On the eve of tomorrows second test in South Africa we are delighted to get Rob Kearney latest diary entry- “Well it’s been worth waiting for as they say; I’m absolutely delighted to be starting on Saturday in my preferred position – 15!”
We’re sure there are many delighted fans too Rob….!
So tomorrow will surely be another bout of blood sweat and hopefully not tears in the hostile arena that is - Loftus Versfield, Petoria… Rob may fear not though as he will have six more of his Irish compadres on board to cool any nerves. You have to go back to the 1938 Lion tour for the last time there was so many Irish out in force on the tour.
This is a game that the Lions just can’t lose or the series is out the window and It’s fantastic to see so much faith placed with so many Irish grand slammers and this surely really underlines the strength of Irish rugby which has been tirelessly documented already. Irish eyes will have more of an incentive to watch tomorrow and there’s a feeling that Rob’s siege-gun left boot will flourish at high altitude and give us the edge… that we have no doubt!
Check out his latest Provon Revive diary entry to find out what went down behind the scenes this week…
We grabbed some footage of the recent Sparks N' Mind release gig down at Tower Live, Ham Sandwich performed a few tracks including their cover of Stay by Shakespeare's Sister which featured on the album. It's up on Tower's Muzu channel alongside a few other classic performances. Check it out below. For more info on Tower Records instores and special offers, visit www.facebook.com/towerrecords.
The good people at Tower Records in Wicklow Street are serving up Ham Sandwich for lunch and Le Galaxie for afters (in musical form) on Thursday June 11th for the launch of the Sparks N’ Mind compilation album which is all in aid of Irish voluntary charity Aware. The album is crammed with some cracking cover versions of songs that have inspired the crème de la crème of our little island’s talent to begin their creative journey on that busy road of musical magic. Bands that feature on the album are Bell X1, Republic of Loose, Lisa Hannigan, Cowboy X, Damien Dempsey and The Flaws to name a few. The gig kicks off at 1pm with Ham Sandwich and Le Galaxie thrashing out the tunes later on at 5pm. Pop over to Tower Records and befriend Tower Records Ireland on facebook for further info and updates!
Eager rugger nutters can now log on to provonrevive.ie/diaryofalion to keep up to see the British & Irish Lions tour through the eyes of our Leinster legend Rob Kearney.
The five week diary is powered by Provon Revive and is a pretty sweet opportunity to see what’s going down behind the scenes on the tour. This week we get the low down on his new roomie and preparation for the first showdown with Highfield Lions XV in Rustenburg …
Thinkers, Dave and Chewy, jetted to Edinburgh for the day on Saturday and enjoyed prime views of the Heineken Cup Final action.
As part of the Provon Revive team, part of the winning squads nutritional program, we’d even more reason to cheer / go crazy / cry when the final whistle blew.
It’ll be with eager eyes rugby fans log on to get Rob Kearney's thoughts from South Africa. The Diary of a Lion, Rob Kearney’s 5 week Diary powered by Provon Revive, is a blow by blow account of Rob’s thoughts on all things (from GAA to Rugby to the Sights & Sounds of South Africa) from the southern hemisphere.
The Rob Kearney Diary starts tomorrow on provorevive.ie.
We just heard Tubridy’s the new Late Late Show Presenter.
To celebrate, we worked Late Late into the night here at Thinkhouse HQ, to whip up a tub of Ben & Jerry’s in his honour. It’s called ‘Late Late Tub-ridy.’ Naturally it’s low-fat, smooth and just a bit nutty.
To create your very own flavour check out http://www.benjerry.ie/. The winning Irish flavour goes to the Dominican Republic this November for an icecream-off with the GodFathers of Ice Cream, Ben & Jerry themselves. The ultimate winner will have their very own favour created and launched next year.
Well ok, *we’re prone to exaggeration sometimes just for headlines. However, the Sporty Team @ Thinkhouse has been working with Provon Revive, a sports nutrition supplement developed by whiz kids in Glanbia Nutritionals and the Leinster Lads have been lovin’ it.. We like to think it was Provon that made them nail semi-final.. Here’s the lads view on the game, before that stunning victory. Roll on Leinster V Leicester.
After a two-year gap, the pop rock quartet from Malahide - Director is back with the follow up to 2007's infectious & platinum selling We Thrive On Big Cities, remember that classic Reconnect tune?
