs.uk.
It allows drinkers to input how much they are consuming and view graphs of whether they’re sticking to recommended units: three to four a day for a man, and two to three for a woman. The application also helps people work out how many alcoholic units there are in a drink and get personalised feedback on their habits.
Ms Merron said, ‘It’s all too easy to lose track of how much you drink. So as the festive parties start to build up, this innovative tool will help people keep tabs on their drinking – wherever they are.
‘Sticking within the NHS-recommended limits means you reduce the risk of serious conditions such as mouth cancer and strokes.’
Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware, said, ‘Trying to stick within the daily unit guidelines will help people avoid the January slump and the long term health implications associated with drinking too much alcohol.’
People with a standard mobile can access a units calculator by texting the word UNIT to 64746.
Ref. http://itn.co.uk/b968a21944f10d281d8a908d12f40443.html
Wednesday 2nd December:
A different way to celebrate your city
It’s no secret that cities promote Christmas shopping as a way to boost the local economy. What we hadn’t yet spotted, however, was a city selling its very own holiday gift-wrap, which is what Manchester is doing this season.
Created by graphic designer, Peter Saville (whose work has adorned the city ever since he designed for and directed Factory Records) the wrapping paper’s vivid colours match Visit Manchester‘s multi-hued logo. Produced in a limited edition of 5,000 rolls, you can buy the gift-wrap for £2.99 at Visit Manchester’s online shop, the city’s Tourist Information Centre, Manchester City Art Gallery’s shop, exhibition centre Urbis, Visit Manchester’s Christmas market stall, and – with a nod to Saville’s musical roots – at local record store, Vinyl Exchange.
Ref. http://www.springwise.com/government/manchester/
Tuesday 4th August:
Co-operative advertising
Want children to eat healthy? Brand their food into an international icon; their favorite athletic shoemaker, perhaps. That’s what the Association of Swiss Health Insurers, Santé Suisse, did. It has re-launched a campaign that features a banana in the shape of a Nike swoosh, with the words ‘Just Do It’ underneath. Good on Nike for teaming up with a health campaign, and good for Santé Suisse for helping to make being healthy look cool. (Merci mille fois, Le Nic.)
Wednesday 15th July:
How can you provide antidotes to dishonesty?
Take inspiration from the Indonesian government. In the province of East Kalimantan, whose natural resources have been routinely plundered by corrupt government officials and businessmen, the government has opened almost 1,500 cafes without cashiers. At these ‘honesty cafes’, people are expected to take what they want and leave the appropriate payment behind. The cafes will first be introduced to schools, then offices and even the street.
“It is so important that Indonesia’s younger generation grow up with a better understanding of right and wrong, so they’re more disciplined and less likely to take part in corrupt activities,” says a government spokesman. “This anti-corruption campaign targets the youth so that Indonesia can have a better future.” By 2010, they hope to have opened more than 10,000 similar cafes.
Ref: http://www.shapingtomorrow.com/trendAlert.cfm?id=1004
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/indonesia/090512/indonesias-honesty-cafes