Need to know
17 : 10 : 17

Los Angeles – A new three-part advertising campaign by video director Mike Diva uses Japanese kawaii (cute) culture to encourage commuters to be more respectful while travelling on the Los Angeles Metro. Featuring the characters Rude Dude and Super Kind, played by YouTube vlogger Anna Akana, the tv ads address the topics of seat-hogging, eating while in transit and aisle-blocking.

‘We knew from the start we wanted something quirky, fun and memorable, something that would remind people about Metro etiquette without looking like a traditional government agency public service announcement,’ John Gordon, director of social media marketing at Los Angeles Metro, told AdWeek.

Brands in the West are also adopting kawaii culture to engage the public through playfulness. Read our Opinion piece for more.

London – Dermopharmacist Colette Haydon has launched Lixir Skin, a range of six beauty products designed to cater for all skincare needs. The range comprises three day-time essentials, including an Electrogel Cleanser, a Vitamin C Paste and a Universal Emulsion, and three night-time products formulated using pure active molecules, including BHA/AHA 10%, PHA/AHA 10% and Retinol 1%. The products in the night-time collection are designed to be used in rotation to ensure that users’ skin does not build up a tolerance to the products.

In a similar vein to Alex Carro’s range, Lixir Skin aims to help consumers simplify their beauty regime. ‘Having done this for years, people would ask me ‘do you have a separate cupboard of ingredients for the eyes, the neck and the lips?’. The answer is no. Yes, the skin around the eyes is a little thinner than the rest, but a wrinkle is a wrinkle,’ Haydon told Refinery29.

Brands are increasingly removing excessive choice from their product ranges to stand out in a competitive market. Read our Anti-choice Architecture microtrend for more.

US – Furniture retailer West Elm has released a series of short tv and digital ads that playfully explore the notion that for Millennials adulthood does not come as naturally as it did for previous generations. The series, Get House Proud, highlights the visually led nature of this Pinterest generation.

‘Get House Proud is about celebrating those seemingly small moments in your life that feel like huge victories on your journey to expressing your personal style at home as an adult,’ David Littlejohn, Chief Creative Director of Humanaut, tells LS:N Global.

For more on how brands are evolving the way they talk to this younger generation of consumers, see our Adulting Ads microtrend.

A new study by Pew Research Center has found that people of all ages are increasingly living alone.

The rise in the number of people living without a partner is particularly evident among the under-35s, demonstrating a need by brands to incorporate this into their communications with this age group. For more, see our Post-family Marketing microtrend.