I'll Wait For Sound is released this Friday 08 May and we can't wait to hit Tower Records for the launch. The lads play instore this Friday 08 May @ 1.00pm. Get down to grab a copy of the album and see the boys in action.
If you’ve been reading your nerd sites recently chances are you have heard of the Pirate Bay, the file sharing site that for years has been directing illegal downloaders to ill-gotten booty. By not actually hosting the files on their servers they just about managed to stay one step ahead of the law (and rub many a legal department up the wrong way). The record companies have finally caught up with them though and their long running legal case has taken another turn.
Just a week after the four people behind the torrent site were found guilty of breaching copyright law and served with a combined 3.6 million euro fine and a year each in prison, their lawyers have sought an appeal on the basis that the judge in the case is a member of the Swedish Copyright Association. The judge has come out and said that this bore no impact on his decision but lawyers for the Pirate Bay Four are pushing ahead with their appeal and Judge Norstrom isn’t doing much to calm matters, check out his quotes over on cnet along with the rest of the story.
Illegal downloading has been a problem ever since Napster came on the scene all those cyber years ago, things are changing though, as the nice people at Tower Records will testify, vinyl sales are up massively and sales of their USB turntables are also increasing. A definite backlash against the poor sound quality and risk of virus’ associated with illegal MP3’s. Ask your dad about the feeling of picking up a longed for 12” with its warmer analogue sound and perfectly sized artwork, it even beats the joy of browsing a collection of favourite CDs.
To see Tower’s latest vinyl additions, visit the Facebook page Notes or send an email to vinyl@towerrecords.ie
How ecstatic are we to find out our Provon Revive (Glanbia Nutritionals) ambassador Rob Kearney made it into the British & Irish Lions along with 13 other grand slam winning Irish legends this week!
At only 23 Kearney is a class act not to mention a complete gentleman so no better man for the job and will surely be one of the stars of the tour. Whether he’s used at full back or on the wing the man with surely the sweetest left boot in world rugby will be a winner for the Lions on their tour of S. Africa.
Provon revive is a unique nutritional sports recovery drink designed to give athletes that extra 15 mins during exercise, check out the new video from the launch of this year’s series of partnerships to support sports nutrition in sporting communities.
From tomorrow (April 22nd) pizza lovers can get a taste of the underworld as cult New Zealand gourmet pizza chain Hell opens its gates to the first Irish hellhole on Dublin's Wexford Street. The Hellish experience, far from any other pizza encounter Ireland has ever seen, will excite even the most devilish soul.
Although coming from Hell and named after the seven deadly sins, the pizzas are far from evil. Fresh, fast and healthy, all pizzas are made from scratch onsite daily with only the best gourmet ingredients.
Hell caters for all vices including vegetarianism & vegans without forgetting the red blooded creatures with its best selling meat lover's pizza aptly named 'Lust'. Coeliacs can even now get in on the pizza game with gluten free bases available in Hell.
Pizza fans can begin their descent into Hell by registering @ www.hell.ie
We have been busy collecting testimonials from our Movember campaign for movember.com. It's great to hear the different experiences people had and the ways in which Movember changed people’s lives. Here is one from TTV's Liam McCormack that speaks for itself.
I had never grown a full moustache before, not because I couldn’t but because I never felt the urge to do so. That was until I heard the call from what would soon become my Mo Bros. It was reminiscent of that scene in Field of Dreams, I was Kevin Costner and stood in my corn field, what did I hear? “If you grow it, they will come!” Thinking I was moderately insane but knowing what must be done, I proceeded in growing a MO. It was a month filled with itches, stitches, and some very tasty dishes, most of which attached themselves to my monster ‘tache, which could come in handy at a later stage if I needed a snack on the go! It was a time when men were men, and cars were bicycles, and women ran in fear crying; “Dear God, what is that Beast a top o’er your lip, that while disgusts me overwhelms me with longings I never thought possible!” And when the growing was complete and the month had almost come to an end, myself and my fellow Mo Bros, known only as the Tashmanian Devils made our way to a Super Secret location where we had what would go down in infamy as the Movember Ball! Every man if he’s honest wants to look like a 1970’s ‘fillum’ star and that night the stars were out in full hairy force!! And so we Bug-a-looed ‘til half past two, I was there, were you?
Before I leave you, I’ll let you know this, if you Moust-ash-me a question, go right a head!
