LSN : News : Foresight Friday: Simar Deol, foresight analyst

Visionworks turns subtitles into secret eyesight test

Visionworks, US

US – Optical products retailer Visionworks has combined Hollywood-inspired entertainment with advertising in its latest campaign. The two short films entitled Bomb Squad and Bed showcase an intense movie scene in a foreign language translated into English subtitles. In a brilliant twist, the size of the captions keeps decreasing steadily before viewers are surprised by a red screen announcing that this was a test all along. Only someone with a perfect 20/20 vision can read the whole translation. The ad ends with: ‘If you couldn’t read the subtitles, schedule an exam’ before showcasing a QR code to book an eyesight check appointment with Visionworks.

Designed by creative agency Leo Burnett, the campaign will run across linear tv, streaming platforms, social media and in 800 cinemas in 17 markets in the US throughout May 2023, which is also Healthy Vision Month. ‘The best advertising isn’t just persuasive, it also rewards the audience for their attention,’ said Britt Nolan, president and chief creative officer of Leo Burnett, in a statement.

In our analysis of the Eyewear Market, we previously looked at how industry professionals like Visionworks aim to enhance physical retail, offer more inclusive optical designs and invest in wellbeing-led eyecare.

Strategic opportunity

The next step for content marketing is to retain viewers’ attention with new techniques while they watch. Consider how your upcoming advertising clip could use the frame, colour scheme, sound or subtitles to grow brand awareness subtly

Dover Street Market creates space for microbiome-focused products

Paris – Kind To Biome, the new seal of assurance that certifies beauty products and ingredients are gentle to the microbiome, is entering its first retail partnership with Dover Street Parfums Market (DSPM). Kind To Biome was founded in Stockholm in 2022 with the objective to make all personal skin and scalp products microbiome-gentle within the next five years.

In May 2023, DSPM will host an installation showcasing brands and products that have been certified by Kind To Biome, and will focus on building insight on and awareness about skin and scalp care. Featured brands include Haeckels, Tiny Associations, The Neu Co and Pelegrims. The Paris store’s installation is the first of its kind and aims to showcase products that work with the billions of micro-organisms on the skin.

‘Scientific findings related to the skin and scalp microbiome make an undeniable case for the essential role it plays in maintaining skin health,’ says David Koo Hjalmarsson, co-founder and CEO of Kind To Biome.

Kind to Biome and Dover Street Parfums Market, Sweden and France

Strategic opportunity

Third-party verified marks of approval appeal to consumers who are increasingly concerned about product ingredients. Brands should aim to attain these certifications and communicate them effectively through bold marketing and communications

Foresight Friday: Simar Deol, foresight analyst

Artwork by The Future Laboratory, UK

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, foresight analyst Simar Deol discusses Trump’s guilty verdict and Peter Do’s new job while also bidding farewell to gal-dem.

: You'll be hard-pressed to escape the news that former US president Donald Trump was declared guilty by a Manhattan jury of sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll. Now we wait to see if and how this impacts Teflon Trump’s next presidential run – but also what it means for victims of sexual abuse, and the women’s rights and VAWG (violence against women and girls) movements in light of the Me Too backlash. See our Identities series for more on this.

: Peter Do has been appointed as the new creative director of luxury fashion label Helmut Lang. His debut collection in spring/summer 2024 will be showcased at New York Fashion Week later this year. The notoriously private New York-based designer often obscures his face from any publicity imagery and perhaps symbolises a new era of creative directors unleashed from the cult of personality, which we explore further in The Collaborative Future of Fashion Creatives.

: This article is helping me bid farewell to gal-dem magazine. It is a love letter to the radical publication on behalf of some of its contributors. In the wake of many smaller publications closing – Paper, Bitch Media – it raises the question of what the next iteration of alternative media will look like.

Quote of the week

‘Trump doesn't drink. Think about that, it means every statement, every interview, every tweet – completely sober’

Hasan Minhaj

Stat: US Gen Z and Millennials are adopting damp drinking

Sippers, UK

US – On TikTok, a new lifestyle trend is taking off, named ‘damp drinking’. It encourages responsible and less frequent alcohol consumption, without quitting alcohol altogether.

Essentially, damp drinking means drinking in moderation; less often and in smaller quantities. TikTok content-creator Hana Elson has coined the term ‘damp lifestyle’ to describe a way of life centred on temperance. On the app, #damplifestyle had attracted more than 44m views at the time of writing.

According to a survey of American adults by Morning Consult in April 2023, 27% of TikTok users are aware of the damp drinking concept and more than half (55%) of people aware of the trend say they are very interested in trying it out. Gen Z and Millennial men expressed more interest (67%) than women (52%), which the report attributes to the fact that men are heavier drinkers on average, leaving more room for improvement. Data suggests young people gravitate towards the ‘damp lifestyle’ for several reasons, mainly to improve mental health, avoid ‘hangxiety’ and to reap the physical benefits that come with drinking less.

At LS:N Global, we are monitoring how brands can tap into this behavioural shift and cater for occasional drinkers, from Sober Bars to the booming single-serve tinned drinks market.

Strategic opportunity

The sober-curious and damp drinking movements are driving demand for more agile socialising spaces and appealing alternative drinks. For businesses, this represents an opportunity to ramp up the no- and low-alcohol offerings and their accessibility