Living large as they keep the planet alive

18 June 2015 - 02:00 By Leonie Wagner

Who says working hard can't be fun? Nandi Mngoma, Pearl Thusi, Minnie Dlamini and Chiano Sky are proving that it's possible. The four women were hand-picked by Grammy winner Pharrell Williams as part of the "Are You With Us?" campaign.Earlier this year, Williams teamed up with Woolworths as the style director for the company's educational and environmental sustainability campaign.The 42-year-old singer, producer and fashion icon is the musical mastermind behind songs such as Daft Punk's Get Lucky, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, Nelly's Hot in Here, Jay-Z's I Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me), Britney Spears' I'm a Slave 4 U and Justin Timberlake's Like I Love You.But he is most recently known for his hit Happy, the Despicable Me sound track that was named last year's song of the year.This week the gorgeous South African brand ambassadors jetted off to London to shoot a television commercial for the campaign.Following them was radio stalwart DJ Fresh.And if Instagram and Twitter are anything to go by, the ladies are giving new meaning to the phrase "work hard and play harder".One of the ambassadors, Mngoma, a singer, actress and television presenter, said she grew up listening to Williams' music and found the experience both "humbling and overwhelming"."When you do something you love, it's not hard work. We are living a five-star life in London," she said.Charmaine Huet, group director of marketing for Woolworths, said: "Over the next 18 months various brand ambassadors will champion the campaign's key message of environmental sustainability."We're saying it's cool to care - and so are the likes of DJ Fresh, Minnie Dlamini, Chiano Sky, Nandi Mngoma and Pearl Thusi."But the campaign isn't just about pampering A-list celebrities - it's more about the Woolworths group's drive to raise R100-million for social development and education in this country."There's substance behind this glamorous shoot," Mngoma said.But South Africans will have to wait to see exactly what that substance is and whether Mngoma can multitask on set and score an award-winning track from Williams.The Happy singer-songwriter will be returning to Cape Town and Johannesburg in September for his tour...

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