Need to know
25 : 02 : 19

UK – Lynx’s humorous, down-to-earth series of ads feature a man shaving various body parts.

According to Unilever, the ads were created in response to an increase in men searching for body shaving tutorials online. While many online tutorials feature macho male models, the team at 72&Sunny cast an approachable British actor that men could relate to.

The ads feature Lynx’s Shower & Shave range of products, using the internet phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) to bring the shaving routine to life. According to creative director Gregg Clampffer, the videos were intended to be tongue-in-cheek: ‘We’re trying to lighten the tone a little bit. Maybe toxic masculinity doesn’t need a lecture. Maybe it needs a laugh. We’re talking to 15-year-old kids. You have to do something a little bit different and you don’t have to petrify them.’

In today’s climate, where the pros and cons of masculinity continue to be a topic of debate, advertisers must embrace more relevant representations of the male physique and take into consideration how men are rethinking their approach to shaving.

Paris – The digital artist and designer has rebranded the plant-based, non-alcoholic 'euphoric', which claims to boost mood and encourage relaxation.

Made from a blend of botanicals, adaptogens and nootropics, Kin Euphorics’ wellness-driven drink, High Rhode, was created for social occasions. Targeting moderation mindsets, the brand ‘believes in a night where social isn’t sinful and self-care doesn’t stop at sunset’. As such, it demonstrates how non-alcoholic beverages intended for evening consumption continue to grow and diversify as a category.

To capture this, Ada Sokol’s renderings combine botanical ingredients such as hibiscus with astronomical elements such as a revolving moon, translating the essence of Kin’s night-time product into vibrant branding. With its deep, bright colours and layers of texture, the result steers clear of minimal design clichés.

As we explore in our Virtual Baroque design direction, digital artists are deconstructing the visual codes of advertising to create a high-end aesthetic for digitally savvy consumers.

New York – The new restaurant in Harlem’s Africa Center aims to introduce the continent’s unique culinary offerings to a wider audience.

Created by Pierre Thiam, the co-founder of Yolélé Foods, Teranga’s menu is inspired by the foods of Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Nigeria. Traditional West African ingredients such as fonio, betel leaves and attiéké, made from fermented cassava, are served in convenient, fast-casual formats such as grain bowls and market plates, which are familiar to Western consumers.

This Pan-African approach runs throughout the concept. In addition to a bar stocked with Kenyan beer, and wine from Morocco and South Africa, the restaurant’s drinks menu includes private-label coffee grown in Rwanda and Ethiopia, as well as baobab juice and moringa lattes made with steamed oat milk. A small retail marketplace also sells African-made housewares and pantry staples.

For more how African ingredients such as fonio can appeal to Western markets, read our interview with Noah Levine, chief marketing officer at Yolélé Foods.

According to Pew Research Center, teenagers in the US today are spending more time sleeping and doing homework, while devoting less time to paid work and socialising than they did a decade ago. As well as getting almost an hour more sleep than teenagers in the mid-1990s, they are enjoying more leisure time, at an average of 5 hours and 44 minutes a day.

Teenagers are also spending less time doing paid work during the school year. Pew reports that teens today spend, on average, less than half an hour a day on paid work, compared with 49 minutes a decade ago, and 57 minutes in the mid-1990s. As teen attitudes to work continue to evolve, so is their spending. For more, read our Money Market: Generation Z.