LSN : News : This redesigned toilet turns waste into ashes

Pinterest tackles self-doubt in a new brand campaign

Don’t Don’t Yourself, Pinterest global brand campaign

US – Following brand research which found that the most common thing holding people back is a fear of failure, Pinterest’s latest campaign encourages people to drop the doubt and try new things, ‘exposing the inner saboteurs’ and persuading people to go and do.

The campaign was developed in partnership with UK-based creative studio Uncommon, with out-of-home ads, digital spots and films, and media partnerships championing the role of creators. It aims to highlight Pinterest as the positive side of the internet, positioning it as a place of ideas and creativity over toxicity and comparison. The brand will also host an experiential pop-up installation in New York imploring visitors to ‘Escape the Doomscroll’ in the lead up to World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

‘Our latest campaign highlights how Pinterest is a different side of the Internet, where you can focus more on doing and less on viewing, where you can find what you love and forget about likes and where you can plan your life and try something new, free of judgement,’ explains Andréa Mallard, chief marketing officer at Pinterest.

With this campaign Pinterest is tapping into Psychophysical Identities, harnessing familiar but negative feelings and channeling them towards positive and productive outcomes.

Strategic opportunity

Tap into how your customers are feeling, and look to connect with them on an emotional level that goes beyond purely visual campaigns

Mercedes-Benz combines fashion and automotive design

ACC01 capsule collection by Mercedes-Benz and Acte TM

Germany – In collaboration with Berlin-based creative studio Acte, Mercedes-Benz has combined fashion with automotive design for its ACC01 range. The collection delves into the automotive brand’s archives, making use of parts left over from different projects to create wearable objects.

Made up of 28 modular pieces which work together as a unit, each one-off item utilises sustainable and innovative manufacturing processes, while exploring and expanding the car-maker’s rich design language. Specific items include a performance-focused body suit, a large hooded cape, and a puffer skirt inspired by Mercedes-Benz’s patented airbag.

‘For the project, we drew on the brand’s information archive to delve deeper into its background, especially its history that combines emotion and intelligence into design that operates away from trends and thus has a timeless effect,’ says Acte TM.

The collection marks an elevated approach by Mercedes-Benz to Repurposed Roadwear, unpacking the brand’s design expertise and using it to explore sustainable new territory.

Strategic opportunity

How can you use your brand’s design language and expertise in one sector to create innovations and sustainable processes in another?

This redesigned toilet turns waste into ashes

Korea – Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has announced the completion of a project to create a prototype waterless toilet that combusts human waste into ashes.

Safe and fit for household use, the toilet uses heat treatment and bio-processing technologies to kill pathogens and make the released waste safe for the environment. It is energy-efficient and is expected to be especially useful in remote regions where water is not readily available.

The announcement is the culmination of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, which was originally launched in 2011. The World Health Organization and UNICEF estimate that by 2030 as many as 2.8bn people globally will be forced to use unsafe sanitation facilities, which can spread diseases and even lead to death.

With water scarcity an increasingly urgent issue around the world, and the Clean Water Market rising in consumers’ consciousness, the announcement is a prime example of companies putting forward proactive solutions.

Photography by Eva Bronzini, Estonia

Strategic opportunity

Review your company's water usage and look to emerging technological solutions that can help to reduce your footprint

Stat: Gen Z follow a wider variety of sports than previous generations

Mobile technology has forged very different sports viewing habits among Gen Z and Millennials compared to previous generations, according to a new study by LaLiga Tech and Nielsen. Viewers aged 34 and under follow an average of 6.3 sports, more than older viewers, and 65 sports are listed overall, suggesting an opportunity for niche sports to use mobile to get in front of young audiences.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost half (46%) of younger fans prefer watching matches on their smartphone and half play games while they watch. With 55% expecting to interact with live stats while they watch, there’s an opportunity for broadcasters to incorporate more data into sports productions.

‘This report underlines trends that we have been monitoring for some time; digital audiences are being attracted to sport through gaming, streaming content or mobile apps, but their level of fandom has not changed. In fact, it may even be increasing,’ says Fabio Gallo, head of product for LaLiga Tech.

The study highlights how the rules of engagement for sport among younger generations are being reshaped around digital technology. In Sports Rebranded we explore how changing attitudes are also leading to refreshed visual approaches.