Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 79
July 1, 2017
6 Awesome Ways Canada Is Celebrating Its 150th Anniversary
As we head into a time when both America and Canada celebrate their national birthdays – this week’s newsletter takes an inside look at some of the most significant ways that Canada is celebrating it’s 150th anniversary as a country. In contrast to the “melting pot” of America which has often been criticized for how it seems to demand conformity, Canada celebrates their “cultural mosaic” through the many initiatives shared below which all seem designed to bring diverse people together, celebr...
June 28, 2017
Netflix Lets Kids Choose Their Own Adventure In New Episode
What if you could craft your own story in a television episode? Netflix is experimenting with letting kids do exactly that in a new episode of The Adventures of Puss in Boots by giving them half a dozen choices in the episode that each send the story in a different direction. It’s a bold experiment that many in the TV industry are watching with interest to see if this type of interactive story may be a feature that catches on with viewers.
Read the full story on [The New York Times] >
Love no...
June 27, 2017
Etrade Sells Everything That Is Wrong With Capitalism
Some financial services firms will tell you to save for retirement and adopt better spending habits. Others, like eTrade, will promote the idea that getting on their platform and making a few quick investments can help you buy a yacht you don’t need and behave like an asshole. That’s the silly premise of this widely criticized ad that glorifies exactly the kind of short term, me-first, Wall Street “bro” investment thinking that causes so many problems in the world in the first place.
June 25, 2017
Instagram Launches Feature To Let Users Archive Embarrassing Photos
This week Instagram quietly rolled out a feature to let users archive posts to hide them from the public. In a world where many users post things they later regret, this type of profile management is something that other social media platforms will likely consider to offer users an alternative to deleting their old posts. The interesting side effect this will create is a new category of content that people choose to keep private on the platform, which creates it own type of data of why some c...
June 23, 2017
Yoplait Bravely Tells Moms To Give Kids Sugar Because It Tastes Good
Trying to reverse its declining market share, Yoplait’s new campaign skips competing on health to focus on taste instead. The ad brings to life all the things moms are often criticized for – like breastfeeding in public or having kids later in life – and invites moms to “Do What Tastes Right” and forget about giving their kids healthy food because they’ll probably like Yoplait yogurt better. It’s one of those ads where you watch the first 90% and marvel at just how well they seem to understan...
June 22, 2017
The Surprising Brand That Won Big At Cannes
The most famous portraits in history are all painted from the torso up. That was the interesting insight from Ogilvy that led to this campaign for shoe polish brand Kiwi which recently won big at the Cannes festival. By commissioning artists to draw the bottom half of famous paintings like the Mona Lisa – this campaign created something unique and memorable and managed to make a brand in a category no one pays attention to relevant, interesting and worth of discussion.
June 21, 2017
The Swiss Town That Banned Travelers Posting Photos On Social Media
How do you get attention for a sleepy little Swiss ski resort town that few people have ever heard of? Ban photos and promise to fine tourists for sharing them online. That’s the genius strategy behind this move from the town of Bergün, but the explanation of why is even better. “We don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape,” says Mayor Peter Nicolay. What’s the solution? Just come to the village and experience it for y...
June 20, 2017
Brazilian Publisher Offers On-Demand Clever Captions For Your Selfies
Sometimes it is hard to pick the perfect caption for your selfie, but Brazilian publisher Leya has a solution to help … and introduce you to some of their newest authors in the process. The brand launched a chatbot that will ask you about your photo and then suggest a quote from one of their authors which you can copy & paste as a caption. The bot then follows up with a link to buy the book at a discount. Clever, timely and strategic.
Read the full story on Creativity >
Love non-obvious stori...
June 19, 2017
Facebook Helps Make Politicians Care About You
It is a sad reality of politics just how often politicians seem to cater to the loudest of their constituents. Making noise may not be the only way for normal people to create clout anymore, thanks to Facebook’s announcement that it will allow users to easily tag their local and state politicians in a post. The feature has the powerful potential to allow anyone to have more direct contact with their politicians and influence them to make decisions that more widely represent all the people, an...
June 16, 2017
Apple Imagines Destroying The World At WWDC
During its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this past week described by one media outlet as a “parody of itself,” Apple launched a video intended to show developers how much the world needs them and the apps they build. The video, unfortunately, ended up illustrating just how much havoc Apple could wreak if it chose to shut down apps, or otherwise deny service. The video accidentally reinforced the scary idea that if you have an iPhone, your entire sanity and perhaps safety are at the co...
