Articles by Mel Campbell

About Mel Campbell

Melbourne journalist and editor of The Enthusiast, an Australian online magazine of culture and entertainment.


Offensive Halloween costumes: a Crikey round-up

Halloween is around the corner and there are plenty of racist, sexist and grotesque costumes to pick from. While traditional Halloween imagery revolves around death and monstrosity, there’s often also a suspension of ordinary morality.

Pink bits: the absurd world of gendered consumer products

Marketers have never abandoned the idea that men and women require their own ‘special’ products. Women’s products are often tinted pink and advertised with cuddly names and breathy female voiceovers. Insulting much?

Who gives the best Rudd? A Kruddy lookalike round-up

Anyone with a peach-coloured swimming cap and some cotton-wool eyebrows could conceivably ‘do’ John Howard. But the less distinctive Kevin Rudd poses more of an impersonator challenge.

Will Godwin’s Law finally bring down Kyle Sandilands?

Sorry Kyle, it’s Godwin’s Law. The minute you invoke the Nazis, your salad days as a shock jock are over.

Newsreader fashion: a Crikey field guide

Have you ever sent forlorn tweets about Ali Moore’s cravat into the ether? Well, feel alone no longer. Mel Campbellprovides a semi-definitive guide to the sartorial language of news and current affairs.

Obama in the uncanny valley: the perils of presidential sculpture

Mel Campbell takes a terrifying tour through the world of Obama-themed mannequins and robots.

Will we really love Coles? Thoughts on a female-friendly publicity stunt

Is there much beyond Coles’ special no-tax tampon offer than clever marketing? Mel Campbell suspects not.

Political Fashion Semiotics 101: the implications of politicians’ clothes

This week, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev thrilled and horrified the blogosphere by wearing jeans and a designer blazer to a dinner with Barack Obama. Mel Campbell does some further political fashion analysis.

Skinny Blonde’s Nork-a-Rama: offensive advertising or manufactured outrage?

For a supposedly controversial campaign, Skinny Blonde’s topless label is really lame: a half-hearted mash-up of 1940s-era pinup iconography and nork-obsessed ocker glee.

Fashions on the Hill: politics gets gussied up

The Midwinter Press Gallery Ball is Canberra’s night of nights. And as with all red-carpet events worth their salt, it’s now time for us to brutally judge the attendees on their fashion sense.

JD Salinger speaks!

People say JD Salinger is some kind of recluse, but I don’t know what they’re on about, writes Mel Campbell.

Fashion turns derelicte: brown bags are the new black

Like aristocrats in the French Revolution, the fashion industry knew it would be first against the wall in the global economic downturn. Mel Campbell looks at dressing for recession.

Gillette’s close shave with the back, crack ‘n sac

BBDO New York’s current online campaign for Gillette Fusion Power razors encourages men to “Go further with body shaving”, writes Mel Campbell.