News 05.05.2022

Need to Know

Persil uses gaming to get kids outdoors, planet-friendly school meals arrive in Brazil, and women are minimising their make-up routines.

Persil creates a fake video game to get kids outdoors

Tag The Game by Persil, UK

Germany – The latest campaign by detergent company Persil is a spoof video game designed to bring the gaming community together and encourage kids to spend more time outside.

The fast-paced campaign, created by Madrid agency LOLA MullenLowe and Golin London, portrays a group of children fleeing from an unseen enemy. The kids are pictured sliding in the mud, scaling boulders and sprinting through long grass with game-like visuals. But when a small girl emerges from the bushes and taps one of the kids on the shoulder, it's evident that the elaborate activity is a simple game of tag. When the text ‘Only available in real life’ appears, the fictitious game is revealed to be an advertisement for the game-esque excitement of playing outside.

By spoofing gaming marketing while capturing its thrilling energy, Persil has recognised the importance of outdoor play among children and cleverly used video gaming to promote it.

Strategic opportunity

How can products be positioned to appeal to gaming communities? Take note from Persil and incorporate people's digital habits in your marketing

A prenatal supplement for him and her

WeNatal. Photography by Katie Abbott, US WeNatal. Photography by Katie Abbott, US
WeNatal. Photography by Katie Abbott, US WeNatal. Photography by Katie Abbott, US

US – While prenatal healthcare is traditionally geared towards women, WeNatal is disrupting the space by offering supplements designed for both men and women. Its hero product, the WeNatal Together bundle, is inclusive of all couples; available in her + him, her + her and him + him. Each supplement features vitamin formulations that promote reproductive health and support overall nutritional health.

Arriving at a time when the importance of men’s fertility is coming into focus, WeNatal is providing a solution for couples to approach pregnancy as a shared journey. ‘We have made it our mission to re-imagine the gender paradigms around pregnancy,’ explains Vida Delrahim, co-founder of WeNatal. ‘Co-parenting has to start at the very beginning. We believe we are better, stronger and healthier together.’

As infertility becomes a more visible issue in modern society, Modern Fertility brands like WeNatal are recognising the need to support both men and women in tracking and optimising their reproductive health.

Strategic opportunity

From contraception to fertility, healthcare brands have a responsibility to create products and services that serve all genders and body types

Brazil makes progress in plant-based school meals

Salvador – The municipality of Salvador is committing to feed 170,000 public school students plant-based meals made from fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains as part of the Conscious Food Brazil programme.

The initiative will provide 10m healthy school lunches in the Salvador region. What’s more, the meals will be inspired by local traditions and cuisines, as the programme seeks to spotlight regional cultures and cater for students’ preferences. A specialised staff of nutritionists and chefs, and training in nutritional and environmental education will also be provided to participating institutions.

The goal of the programme is to improve the diets of children from low-income areas who do not eat enough fruit and vegetables or who solely rely on animal products for protein.

While we've been tracking the move from fast food to plant-based school meals for the past few years, this marks a major change in the diets of Brazilians, whose national cuisine is heavily weighted towards meat. Read our recent report on The Zalpha Reckoning to find out what these Planet-based Diets will mean for future generations.

Future Farm is creating plant-based protein that captures the taste and texture of real meat, Brazil

Strategic opportunity

Eating can be an opportunity to learn more about regional cultures and cuisines. How can food companies empower their consumers by being sensitive to an ingredient's origins and local traditions?

Stat: Women continue to ditch their make-up routines

Topicals, US Topicals, US

While early pandemic lockdowns prompted many women to ditch their make-up habits, recent global research by Kantar reveals that this shift has continued throughout the inter-Covid era.

According to the consultancy's findings, consumers are now opting for fewer, long-lasting beauty products that can be applied quickly. The study, which featured more than 300,000 global respondents, shows that weekly make-up usage has fallen by 28% on average since 2019, and by 31% compared to five years ago. Interestingly, sales of natural beauty products have grown during this period, up from an average of 18% of sales in 2017 to 24% of sales in 2021.

These figures show a more conscious approach to investing in beauty products, with consumers considering items that provide benefits beyond aesthetics. As consumers think beyond conventional make-up routines, there is a continuing shift to products and services that help people establish a sense of recuperation and rehabilitation.

Strategic opportunity

Beauty, health and wellness brands must tap into the demand for more curated product offerings that prioritise consciousness and high quality over aesthetic variation

Previous News Articles
Ocado’s Shopping List Stories campaign finds emotional value in the weekly shop

News

Ocado’s Shopping List Stories campaign finds emotional value in the weekly shop

Ocado is reframing grocery shopping as an emotional experience with Shopping List Stories, a new campaign by Uncommon Creative Studio.
Food And Drink : Supermarket : Branding And Advertising
Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, ...
Foresight Friday : Ff : Lionesses
Stat: Netflix confirms anime watching is no longer niche

News

Stat: Netflix confirms anime watching is no longer niche

More than half of Netflix’s 300m global subscribers now watch anime, according to proprietary figures shared by the streamer.
Pop Culture & Media : Youth : Technology
The Faroe Islands bring back the joy of getting lost

News

The Faroe Islands bring back the joy of getting lost

As algorithm-driven travel fuels overtourism, a new initiative is challenging travellers to let go of planning and control.
Travel : Tourism : The Faroe Islands
Thai perfume brand Journal turns fragrance samples into NFC collectables

News

Thai perfume brand Journal turns fragrance samples into NFC collectables

Fragrance brand Journal is rewriting the rules of scent sampling with a wearable fragrance tester that doubles as a social connector.
Beauty : Fragrance : Technology
Stat: Survey finds hardening stances on office attendance are impacting UK staff wellbeing

News

Stat: Survey finds hardening stances on office attendance are impacting UK staff wellbeing

Hardening return-to-office mandates are fuelling anxiety among UK workers, with 38% reporting that media coverage of stricter attendance policies i...
Office : Workplace : Stat
Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report goes live

News

Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report goes live

Discover the top 50 innovations acknowledging, driving and anticipating change in our new Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report. 
Innovation Debrief 2024-2025 : Future Trends 2026 : Cultural Foresight
Joe Wicks’ Activate turns movement into play for kids

News

Joe Wicks’ Activate turns movement into play for kids

Fitness trainer Joe Wicks is swapping live-action workouts for animation with Activate – a lively new series of five-minute fitness bursts designed...
Fitness : Health And Wellbeing : Gen Alpha
IKEA creates open-air library along the Seine in Paris

News

IKEA creates open-air library along the Seine in Paris

IKEA has unveiled the Billyothèque, a pop-up outdoor library transforming a stretch of Paris’s Seine riverbank into a space for slow, serendipitous...
Ikea : Reading Room : Reading Experience
Stat: US teens turn to AI companions for life advice

News

Stat: US teens turn to AI companions for life advice

A new study by Common Sense Media reveals that 72% of US teens aged 13–17 have tried AI companions, with over half now using them regularly.
Technology : AI : Stat
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN