We’ve all heard numerous stereotypes about men and women. I, myself, have written on the topic. It isn’t news that men and women are viewed differently in our society, and so are their capabilities and virtues. For example, a successful male leader is mostly called strong because he’s the real boss; a successful female leader on the other hand is often labeled as ‘bitchy’. Exactly such stereotypes and gender labeling are brilliantly exposed in an emotional new ad by Pantene Philippines that I want to show you today.

In less than 60 seconds the commercial covers five double standards women often face and so brilliantly tells the story of how men and women with identical work behaviour are seen differently. For example, a male speaker is “persuasive”, while a female speaker is “pushy”; a well-dressed male is “smooth”, a well-dressed lady is seen as “show-off”.

The ad is sincere, with a strong, but simple message that has nothing to do with what Pantene actually sells (hair products).

What would make you change your name? I am not talking about establishing a nickname, a creative name as an author, musician or similar, but legally a new name? I personally have thought about changing my last name – Stareva – to something simpler such as “Star” because living abroad (i.e. in Western European countries where people find it rather difficult to pronounce Slavic names) I’ve always heard people saying or spelling my name wrong. Nevertheless, I still like my name – it brings me back to my routes and it’s my family name that I carry with honour. But what if there was another pretty good incentive besides personal reasons to officially change your name?

That’s what Lufthansa is currently trying to find out by encouraging Swedish citizens to change their names to Klaus-Heidi (a fusion between two very German names). The prize? A brand new life in Berlin. Doesn’t sound bad at all, does it?

I haven’t shared a creative campaign with you in a while, so I thought that after all the stress around my new place and my internet saga, it’s the perfect time for some inspiration. What you are about to see is indeed a very clever and engaging stunt, coming from a company in an industry you wouldn’t necessarily associate with much room for creativity or fun. I am talking about Adobe, the computer software company, which is very different from familiar sexy brands like RedBull or Coca Cola known for their brilliant stunts.

So, what did Adobe do? Well, they offered commuters in Stockholm a live photoshopping surprise - they called it the Street Retouch Prank.

While waiting for the bus, people were secretly photographed and then photoshopped into amusing positions, scenarios and implied relationships. Funny, right? Imagine the shocked faces of the commuters seeing themselves transformed.

I am in a desperate need of a real summer – sun, high temperatures, sea and tan. Unfortunately, I currently live in Germany, where the winter this year has been endless! Just last week I was wearing my winter jacket... So, because the reality doesn’t include summer any time soon, I have to dream of it and the campaign below I saw recently certainly facilitated some nice sunny thoughts.

7up came up with a brilliant idea to promote its products in a fun and engaging way. The company created the first ever melting vending machine. Yes, that’s right – melting! For the ice to melt, you need of course hot weather, which is why the stunt took place in Argentina and obviously not Germany.

So, in the middle of a busy square in Buenos Aires

The other day I came across a fantastic surprise PR stunt about the reopening of the Rijksmuseum – Amsterdam’s National Museum of Art and History – on 13 April this year. Especially those who are fans of art and creativity will appreciate the thoughtfulness and the efforts behind this really cool idea.

The surprise campaign took place at a busy shopping mall and amazingly recreated Rembrandt’s Night Watch (considered one of the most famous paintings in the world) in the form of a flashmob! Brilliant, right?

Totally unexpected, over twenty members of the Shooting Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq – the common name for Rembrandt's famous painting – just started their performance with the mission to ‘capture a 17th-century rogue.’ This was indeed such an outstanding way of promoting the reopening of the museum, don't you think? (I envy those people who were at the shopping mall – I really want to witness such a stunt!)