LSN : News : Stat: Young consumers are being scammed by ‘dupe’ products on social media

Ad uses dark humour to campaign against pension funds investing in fossil fuels

Olivia Colman for Make My Money Matter Oblivion Campaign, UK

Global – Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman has taken on the role of Oblivia Coalmine, a latex-clad oil executive, in a campaign video by Make My Money Matter. The campaign highlights the significant investments by UK pension savers in fossil fuel companies, valued at a whopping £88bn ($111bn, €102bn).

In the video, Oblivia Coalmine thanks pension savers for enabling oil and gas companies to intensify environmental damage and spills black liquid over herself while making a toast. The ad aims to encourage individuals to urge their pension schemes to stop investing in fossil fuel projects.

Recent polling aligns with this message, revealing that 66% of pension savers prefer their investments to support renewables, while only 19% support allocations to oil and gas. ‘That’s why it is such an important campaign,’ Colman said about the Subversive Sustainability Ad. ‘I hope everyone who sees this ad realises the shocking, but united, impacts of our pensions and makes their money matter.’

Strategic Opportunity

As eco-anxiety reaches new heights, consumers are less responsive to fearmongering and climate doom. Instead, businesses can turn to satire and humour to connect with audiences in their own language to incentivise positive action

One Good Thing introduces wrapper-free snack bars with edible coating

One Good Thing, UK

UK – Sustainable food and drink start-up One Good Thing (OGT) is making waves with its innovative approach to snack packaging. The UK-based brand has unveiled what it claims to be the world's first wrapper-free snack bars. Inspired by the environmental impact of discarded wrappers, OGT developed an edible waterproof coating made from natural ingredients, including beeswax.

‘There was a lot of trial and error when it came down to creating the coating as there were so many variables to consider,’ Daniel Bedford, OGT’s head of business development, explains about the challenges faced during development. The coating, applied by hand, replaces traditional plastic wrappers and is easily rinsed under the tap before consumption. Aware of consumers’ possible concerns about hygiene, the brand says the coating is completely safe and supported by microbial tests verified by an external third party. Now available through direct orders on its website, OGT is looking into licensing the coating to other food manufacturers in the future.

To read more about sustainable packaging design futures, take a look at our analysis of Sustainability Packaged: Dieline Forum 2023.

Strategic opportunity

Find inspiration in OGT’s beeswax wrappers. Consider how to incorporate edible coatings for products to reduce environmental impact, enhance consumer experience and address concerns about traditional packaging waste

Foresight Friday: Marta Indeka, senior foresight analyst

Victoria Ling for The Future Laboratory

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, senior foresight analyst Marta Indeka discusses beer bouquets, loneliness and lobotomy.

: Are men okay? Articles and essays deploring the state of men’s mental health are proliferating in the media. Raising awareness on this issue, New Zealand-based brewery Yeastie Boys created the Bloke-quet activation. The idea? Gift a beer bouquet to encourage the men in your life to open up.

: The rise of lobotomy core content online also speaks volumes about current wellbeing hurdles. Popularised by content creators like Alexia Delarosa, Carla Bezanson or Braden Wellman, the videos use satire to express mental distress and idealise the numb, empty, post-lobotomy feeling.

: People attempting to feel less lonely are being let down by machines. An article entitled ‘What happens when your AI girlfriend dies?’ reports on how thousands of people were ghosted by AI girlfriends when several virtual companion apps shut down.

: On a brighter note, London-based events venue Drumsheds has launched the Big is Beautiful campaign. The ad celebrates bodybuilders’ individuality and commitment to growing, in a playful nod to the venue’s sheer size –located in a retrofitted Ikea store – and the strong desire for togetherness we are witnessing.

Quote of the week

‘It’s 2023, it’s okay to not be okay, just make sure that you hide it when you’re around other people because it probably will make them uncomfortable. Otherwise, it’s okay to not be okay.’

Carla Bezanson, content creator

Stat: Young consumers are being scammed by ‘dupe’ products on social media

Fendi Spring/Summer 2024 Menswear, Italy

US – A Trustpilot study of 1,000 US Gen Z and Millennial adult social media users has found that 49% of consumers were scammed following the purchase of a viral ‘dupe’ item, a cheaper alternative to a high-end original product.

Issues with dupe goods – such as perfume, make-up and apparel – include the item not being the quality shown or described (38%), arriving damaged (26%), never arriving (24%), causing allergic reactions (14%) and even causing the consumer to seek medical treatment after use (9%). More than half of dupes are discovered through influencers and 49% through promoted posts. Unsurprisingly, these experiences are leading to a lack of trust; 28% of consumers place blame on the brand or retailer and 28% on an influencer.

The disillusionment with influencer-driven dupe culture is likely to contribute to what LS:N Global has termed The Rise of the Expert Influencer. Prioritising information over aspiration, these vetted influencers offer trustworthy content amid a sea of misinformation on the internet.

Strategic opportunity

For long-lasting customer loyalty and positive brand reputation, prioritise high-quality products and authentic influencer partnerships over temporarily going viral