Gadfly - 19.08.10
Share
You’ll probably remember Gadfly mentioning former Telegraph head of mobile Maani Safa’s bejeweled knicker enterprise, Felicious Play a couple of weeks ago (nma 5 August 2010). Well, after Gadfly spent an evening sipping cocktails and getting up to speed on what women want with iVillage’s Lulu Phongmany, it would appear that the material barrier between gems and skin might soon be a thing of the past. Apparently, the latest beauty craze to hit the US is vajazzling: “the act of applying glitter and jewels to a woman’s nether regions for aesthetic purposes,” according to “the official vajazzling site” vajazzling.com. (Gadfly didn’t delve too deeply beyond the home page, so perhaps caution is advised if viewing the site at work.)
The practice is yet to catch on in the UK, but iVillage will be looking for volunteers to test the beauty trend when it hits our shores after the chosen member of its editorial staff flatly refused. Apparently, there’s also a male version: penazzling. Considering that Gadfly was musing over whether Swarovski crystal-embossed underwear would be scratchy, then his sympathies lie squarely with the volunteers.
In more traditional ’decoration’-focused news, several staff members from digital media planning and buying agency Arena Quantum joined colleagues from the wider Arena Media group in taking home two Media Cup trophies from the 2010 Challenger World London Triathlon last week. Above is Arena Media Team 1: left to right, Will Bonaddio, Ian Young, Martin Greenbank, Sophie Fisher, Chris Armond, Eleni Read, Henry Daglish and Janine Green, who bagged first place at the Olympic relay event. So far, the five Arena teams that entered the competition have raised £1,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society.
From one proud company to another, mobile agency MIG is quite vocal about its global expansion, opening offices in cities across the US, Canada and Australia. But Mark Slade, MD of MIG’s ad network 4th Screen Advertising, has been building an empire of his own, albeit a property portfolio that straddles the not-so-glamorous climes of London’s East End. No doubt your damage deposits will be extremely safe with him.
Talking of side projects, what do you do after a 16-year career in digital? Open a chocolate and coffee shop, of course. That’s what former Channel 4 Interactive CTO Peter Pedersen has done in Cambridge. Pedersen, who cut his teeth at the likes of Blue Square, Rank and Figleaves, will run the Burleigh Street cafe Jocalatte with his wife while continuing his interactive work as a consultant. Gadfly will have a latte, brownie and a two by two matrix, please.
