Well done! You have made it to Friday afternoon so before you switch from laptop to tv screen, time to unwind with this week’s Our Take. In this edition, we take a look at one brand’s idea of what a post social distancing world could look like, a toy story for a sustainable era, a major sport brand striking a different tone and take a seat to look at how our towns and cities can be more inclusive in this “summer of outdoor”.
HOW TO MAKE AN IDEA REALLY STICK
Maybe you haven’t thought about it but the rise of mask wearing and social distancing, has seen a steep decline in chewing gum sales world-wide – not ideal for companies like Wrigley’s.
In a bid to reintroduce gum into our lives, Extra has released a somewhat controversial advert that imagines the day where the world returns to normal: people log off zoom and run from their homes, dressed in their new-normal home attire, and escape back to their former places of work and leisure, now overrun with plant life from a year of neglect. As their first action, they each reach for a piece of Extra chewing gum and, quite randomly, start kissing the face off anyone they see.
We love this refreshingly crazy shock tactic approach to a chewing gum advert and it’s made all the better with the soundtrack of Céline Dion’s power ballad “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”. You would watch it for that song alone!
Check out the full advert here.
TODAY’S TOYS TOMORROW
As more and more brands realise the importance of the circular economy, many companies are developing ingenious and innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.
This week, Mattel announced Mattel PlayBack, a toy takeback initiative that will enable families to extend the life of their Mattel toys once they are finished playing with them. Currently only available in the United States and Canada, the idea behind this initiative is ultimately to reuse materials for future Mattel products as the toy giant has a number of sustainable goals its hoping to meet by 2030.
Where brand’s can really shine is to make a connection with consumers on shared ideals, with sustainability a key issue for many. If a brand can show consumers that it shares that concern, then they are one step closer to not only lowering their carbon footprint but gaining a long term affinity with customers. Read the story here.
JUST DO IT… YOUR OWN WAY
This story is for each and every one of us who vowed to use the past year as an opportunity to improve that personal best, finally get on the Peloton that we were convinced to buy in March 2020 or simply increase our daily step count beyond, ahem, 2,500.
While many of Nike’s previous campaigns serve to deliver spine-tingling vignettes of elite sports starts achieving nothing short of greatness, the brand’s latest campaign seeks to celebrate the less accomplished among us and urges us to Play New and give it a go regardless. It’s refreshing to see a brand that has dedicated so much of its advertising narrative to elite sports make such a departure and bring us mere couch potatoes into the fold. Check it out here.
Whew, I’m wrecked after writing that…
THE LONG AND SHORT OF INCLUSIVITY
Finally, to finish on a positive note, wheelchair accessible picnic tables have been unveiled in Bruges recently highlighting how a simple yet incredibly effective design can make such a big difference to wheelchair users and pales in contrast to a recent suggestion for similar amenities closer to home in Galway city.
As we approach a Summer where the focus will continue be on outdoor socialising, wouldn’t it be great to see such innovations in outdoor locations which encourage and embrace inclusivity. We would love to see local councils and authorities here in Ireland consider taking inspiration from this on board for future planning.
This is also something which brands could take on board when looking at activation areas at festivals and events – a design quirk which might be unnoticed by the majority of passers-by but could make the world of difference for somebody.