Brands like Durex have learnt to embrace what they stand for, shifting from a killjoy to a source of fun. Likewise, Colgate in Thailand, in a bid to engage consumers away from TV advertising, has been giving out free ice-creams, lollipops and candy-floss which when eaten, reveal a toothbrush-shaped stick carrying the message ‘Don’t forget’ and the Colgate logo to remind consumers, especially children, to brush their teeth. The products are handed out at annual events, such as ‘Oral Health Month.’ Colgate’s message is clear – enjoy sweets, but don’t forget to brush your teeth afterwards.

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This is the prettiest tea bag we’ve ever seen. It’s a bird-shaped, origami-style tea bag. When you stick it in your cuppa, the tea infuses causing the bird to gradually expand and unfurl in a beautiful and poetic motion. These tea bags were created by Russian-based designer Nathalia Ponomareva. In Russia tea is the most popular non-alcohol drink and is served in samovars, a Russian tea kettle. Unfortunately this design has not been commercially produced yet.

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Will climate change be an issue in next year’s election? It’s unlikely. The green movement failed to make it an issue last time and this time round looks like even worse. Why? Firstly, HSBC’s Carbon Confidence monitor shows a fall in concern about climate change in the UK – down from 26% last year to 15% this year. This figure is also much less than developing countries like the BRICS, prompting an excellent rant on Alistair Campbell’s blog. Is that because [people in developing countries] are more used to weather driven destruction? Or because they have not fallen victim to the ‘not bovvered’ syndrome which says instant gratification belongs to the individual and any long-term problem belongs to somebody else?

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A new generation of Japanese men in their 20s and 30s has been dubbed the ‘Herbivorous male’ or ‘ojo man’ meaning girly man, by marketing writer and columnist Maki Fukasawa. They are shy and against consumerism, rejecting traditional masculinity in romance, jobs and consumption in a quiet social revolt against the previous Japanese baby boomer generation who are typically aggressive and proactive. In a CNN Asia article Fukasawa explains why she coined the name ‘herbivores’, “In Japan, sex is translated as ‘relationship in flesh… so I named those boys ‘herbivorous boys’ since they are not interested in flesh.” Fukasawa believes the girly men are actually closer to Japanese pre-war character; with their uncompetitive nature and no desire to win people over. They believe that in life and work, doing OK is OK. The Herbivore male is metrosexual without the testosterone, drinks tea over alcohol, wears Gap and a little make-up. They are skinny, thrifty and sit down to wee.

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Disney has made the decision after more than 80 years to give Mickey Mouse a make-over in the video game space. By reinventing Mickey Mouse Disney hopes to increase the relevance of the character. The way he looks, talks and acts will all be transformed to create ‘a vintage-looking yet three-dimensional cartoon character.’ Mickey Mouse’s new image will be unveiled by Walt Disney Corporation for a new video game for Nintendo Wii. The game will expose Mickey Mouse’s more human and mischievous characteristics that he first possessed in his 1928 debut in “Steamboat Willie.” Disney Interactive Studios general manager, Graham Hopper, explains that ‘we were not treating Mickey properly in the video games space and that he had a lot more potential than we had unlocked.’ Game designer Warren Spector has removed Mickey Mouse from his cartoon world comfort zone and places him in a ‘Cartoon Wasteland’ where the ‘guilt-ridden’ character ‘roams the wasteland and faces up to friends he cast aside and eclipsed with his own fame.’

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We went to the Lost Generation? Recession and the young talk at the RSA last week, where economist David Blanchflower warned of the “lull before the storm” in youth unemployment. Currently, 1 in 5 young people are out of work and this is set to rise. Blanchflower predicts this could leave permanent social and economic damage on an entire generation. Youth guru Ruby Pseudo aka Jenny Owen, challenged this view, arguing that the world of work needs to adapt to a generation with a different skillset. It’s not just a question of job creation (as Miles Templeman of the Institute of Directors, put it in the post-talk discussion), the old jobs are going, and they’re not coming back. The challenge now is to find new, flexible, engaging employment and education designed for the next generation.

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“Who smelt it dealt it!” It’s a cry heard so often heard in the playground, something had to be done. The Pond Inc., a strange little company that specialises in items that deal with “fashion mishaps”, has taken it into their hands to bring our world into a fragrant new era, with a product called Subtle Butt. Subtle Butt is a cross between Glade and a sanitary towel. It’s a pad that you stick into your pants that neutralises the smell of farts, and is being promoted (with tongue-firmly-in-cheek) as a “scientific breakthrough”. We have a sample if anyone wants it?!

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The Teens’ Speech is an open invitation to British teenagers to address the nation with an alternative Christmas message. Teens are invited to upload their message or contribute to topical polls, discussion forums and make comments on collaborating social networks. MySpace will premiere The Teens’ Speech film, a collection of the best contributions and a collaboration with teen slam poet Kate Tempest, on Christmas Day in a unique front-page takeover. The campaign by Poke and Barnardo’s, aims to cut through hoodie and ASBO stereotypes and show a true cross-section of British teenagers and what really matters to them.

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Sourcemap is a social network where anyone can contribute to the story behind products. It can basically be used as a tool for assessing the lifecycle of a product, whether you’re a business and want to ensure your supply chain is efficient, or a consumer with ethical concerns. You can simulate the impact of manufacturing, transporting, using and throwing away products using the site’s Life-Cycle Assessment calculator, which uses linked geographic and geological data. Take the lifecycle of the average laptop, some of the parts included are tin from Indonesia, copper from Chile, and silicon from Sao Paolo. Sourcemap tells you how much CO2 is used throughout the whole process. The creators hope that Sourcemap will be used to help market social and environmental products and to buy carbon offsets. Supply chains published on the site can be embedded into websites, printed on packaging, or linked through QR codes. In the future, we think that brands will automatically register their goods on the Sourcemap database (and site’s like it), as transparency and traceability becomes default brand behaviour.


Source

Thanks to Neil Bennett for this story. Neil is anticipating an amazing but crazy 48 hours in Bangkok.

Marks & Spencer is letting go of its trademark ‘own brand’ status for the first time in 125 years by introducing 400 branded goods into its stores nationwide. Kellogg’s, Marmite, Coca-Cola, and Nurofen are among those household brands that will sit alongside M&S’s own. Sir Stuart Rose has explained that the decision was made to save customers’ time and avoid the need for them to shop elsewhere for “must-have branded products”, helping to position M&S as a one-stop shop. No M&S products are to be dropped, the move is intended to focus on lines where the retailer has lower share of the market, such as beer, and to plug gaps where there is no own label version. Shares in M&S have soared 59pc this year. We think that this will probably be successful, so long as branded goods remain a strategic accompaniment and M&S own-label still strives to be the gold standard.

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