A promo code… to pay more
From France: ride-hailing service Heetch has come up with a cheeky way to tell customers how much they could save riding with them, compared to Uber.
Posts
Don’t Call It Love
A new spot for YSL Beauty looks as glamorous as you’d expect but with moments of unsettling vibes that tie in to an unexpected message.
IMDb introduces Kleenex Score
As explained by IMDb:
Great movies hit us right in the feels – one minute we’re fine, the next we’re ugly crying. But let’s be real, tearing up can get messy, and not having a tissue on hand can be a total disaster. So, we created The Kleenex® Score on IMDb to help you prepare for your movie night.
IMDb also released ‘The Ultimate Weeper Watchlist’ — a list of 10 films “that earned top Kleenex Score ratings, making them guaranteed to bring on the waterworks”.
Carried Away
From the Philippines: courier firm LBC Express finds a delightfully literal way to make its point.
Town offers bounty for mosquitoes
To quote from a BBC report from two weeks ago:
Authorities in one of the Philippines' most densely-populated urban centres are offering a cash reward for mosquitoes in an attempt to stop the spread of dengue.
Carlito Cernal, village chief of Barangay Addition Hills in central Manila, announced the bounty of one peso (less than two US cents) for every five mosquitoes.
While news of the bounty has provoked scorn on social media, Mr Cernal has defended it as necessary for the community's health.
The move follows a recent spike in cases of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes, in the Philippines.
The programme, which will run for at least a month, was started after two students in Mr Cernal's neighbourhood died from the disease.
The bounty applies to all mosquitoes - dead or alive - and their larvae, Mr Cernal added. Live mosquitoes will be exterminated using ultraviolet light.
A total of 21 people have already claimed their reward, bringing in a total of 700 mosquitoes and larvae so far, he told the BBC.
RIP Boris Spassky
From Garry Kasparov’s tribute:
His rise as a prodigy, conquest of the crown against the invincible Petrosian on the second attempt, and decades of elite play are too often lost in the shadow of his dramatic title loss to Bobby Fischer in 1972 and the circus Fischer turned it into. But Spassky always wanted to play, and he handled the situation with impressive dignity. While his chess justified the "universal" label that frequently follows his name, his aggressive gambiteering style produced countless masterpieces.
Link to AP Archive interview clip after his loss to Fischer in 1972
RIP Gene Hackman
From Peter Bradshaw’s tribute in The Guardian:
He was the character actor who was really a star; in fact the star of every scene he was in – that tough, wised-up, intelligent but unhandsome face perpetually on the verge of coolly unconcerned derision, or creased in a heartbreakingly fatherly, pained smile. He wasn’t gorgeous like Redford or dangerously sexy like Nicholson, or even puckish like Hoffman; Hackman was normal, but his normality was steroidally supercharged. His hair was of its age: frizzy, with evident male-pattern baldness. You really don’t get star haircuts like that any more.
A very short selection of scenes to treasure:
Mississippi Burning (1988)
-Razor wielding scene
-‘Wringing necks’ scene
The Firm (1993)
-‘People grieve in different ways’
Get Shorty (1995)
-‘Use your imagination’
Pepperoni pizza flavoured soda
It’s a limited edition offering from low sugar soda brand Perfy. And the way it’s being promoted is pretty much as bewildering as the idea itself. To quote from the website:
Remember walking into your favorite pizzeria? Quarters for the arcade, infamous red plastic cups, bells ringing for your order, trading tickets for prizes. These moments weren't just about pizza—they were about family, friendship, and happiness.
We've captured that magic in every can. Where each slice is transformed into a lightly carbonated love letter to our childhood.
So go ahead. Sip, savor, and make new memories. After all, who says you can't DRINK MORE PIZZA?
Italian Adventure
From Brazil: a new spot for fintech bank Nubank’s premium Ultravioleta card gives you plenty of reasons to visit Italy.
Ramen restaurant puts bounty on negative reviewers
To quote from a report out of Japan:
TOYOJIRO, a Jiro-style ramen restaurant in Kyoto ranked second on the city’s ramen database, has come under scrutiny for placing a bounty on customers’ heads simply because they left low-rated reviews. Sounds shocking, right? Let’s take a closer look at the events that led to such an extreme response.
It all began when two individuals dined at TOYOJIRO’s Kyoto-based outlet. After leaving, one of them posted a one-star review, criticizing the store’s customer service and the quality of the food. Up to this point, everything seemed normal—negative reviews are a common occurrence. However, what happened next was anything but ordinary.
The restaurant did not take the criticism lightly. In response to the review, they posted a threatening message: “If you write a stupid review, we’ll find you. We’ll beat you up.” They escalated further by publishing photos of the customers and offering a cash reward to anyone who could provide information on their whereabouts.
“I saw your post, and you seem a bit weird. We try not to treat people like you as customers, so it’s fine. But you should probably avoid eating out. Someday, someone like you will get screwed. I don’t care—just come directly, and I’ll deal with you. We run a planned business, so if you get in our way, we’ll get in the way of yours too,” the store wrote.
