Community Profiles

Individual Profile:

Robyn Hodgkin

Switzerland

(Administrator)

Lovemarks:
Where The Wild Things Are, Campbell's Soup.

Comments:

• A desperate desire

  Tim Tams

  20 November 2003

  This quintessential Australian biscuit (read cookie for those in the US) company produces Tim Tams. I am Australian but currently travelling around Europe. Asking ex-pat Aussies what I should bring them from Australia when I left, they all exclaim in one voice Tim Tams! I’ve used them bartering with friends from the US who, having visited Australia and had the Tim Tam experience, will do anything to get their hands on more of them. What is it about these two rectangular chocolate biscuits with chocolate cream in the middle, dipped in chocolate? I’ve tried biscuits that are theoretically similar: none of them match the Tim Tam. Other brands have tried to take over the market and fail dismally every time. After writing this I now have a desperate desire for a cup of tea and a Tim Tam!

• The very best cure for the blues

  Campbell's Soup

  20 November 2003

  My ultimate comfort food is Campbells tomato soup and grilled cheese on toast. On a gloomy day, lounging on the couch drinking soup is the very best cure for the blues. Campbells soup is more than a brand: ok so it was immortalised by Andy Warhol but that was simply a recognition of its permanent place as an icon. Here am I, in Switzerland, a country with some of the finest foods in the world, fondues and raclettes brilliant - comfort foods in their own right. But on this foggy winter day all I desire is a big bowl of Campbells tomato soup and toasted cheese.

• A sensuous pampering

  The Body Shop

  11 December 2003

  A great suggestion for a Lovemark! Women should be shaped like women. Care for the environment. Beauty grows, not diminishes, with age. Support peace. Enjoy the bounty of nature. Great products and even greater attitudes. The Body Shop stands out as a big brand that is willing to actually "have an opinion". Buying Body Shop products feels like you are joining in a way of thinking. The company has successfully escaped the clinical, hi-tech image that most beauty products project. Beauty is no longer a battle pitted against the hideous imperfections of the body, but a sensuous pampering of our imperfectly perfect flesh. Whether the hiring policy, or a reflection of its philsophy, somehow they also seem to have the friendliest staff of any "chain store". ... and being scent sensitive, any brand that offers scent free products gets my vote!

• Fundamental goal

  Amnesty International

  12 December 2003

  Who hasn't heard of them, and who wouldn't recognise their symbol? Ultra political, yet separated from politics, Amnesty International is my quintessential Lovemark - concern for your fellow man being the fundamental goal.

• What a book

  Where The Wild Things Are

  12 December 2003

  "They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once".... What a book, and what a great suggestion for a Lovemark. Less than 400 words but this book encapsulates a whole childhood. Naughtiness, authority, fantasy, heroism and above all the security of a mother's love.

• Unmistakable

  Kinder Surprise

  20 April 2004

  I was a bit torn how to vote for Kinder Surprise, you see, I don't actually like the chocolate in Kinder Surprises. But they ARE an unmistakable brand, and sometimes they do have the coooolest toys. The best ones are the ones that you have to assemble... you look at the results absolutely stunned that they once fitted inside that tiny container!

• A part of who I am now

  National Geographic

  20 April 2004

  My first memories of National Geographic are those of a child: fascinated and giggling at the sight of the "nudie people". Then of doctors' waiting rooms and mounds of well thumbed magazines. The stories were just the right length for the average wait, but I often wished that the doctor would be just a bit later, so I could enjoy another story. National Geographic is part of who I am now: the love of travelling and seeing new places, caring about environment and community... all influenced by National Geographic.

• It doesn't make a difference

  Sex and the City

  20 April 2004

  I enjoy the show immensely, but for me it isn't a lovemark. Its fun, but it doesn't make a difference to my life if I don't catch an episode.

• Standing proud

  Bundaberg ginger beer

  20 April 2004

  I don't drink beer and for a long time felt a bit awkward at the Aussie barbeque where I would stand alone among the stubby holders with my lone cup of lemonade. Then I came across Bundaberg Ginger Beer. The taste was fantastic. Just like the ginger beer my dad used to make from the "plant" which we kids fed with sugar each day. Not just ginger flavoured fizz, this had the depth of flavour you can only get from brewing. Whats more, it comes in a classic stubby bottle, so at the picnic or barbecue I can stand proud, stubby in hand, a true Aussie girl.

• The relative merits of jelly snakes

  Allens sweets

  02 May 2004

  In Australia, I have had philosophical discussions with complete strangers on the relative merits of jelly snakes. The conclusion inevitable: no home brand snake can ever win against the great flavours and textures of the Allens snake. My friends send me care packages of jelly sweets from Australia. I made the mistake of offering them once to friends, to then watch in dismay the entire precious package disappear in moments. Now I hoard them deep in my drawer and reveal their existence to no-one! I don't know what they do differently from the companies in Europe but believe me, they ARE different, and they ARE superior.

• Such a smart invention

  Tetra Pak

  04 May 2004

  I have said on more than one occasion that I hope the person who invented Tetra Pak is a millionaire. Because he or she deserves to be one. Tetra Paks are just such a smart invention, and now an integral part of our ordinary lives. Milk, juice, spaghetti sauce and who knows what else comes in these natty containers. It was only on reading the website after deciding to nominate Tetra Pak, that I discovered that my childhood memories of pyramid iceblocks were thanks to Tetra Pak. COOL. Thanks Tetra Pak... love your work.