The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

… and I can say that as I’ve just had my bloody mobile stolen. ARGH!

I’m more pissed off I’ve lost a bunch of lovely honeymoon photos and all my contact numbers, but it does to show how a phone really represents it’s owners ‘virtual DNA’ – but enough of that planning bollocks – can you please email me all your contact info so I can re-input it into the overpriced phone I now have to buy at the airport. Ta.

[PS: MTV thingy went well and I’ll update you with what people thought to your points when [1] I land [2] I calm down!]

When I got back from my honeymoon, I promised that would be the end of my ‘Just Married’ posts – however we’ve just got back our official wedding photos and one of them features the best pic of my Mum I’ve ever seen.

While I am sure she’ll not like it – us Campbell’s are not big fans of our own photos – what I adore is that apart from looking tops and ready to take a photo with the latest in digital camera technology [she is the most techno-savvy pensioner in the World!] she has the facial expression of someone truly enthralled, excited and alive.

Look at those eyes … look at that smile … look at that body language … she’s got more energy bursting out of her [nearly] 75 year old bones than I could ever hope to achieve even if I spent 9 weeks consuming copious amounts of Red Bull!!!

OK … so one level it’s a bit disappointing she’s like that for the ‘Diet coke fountain with dry ice’ as opposed to the actual ceremony of her only child getting married [ha] … but quite frankly, seeing her like that is the best present I could ever receive.

My Mum has been – and continues to be – a total rock in my life.

She is one of the most magnificent human beings I – and a lot of my friends – have ever had the privilege of knowing and the fact she’s my Mum makes it even better. 

There’s been times when I’ve felt I’ve not been as good a son as she deserves … and even though I’ve never wanted to do anything that would upset her, I know I occasionally have … so it’s nice to know that even at age 37, I can still make her feel unbelievable joy and happiness – and getting married to Jill was definitely one of those times.

The thing is, my Mum hasn’t exactly had the easiest of lives – and I’m not talking about the fact of having me as her son – and yet she continues to go about life with a sense of positivity, empathy and desire that is nothing short of breathtaking.

She never complains, is always hungry to learn more [from Technology to Art to Politics to the Russian language – hopefully those last 2 aren’t inherently linked, ha] and, much to my annoyance, rarely puts herself first … she is just one of the most genuinely good people in the World and I’ll never forget how lucky I am to have her as one of my parents.

This photo encapsulates everything I love about my Mum … excited about life, interested in new things, funny, happy, inquisitive, beautiful – a young woman in slightly older skin … and I’m ecstatic it was taken at such an important event in all our lives.

Thanks Mum. For everything. I love you.

[PS: I also love the fact that on the far right of the pic you see Fred’s head – which is so similar to mine, the photo looks like it’s a mirror image. Poor bastard, fancy being mistaken for me – and yet even his daughter has made that grave mistake once, ha!]

[PS2: All the important women in my life are ill at the moment – so I hope they get better soon and I hope it has nothing to do with me, ha!]

I’m shooting off on a period of mad travel tomorrow, but before I go I’m speaking at the MTV ‘Youth Forum’ with the lovely Emily from OIA.

I haven’t seen her for bloody years so I’m really looking forward to catching up because apart from being one of the most positive, clever and collaborative people I know – she’s also one of those genuinely nice guys who really wants to help make the World a better place, not just make HER World a better place.

Anyway the reason for this post is that as part of the pre-conference organisation, we were asked …

WHAT TREND DO YOU THINK IS DEVELOPING INTERMS OF YOUTH MARKETING / MARKETING IN GENERAL?

… and whilst I’ve already given my response, I was wondering if any of you lot would like to put in your two-pennies-worth so I can bring it up for discussion at the conference.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be some intellectual colossus [hell my response was “The re-emergence of creativity in communication as people-power starts to dictate [and influence] the standards that they will accept and react to” so we’re talking in very basic terms, ha!] but if you believe there’s a marketing trend developing [as opposed to one that’s already taken hold] then bung it over and I’ll see what a bunch of marketing folk [covering the whole spectrum of business – from gaming to airlines] think about it.

And for anyone who is nervous about putting their thoughts in the public domain – all I will say is that you have nothing to worry about because when dealing with the future, no one can say you’re wrong because it’s not happened yet. [Can you tell that’s an argument I’ve used in the past, haha!]

PS: No George, I’m not doing this because I haven’t prepared for the preso, it’s because variety of opinion will make the event more interesting, so there. 🙂 ]

So following Prada and LG’s recent dalliance creating the iPhone ripoff [well, at least in looks – it was generally accepted the product was quite simplistic interms of technical ability] which brand do you think prospered more out of the relationship and do you think they should/would do it again?

Oh, and feel free to interpret ‘prospered’ anyway you like … be it financial, brand allure, distribution, etc etc. Thanks so much, looking forward to hearing your comments.