awards Archives

I personally really enjoyed the Oscars last night. For starters, I was finally on the same time-zone as the celebrations, so I didn’t have to wait till the AM hours to learn which movie won the big award. Then, there were the speeches. These guys have a whole lot of influence and even if TV viewers were less engaged than last year (12% less viewership). tens of millions watched and millions took their reactions to social media.

Here are some of the highlights from the 87th Oscar awards that captivated most of us:

1. “Call your parents. Don’t text them” – JK Simmons, award winner for an actor in a supporting role (Whiplash). This was his message and the first speech of the evening. My takeaway from this is that no matter what industry you are in and no matter how hard you work – don’t forget your loved ones, because they are the ones you go home to.

2. “Stay weird”- Graham Moore, best adapted screenplay for “The Imitation Game”. I hope his message will resonate with everyone that feels like an outsider; Choose to be different than standard.

3. Women equality- Patricia Arquette, award winner of best supporting actresses for “Boyhood” Gender inequality is a hot topic from Hollywood to the suburbs of Detroit and Delhi. We must acknowledge that these issues take place in our backyard too, not only in third world countries and we can’t be ignored.

And there was more. There were speeches that talked about suicide, Alzheimer’s, and politics. And then there were the crazy outfits and personalities from Lady Gaga’s rubber gloves to Travolta’s creepiness. Like I said, the viewership may have been lower this year, but the messages were strong and the show was entertaining. Let’s not forget the red carpet and the beautiful dresses that dazzled everyone, which one was your favorite?

Lupita Nyong’o in Calvin Klein Collection

This article was written by our co-founder Ana Cara, marketing consultant and social media professor. The red carpet images are courtesy of oscar.go.com

Yesterday was Grammy Sunday, when, for a few hours, some of you may have paused from whatever you’d otherwise do and drooled all over your TV set to watch some of the best musicians perform all at once. I must say, that’s the number 1 reason why I watch the Grammy Awards. My favourite performers this year were Sia, Annie Lennox (an oldie but goodie!!) and the duet between Mary J. Blige and Sam Smith.

But the second reason for watching any of these kind of award ceremonies is to see the gowns and crazy outfits that the rich and famous choose to wear on the red carpet. And with such an artistic crowd, it was more about being outrageous than glamorous, but nevertheless here are my top topics:

Ariana Grande walked the red carpet in a beautiful white and silver Versace dress. What do you guys think?

How about the adorable Gwen Stefani in Atelier Versace? The jumper was basically built for her body and everyone loved it!

Miss Kelly Osbourne showed up in a long black gown designed by Christian Siriano. Maybe not my favorite , but kudos to supporting the younger generation of fashion designers!

The Sweet Taylor Swift graced the red carpet in a high low teal Elie Saab. She is definitely my number one pick for her choice of an elegant yet sexy red carpet outfit.