From mycelium-based vegan leather to pizza boxes that turn into arcades, here are some things that made us say “That’s Interesting” in the studio this week.
So, we see leading brands making important language changes to become more inclusive, brands marrying technology, packaging and nostalgia to stay connected and offer new experiences, mushrooming sustainability opportunities for luxury, and glimpses of post-pandemic life.
Positive beauty.
Unilever takes another step to redirect its focus from making people look good to making them feel good. The multinational behind the likes of Dove, Axe and Sunsilk has announced it will be dropping the word “normal” from all of its beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising. Unilever will also not allow altering of the body shape, size, proportions or skin colour of people in its ads. The idea is therefore to challenge narrow beauty ideals and advocate for a more inclusive vision of beauty. Consumers are looking for brands that are aligned with their values and represent them as individuals. Within and beyond the beauty and personal care category, what other ingrained, harmful ideals are ready for a rethink?
Spread the positivity here
Pac-Man pizza.
Back in the day, going to Pizza Hut meant indulging in a full pizza parlor experience, complete with video games and tabletop Pac-Man games. Pizza Hut believes that the future leans more towards takeout and delivery rather than dine-in restaurants, but they’ve decided to elicit a bit of nostalgia through packaging and Augmented Reality. A series of limited edition boxes features QR codes that lead consumers to a super cool AR Pac-Man game experience. Brands are finding different ways to stay relevant and connected with consumers, and pairing technology with familiar experiences can be a highly successful approach. How else can brands bring nostalgia into the future to stay relevant and connected with consumers?
Chomp away here
Luxury mushrooms.
As part of its sustainability mission, luxury fashion brand Hermes has been exploring the opportunity to create vegan leather from… Mushrooms! Yep, you’ve read that right. They partnered up with MycoWorks – a biomaterial company – and after a lot of testing they created a mycelium material named Sylvania, which then resulted in a leather-free version of Hermes’s iconic Victoria travel bag. Another addition to the ever-growing library of new generation, sustainable, premium material alternatives for fashion brands to tap into! Stories of heritage and craftsmanship are central to the notion of luxury – how can brands translate the skill and science of biomaterials into artistry and quality.
Fine Mycelium here
Corona test party!
Amsterdam has always been a city known for its progressive and creative thinking. Most recently, we see them shaking things up in the lead up to a post-pandemic world. 1300 people were invited to attend a music event at the Ziggo Dome, which aimed to examine the risks of reopening venues and to plan ahead for the easing of lockdown restrictions (definitely something to look forward to!). As part of the trial, attendees had to be tested 48 hours before the event and were split into different bubbles with bigger or smaller groups of people. Each bubble was encouraged to follow a different set of rules, such as wearing a mask at all times, or not wearing one and maximising the release of saliva by screaming and singing (yikes!). Live events and large gatherings have been out of the picture for so long now… How will societies ease their way back into them safely, comfortably and confidently?
Join the next one here