I think women are no longer rejecting being a feminist. And why shouldn’t they? Beyoncé declared herself a Feminist. Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls #AskedHerMore says it all. Even Armani designed a collection that encourages women to embrace their natural style. It’s beautiful.

One of the most creative women in advertising—and a CEW board member—Madonna Badger, has created a new campaign, #WomenNotObjects. The effort challenges how women are objectified in ads. Madonna has announced that her creative firm, Badger & Winters, will never objectify a woman again in any of the advertising, content and posts her company creates. I give her credit for taking this stand. It’s gutsy.

You have to look at the video Badger & Winters created to get the campaign off the ground. In less than three weeks it’s already received more than 1 million views. You can see it here.

What goes around comes around, like herbs, holistic health, wellness. Even Ayurvedic. Is it part of the rejection of established brands? The antidote to technology? Who knows!

What made me think about this was a recent post in The Cassandra Report on how wellness alternatives are helping balance our digital and physical lives. Plant-based solutions, tea, holistic healing and herbal healing are all gaining in popularity. Click here to see the solutions.

CEW‘s board composition has always reflected the composition of the industry. This year we elected executives from new players, along with new representatives from our long-standing majors.

New Players:
• Elana Drell-Szyfer, CEO, Laura Geller Beauty
• Jamie Kern Lima, Co-Founder, IT Cosmetics
• Muge Erdirik Dogan, GM & Director, Beauty & Grooming, Amazon
• Ashley Miles, EVP, National Sales & Brand Partnerships, Refinery29
• Claire Hobson, EVP, Global Business Director, The Future Laboratory
• Janet Gurwitch, Operating Partner, Castanea Partners
• Vennette Ho, Managing Director, Financo

The Majors:
• Debora Coffey, VP of Public Relations, Avon
• Alexandra Keith, President, Global Skin & Personal Care, P&G
• Kathy O’Brien, VP, Skin and Marketing Services, NA, Unilever
• Artemis Patrick, SVP Merchandising, Sephora
• Evelyn Webster, EVP, Time, Inc.
• Karen Buglisi Weiler, Global Brand President, M.A.C Cosmetics
• JuE Wong, President, Elizabeth Arden

If you missed our recent Beauty Insider Series event you really missed a lot of actionable information. The kind of info you can use in reports, presentations. Not to rub salt in the wound, event speaker Maxwell Luthy of TrendWatching has agreed to share his trend report only with event attendees. Take a look at a commercial he spotted that was created by Unilever’s Axe brand. I really like it—it’s smart, modern and worth watching.

Those attending our upcoming The NPD Group’s 2015 Year in Review on Feb 3 will receive a take home report by NPD. The only other way you get to see this info is if your company is a subscriber. And even if they are, you still might never get to see it. The bottom line? The information you get at this and other CEW events just makes you look smarter.

If you’ve ever attended one of CEW’s post-event, invitation-only dinners you’d know what I mean when I say it takes networking to a whole new level. Who goes? Sponsors, speakers, special guests. What goes on? Lots of connections. Our most recent dinner on January 19 following the Beauty Insider Series event on post-consumerism trends was the perfect mix of executives from magazines, manufacturers, suppliers and finance.

Highlights of the evening? Lots of interest in Glansaol, a new global personal care and beauty company by Alan Ennis, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Revlon. The legendary Jane Iredale charmed everyone, including the equally charming Tim O’Connor from Shape Magazine. Kelly McPhilliamy of Wells Fargo (the beauty banker) showed interest in the pop-up Peel Bar retail concept from BeautyRx by Dr. Neal Schultz, which are opening in Saks nationwide.