What’s In This Issue?
Arby's Makes Fun Of Vegetarians and It's Perfectly On Brand
In a world enamored with vegetarianism, one brand is consistently standing behind their meat: Arby's. Their latest campaign pokes a bit of fun at vegetarians by launching the "marrot," rolled turkey breast shaped to look like a carrot. It's a way smarter strategy than the sad and desperate law passed in Mississippi this week which forbids meatless products from being called "burgers" or "hot dogs."
Rage Yoga, Public Punching Bags and the Anger Industry
A couple of weeks ago, there was a viral story about Manhattan putting up public punching bags to help New Yorkers vent their frustration and now we have the rise of "rage yoga." It's no surprise that people are angry, but it's interesting to see how that anger is being addressed through new products and services that not only accept the anger, but try to help people better channel it. We may be seeing the start of an entirely new rage-based industry.
People In Japan Are Renting Cars and Not Driving Them
A few years ago, my secret for surviving the chaos of the SXSW conference in Austin was to rent a car, park it in the convention center and use it as a mini apartment of sorts for changing clothes, dropping off books and generally recharging. Apparently a similar idea is becoming commonplace in Japan and car rental + car sharing services aren't quite sure what to do (or not do) about it.
Is Social Media Making It Impossible To Ever Grow Up?
It should be a basic human right to remember the past with fondness as being better than it actually was. Unfortunately, for today's generation of young people, this may already be impossible. "Can one ever transcend one’s youth if it remains perpetually present?" asks author Kate Eichhorn. As they grow up online, an underappreciated side effect is that their entire childhoods are recorded. It may indeed be the End of Forgetting, as the title of the book this article is excerpted from predicts.
Edchup, Pop-Up Stores & Ed Sheeran's Masterful Marketing
Ed Sheeran has a tattoo of the Heinz ketchup logo on his arm, and now Heinz is launching a limited edition version of their signature product named after him: "Edchup." It's a fun campaign, but it's only one of a handful of unusual marketing moves that Ed Sheeran is using to promote the release of his latest album. His boldest move will be this Friday as part of his album release when will simultaneously launch a series of popup stores in 32 locations around the world with many locations open from "3:06pm to 9:06pm only," a quirky timing that will likely increase their appeal even further.
