it's not a nice day for a white wedding

Breaking up is hard to do. I know, because I'm contemplating doing it now. 

We've been together nearly 13 years; in fact, I barely recall a day apart. Birthdays, work days, at lunches and launches - always there, either wrapped around my neck or hanging off my shoulders.

So it pains me to say goodbye to my beloved Country Road. Truthfully I've stayed with them out of loyalty rather than any real connection, but it's their constant refusal to embrace or even recognise me that's led me down this, er, road.

Who am I? A Malaysian-born, Indian Australian. What do CR, with their commitment to 'an authentically Australian way of life', expect me to be? White. 

Season after season, from billboard to catalogue, their flagrant whitewashing of every ad campaign is neither clever nor contemporary. Bizarrely, it's like they're living in the dark ages.

But they're not alone in their Anglo-adoration. If you and your fair-skinned friends fancy a pizza, according to their latest TV ad Domino's reckon it'll be delivered by a blindingly blonde woman. And, of course, race rationing remains all too common at the top end of town - it's no wonder the banks are worried about China: they haven't any Chinese chiefs to consult!

As we imposingly celebrate the Lunar New Year, chopsticks clacking in har gao harmony, let's pause on our preparations to keep everyone else out and remember those we already let in. We coloured in our white spaces a long time ago and our future is brighter for it.

Speaking of which, I marched with my fellow rainbow warriors last week to celebrate how far we've come and declare where we'd like to go. We were indeed a mixed bag - black, white, pink and purple - but it takes all sorts to make these campaigns work and get our messages out there. Hopefully CR's people were watching...