Ben & Jerry's added to its green credentials recently with the launch of Fairtrade friendly Chocolate Macadamia. The handpicked collection of Fairtrade certified ingredients include cocoa from the Dominican Republic, vanilla from India, and sustainably produced Macadamia Nuts from Malawi, and Caring Dairy from the Netherlands. Everything used is certified Fairtrade which means those involved in production gets a fair price for their harvest. Chocolate Macadamia is available in a freezer near you right now and is the fourth addition to Ben & Jerry's Fairtrade flavour family that also includes Vanilla, Chunky Monkey and Vanilla Toffee Crunch. Is there anything more delicious than a clear conscious and a full belly?
Ben & Jerry’s are looking for thoughts on this new treat – Whoever writes most interesting review of the Fairtrade flavour will win a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s, yum! Just log onto ‘Ben & Jerry’s Ireland’ on Facebook to write a review and be in for a chance to win.
We always knew our friends at MUZU were on the up, right back from when Thinkhouse helped their launch in 2008. Good to see the people at Sunday Times Style magazine think so too (MUZU listed as ‘Going Up’ in Sunday’s lifestyle bible ). With the rapid decline in quality music available on YouTube thanks to disputes over rights and ownership of copyright material now is Muzu’s time to shine.
One positive to come from all this recession carry on is the 'do- it-yourself attitude' that seems to be gathering pace. Garage sales, the ideas campaign and even knitting circles are all lovely examples of sisters (and brothers) doing it for themselves. It's also still very much the case that one man’s junk is another’s treasure, with all this in mind there has never been a better time to have a look round the house and start turning that unwanted clutter into cash.
The massively popular online auction site eBay.ie has just made it easier than ever to get started. It’s now free to list items up to €1.49 on eBay.ie and you pay 10% Final Value Fee only when the item sells - if it doesn’t sell, there’s no fee at all. eBay has just released figures that show that savvy Irish sellers are making as much as a tenner a week from selling unwanted items so join the ranks and climb aboard the good ship eBay to cast off your unwanted booty, turning it to gold! www.ebay.ie
We have just added ebay.ie to our brand base here at Thinkhouse and we are excited! In just a few short days we’ve met tons of other regular eBay users, proving the nation’s appetite for a serious bargain.
We are currently hunting down some juicy stories for eBay – basically case-studies of ‘eBayers’ who have interesting stories to tell. If you, or someone you know, has an interesting eBay story to tell (maybe you sold your soul or put your kids through college?) we want to hear about it... So drop us a line at ebay@thinkhousepr.com
eBay.ie was launched in 2005 expanding the company to 38 markets including the U.S., eBay is both a fixed price and auction site where practically anyone can trade practically anything, with deals worth talking about. www.eBay.ie
The number of mystical importance to the Celts, of truth to the Jews, and the perfect number to the Chinese, 3 is now Irish Golf’s magic number. 3, Ireland’s fastest growing network, has demonstrated hope in restoring the Irish Open‘s glory days with the announcement of its title sponsorship of the country’s flagship Golf Championships for the next three years. The 3 Irish Open takes place at Baltray on May 14th -17th and aims to attract some of the world’s top players to Co. Louth with sweeteners such as a private plane at their disposal. A new prize fund of €3million was also announced yesterday, half a million up on last year, quite the magic number.
3 MD, Robert Finnegan said it was his intention during 3’s sponsorship, from now until 2011, to turn the tournament he referred to as ‘a sleeping giant’ into one of the PGA European Tours flagship championships. We for one are excited. www.three.ie
We’ve been fans of Tower Records for ages. Now we can be fans in cyberspace too…lucky. The Tower Facebook Fan Page has just gone live packed with video’s, pics and the latest news and free gig listings from the store as well as RSS feeds for some of the best music sites out there. There will be reviews going on there soon too, from the muso staff and music fans alike! Do it. Become a fan… you know you want to. Tower Records Ireland Fanpage Tower Records on Youtube Towerrecords.ie
We have long had a deep love for all things 80’s in Thinkhouse, so when we got the news from Paramount that Dynasty was making its debut on DVD, the shoulder pad quotient in the office rose considerably.
Exploring the conflicts, passions, motives and tensions of the Carrington family, the show’s immensely entertaining plot lines follow the scheming and conniving members of the oil-rich clan as they seek to maintain their positions of wealth and power and destroy their enemies in the process.
With a cast including Joan Collins as our style icon Alexis Carrington Colby, Linda Evans as her nemesis Krystle Carrington (is this where the inspiration came for the Dublin nightclub?) and Heather Locklear as Krystle’s niece Sammy Jo and a producer of the legends in the form of Aaron Spelling what’s not to love.