On their Instagram (@toyojiro.toyota), the restaurant posted a story offering a reward of 100,000 yen per reviewer to anyone who could provide their personal details, track them down, or take action against them. The shop made it clear that this “manhunt” would continue until both individuals returned to the restaurant, had another meal, and wrote a positive review with a photo.
Love is in the air…
But not quite in the way that you may imagine, in this 90 second spot for British Airways that ends up being less about love (or even British Airways for that matter).
IKEA’s giveaway to responsive insomniacs
I’ll let this report explain:
“u up?”
That’s what IKEA [Canada] asked sleepy scrollers late on Friday night as they slid into their DMs (direct messages). The short and sweet message sent in the middle of the night surprised unsuspecting Canadians in a contextual social stunt to promote a dreamy deal on IKEA mattresses.
As the mattress space has become increasingly competitive, with challenger brands vying for audiences’ attention, IKEA went directly to those who need them most: sleepless Canadians – in the middle of the night.
Sliding into DMs between 10 pm ET and 5 am the next morning, Canadians who were still awake and playful enough to respond were surprised with a free mattress.
Face cream… inspired by salad dressing
To quote from a report out of UK:
After the iconic return of its beloved Creamy Salad Dressing to the sauce station, Nando’s is taking things to the next level with a bold and quirky launch: the Extra Creamy Face Cream. Steering from typical beauty products, Nando’s moisturiser is infused with the unique flavours of garlic and black pepper, giving your skin a zingy boost.
This innovative skincare creation is inspired from Nando’s famous Creamy Salad Dressing, turning it into a rejuvenating face cream – a fun concept with health benefits too. The garlic offers anti-ageing, anti-fungal, and skin-smoothing qualities – what’s not to love!
Gulf of whatever you like
I’ll let this Huffington Post report explain:
While Google and Apple’s mapping services have complied with President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” MapQuest is holding its ground.
The company ― which calls itself “the OG of online mapping” on BlueSky ― has refused to make the change. “Our maps are like grandma’s Thanksgiving recipes — once they’re printed, they’re not changing. The Gulf of Mexico stays put on MapQuest,” it announced last month.
And it’s now offering other critics a way to push back on Trump’s demand.
MapQuest last week introduced the “Gulf Map Generator,” which allows users to rename the body of water themselves.
The tool quickly got used for trolling Trump, with users rebranding it as the “Gulf of Obama,” the “Gulf of Joe Biden,” the “Gulf of Insecurity” and more.
Feel the Löf
Swedish coffee brand Löfbergs has announced its ambitions for the UK market with a spot to make coffee lovers drool. To quote one of the creative people behind it:
Move over Food Porn, here comes Coffee Romance. ‘Feel the Lof’ is about rekindling our emotional connection with coffee, making every cup a delicious experience. This is a campaign that indulges in the sensory pleasure of coffee, celebrating the ritual, the aroma, and the moment of pure enjoyment.
Fancy a garlic sauce bath bomb?
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, pizza chain Papa Johns announced a limited-edition bath bomb inspired by its signature Special Garlic Dipping Sauce. To quote one of the creative teams behind the idea;
What started as a wild internet theory—“It would cost $475 to bathe in Papa Johns garlic sauce... theoretically”—just became reality.
We partnered with Papa Johns to turn social media’s most unhinged dreams into something you can actually soak in. Because when fans speak, we listen—especially when they’re calculating the cost of a garlic bath.
What’s more, the strangeness of the idea was topped by a video released by the brand on social media.
World Dump Day
That’s how sustainable toilet paper brand, Who Gives a Crap, marked Valentine’s Day this year, “encouraging people to dump sh*tuationships that no longer serve them”. To quote from the press release:
According to new research from the eco-friendly toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap, 42% of Americans state the primary difficulty in breaking up is not wanting to hurt their partner’s feelings while nearly 1-in-5 (17%) don’t know the right words to say.
As a result, Who Gives A Crap is offering a one day only breakup service on February 13, World Dump Day, to help people end crappy relationships with a thoughtful, human touch – and a bit of humor. Participants can enlist the help of Who Gives A Crap by sharing details of their situationship before February 13, then the brand’s expert dumpers will draft personalized break up messages to clear the romantic clog.
As the experts in “letting go,” the brand is particularly encouraging people to dump the sh*tuationships that no longer serve them. According to the research, only 1-in-3 people in casual situationships report feeling content with their relationship status. Across all relationship types, 1-in-3 people (34%) reported prolonging past breakups for up to three months.
Because people find it difficult to know what to say in a breakup, and with the increased use of artificial intelligence leaking into every facet of life, it’s no surprise that 25% of Americans would consider using AI to help craft a message.
However, nearly half (46.5%) of Americans say they’d be offended to find out a partner or potential date used AI to communicate with them. People’s aversion to receiving AI messages, coupled with the environmental impact of the technology, makes the World Dump Day breakup service a timely solution for those rethinking their relationships ahead of Valentine’s Day.