Seasons 1 & 2 are out this Friday, 6th March and available from Tower Records Stores, towerrecords.ie, and all good DVD retailers nationwide.
The results are in from Ireland's first all star roar off. We pitted Cork legend Sean Óg O' Hailpin against Leinster Rugby star Rocky Elsom to help launch Lynxroar.ie, an interactive online competition to find Ireland's ultimate caveman. Sean Óg out-roared Rocky giving GAA fans and Corkonians a bit of good news in these turbulent times. Stunning cavewoman Jenny Lee Masterson was also at hand to referee the clash, with Sean Óg roaring an impressive 72.3 dB (Decibels) compared to Rocky's close 69.3 dB. A very close call.
Head down to Tower Records on Wicklow Street or Easons O’Connell St where you can pick it up on double cd/triple vinyl or Towerrecords.ie for digital download for just €12.99. For the full track listing and more info visit darkwasthenight.com.
Barry's Tea's new ad has hit the airwaves! The ad continues the company’s new marketing direction with its youthful energetic vibe that still manages to maintain the traditional heart warming Barry's feel. The ad comes from the creative minds at Irish International who have worked to bring life to the intrinsic emotional connection that exists between Irish families and Barry's Tea. Drop by the Barry's Facebook page and youtube channel for more info on all Barry's news.
Temperatures at Thinkhouse HQ are set to soar over the next few months as we tuck into our latest brand ‘HELL PIZZA’. Born in New Zealand in 1996, the cult pizza chain embarked upon world domination in 2006 and now boasts over 70 HELLholes across 5 countries. The gates to Ireland’s first HELL opens this April on Dublin’s Wexford Street. The ‘Gone to Hell’ sign we posted about a little while back already has more than a few people talking, just wait till they try the pizzas! www.hell.ie
Our new favourite actress du jour is Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig, who wipes the floor with the laughs as Ricky Gervais’ self involved surgeon in the upcoming DVD release of Paramount’s Ghost Town. Tina Fey may have stole a lot of the laughs last year with her Sarah Pallin impression but critics have already dubbed Kirsten the next big thing on the female comedy circuit. Catch her in Ghost Town from the 27th February.
We are dead excited about the next installment of Tea With. We know it will be hard to top the last one with Graham Rawle (pics up on the facebook) but as the song says.. we've got high hopes. This time round we have teamed up with our friends at Bodytonic to bring over Greg Wilson, a true music pioneer who has done so much for music as we know it, and in particular dance to it, that he deserves way for fame than most DJs out there.
Through the early 80's Greg was pioneering a sound known as electro funk, a combination of Hip-Hop, Dance, Disco, and Electric Boogie mostly coming from the states. It was a completely underground movement, initially quite specific to the North of England where local b-boy crews started popping up and Greg cut his teeth. He was one of the first DJs in the UK to actually 'mix' records (the technique is now industry standard). He also appeared on Jools Holland doing the same way back in 1983. Not long after this he retired for 20 years but decided after much pressure to step back into the ring in 2003 to great response. Since then he has done remixes for Grace Jones and Groove Armada and more recently recorded an Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1.
We really can’t wait for this one, so if you would like to join us and Greg for a cup of Barry's Tea, come down to the Twisted Pepper on the 21st of February from 6pm. You can also hear the man do his thing straight after.
When the new INQ phone arrived in from 3 last week we were all pretty keen to get a look through. Sometimes these kind of things can be a bit gimmicky but this one packs loads of punches and is a great all rounder. It's the first mobile built in conjunction with Facebook so as you would expect social networking on the move is made extra easy. It has a 3.2MP camera that allows pictures to be uploaded to facebook at the touch of a button. There are tons of other great features too but don't just take our word for it, check out some of the excellent reviews it's been getting all over the web. INQ on siliconerepublic.com INQ on stuff.tv INQ on cnet.uk INQ on mobilechoice.uk The INQ phone is exclusively availably from our friends at 3.
Sending traditional cards can get pretty expensive when you have as many Valentines as we do. That’s why we were delighted to encourage lovers to use this neat little e-card gadget from Swatch. You can send a beautiful personalized card to anyone you like from Swatch’s easy to use website. Just think of all the trees who will fall in love with you. Swatch e-cards.
Spring is in the air and all through the land birds are singing, lambs are bleating and cavemen are roaring. Yes that's right, don't be alarmed if the men in your office slip back to their caveman roots all of a sudden, it's all down to Instinct, the new scent from Lynx. Made from a mix of cardamom, amber and atlas cedar wood, Lynx Instinct has a scent that appeals to your primordial instinct and will have the ladies going back to their roots, grunting and salivating at your feet. Test your manliness over at the Lynx Roar Off at lynxroar.ie.
The Obama campaign provided fodder for many a PR and marketing story, it was indeed a master class on the subject. At the same time lots of companies saw opportunities in Obama's message of change and hope and made full use of them. This Pepsi campaign from titled Refresh Everything, invited users to upload their personal message to Obama via their refresheverything.com site and the activity coincided nicely with their branding 'refresh'. The new branding in question also raised a few eyebrows with its apparent similarity to Obama's own campaign logo. See for yourself.
For another piece of perfect brand positioning, see this Veet ad that appeared in an Aussie newspaper today. They must have been waiting for this idea for 8 years.
Our dear friends in Ben & Jerry's also had a nod to the Big Guy with their brand new flavour Yes Pecan, unfortunately it's not available in Ireland but we are assured it tastes almost as good freedom itself .
Part two of the Barry's ‘Tea With…..’ cultural series takes place at the end of this month. We covered fashion last time round (see below for a reminder). This time we’ve come over all arty and Barry’s Tea teams up with those creative kids at Monstertruck Gallery and Studio, Francis St to bring the very talented Graham Rawle to Dublin. Graham is most well renowned for his farcical illustrated series ‘Lost Consonants’, in The Weekend Guardian for over 15 years but has also published a few amazing illustrated novels too.
Don’t miss this opportunity for ‘Tea With…. Graham’ in the relaxing environs of the RHA on Ely place, on Thursday 29th from 6.30pm. There will be delicious Barry’s Tea to warm you up and the exclusive tea cocktails will also make a popular return...delish! See the Barry’s Tea Facebook fan page for more details and while you are at it, swing by the Thinkhouse group for all our latest news.
At Thinkhouse we know how much Ben & Jerry’s loves planet earth. So, in a move that hopefully more brands will follow, we’ve just announced that we will offset all PR activity for the Ben & Jerry’s brand. So here it is, our official promise to make all our PR exercises for Ben & Jerry’s completely climate neutral. Since its inception in 1978, Ben & Jerry's has always made efforts to be socially responsible with activites including Fairtrade ice cream, the Greyston Bakery where all the brownies are made, which trains and counsels the homeless and Cool Your Jets, an offsetting website. In Ireland, a shining example of social responsibility is the Ben & Jerry’s Climate Change College, an initiative that has gained worldwide recognition since its launch in 2007. Check it out here.
In news equally as delicious, new low fat versions of B&J's favorites Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Strawberry Cheesecake have just been launched. We had the arduous task of sampling them here in the office, it ain't all fun and games in the Thinkhouse office!
Here is one of our favourite artistes Roisin Murphy sporting some lovely vintage wrangler. We all went to see her recently in the Olympia and were nearly as impressed by her outfits as her singing... or were we more so? Anyway, we were delighted to see this snap of her rocking some delightful denim from one of our favourite brands Wrangler.
YAY! Thinkhouse has scooped PR blogger Piaras Kelly’s award for the Best Campaign of the Year. The award was for our charity mo growing Movember campaign with highlights including the gala party and the ongoing support of our media partner Metro. It really was a pleasure to work on, the Movember team are great fun and we are already planning an even bigger 2009 campaign. Start preparing those upper lips boys!
Piaras's blog is a great old read, check out his links to some of the better marketing/pr and advertising blogs in Ireland, up now. www.pkellypr.com/blog
Big shout out to to 3 who has just won the government awarded contract for the National Broadband Scheme. The scheme aims to get broadband to those remote regions of the county that have so far been without. This is a great initiative by the government, for too long Ireland has been lagging behind our European counterparts in the broadband take-up, no wonder when 10% of the country couldn’t even get it. That will all change soon though with 3 on the case. Well done lads!
Thinkhouse is a Dublin based PR company specialising in youth communications. Keep up to date with all of our latest news and see what's currently floating our collective boat on the World Wide Web.
On the eve of tomorrows second test in South Africa we are delighted to get Rob Kearney latest diary entry- “Well it’s been worth waiting for as they say; I’m absolutely delighted to be starting on Saturday in my preferred position – 15!”
