‘The Flavor of Pixels’

That’s how Coca-Cola is describing its new limited-edition offering, ‘Zero Sugar Byte’.  According to a company spokesperson:

We wanted to create an innovative taste inspired by the playfulness of pixels, rooted in the experiences that gaming makes possible.

So what does it actually taste like? 

One reviewer who felt that it reminded him of cough syrup, had this to say:

There’s something vaguely fruity about Coke Byte. Not in the lemon-lime Gatorade way, where it at least evokes the taste of something natural, but more like how Axe Anarchy has a “dark pomegranate” scent, or how the red NyQuil is technically berry flavored.

This is what the company claims:

The drink’s bright, upfront taste is reminiscent of powering up a game, and its refreshing finish makes for a perfect gaming companion.

Breakup-friendly Furniture

From Argentina: a range of modular furniture that can be elegantly and gracefully split… when you decide to split.  Excerpts from a report:

The pandemic has accelerated already existing changes in how we are living – as well as who with, and for how long. Many countries have seen huge rises in divorce rates since 2020, including an incredible 35% increase in Argentina. Meanwhile, growing housing costs are forcing young people to share homes, unable to afford their own place. As they move out, many of these partners and friends need to divide their belongings – which often causes even more conflict.

To make this separation easier for young people, FC Home & Deco, a Fontenla company, and Wunderman Thompson Lima opted for a design solution adapted not to spaces, but to people. ‘The Friendly Break Up Collection’ is a line of furniture that breaks apart when people break-up.

The furniture in the collection is named after celebrity breakups, including the BradIston Sofa, GarnAfleck rug, DemiLlis coffee table, CruisMan bookcase, KanyDashian table, and the LuisCarey painting, to name a few.

Every item is the product of ingenious modular design that means it can be used either as one large or as two smaller units – making the range highly flexible, whether or not you are moving out. A whole room can be instantly redesigned: by splitting the BradIston couch into a pair of elegant armchairs, or dividing the KanyDashian table to instantly set up two separate workspaces. Considerable effort from an interdisciplinary team of architects, industrial designers, decorators and interior designers was needed to ensure each piece has functionality and personality, both together and apart. For people splitting up or moving out, the hope is to give everyone an equal share, so that each can keep their favourite part: “You like the left? Good, I like the right.”

Link to promotion video

Sensuously Classic

Retirement living is imagined as an opulent indulgence in this outstanding spot for Magnum ice-cream.

Link to video

Teen Gorilla’s Cellphone Problem

Excerpts from a report out of Chicago:

Amare, a gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo, didn’t seem to notice last week when another teenage gorilla rushed him in a show of aggression that’s common among young males seeking to figure out who’s boss.

The 415-pound gorilla was glued to a cellphone.

Not his own, of course. But the smartphone of a visitor who’d been showing Amare pictures and videos through a glass partition.

“It seemed to almost surprise Amare because his attention was very much distracted,” said Stephen Ross, director of the zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes.

But Amare’s cellphone distractions have grown more frequent in recent months.

“What we’re keeping an eye on here is that he doesn’t end up watching screens that the visitors are presenting him for hours on end. It’s more of a quantity issue than a quality issue,” Ross said.

The images and videos Amare watches span whatever might be on someone’s phone: selfies, family, pets, or freshly shot footage of Amare himself.

Washroom Wooing

From Thailand: a wacky commercial for micro-lending app Money Thunder.

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Flight Shame

In an amusing spot, Lumo pitches its electric train service as a way to reduce carbon footprint, while taking a dig at the more conventional ways to do so.

Link to video

When Commentators Can’t Stop Laughing

An unfortunate incident for a player in the European Cricket Series triggered close to 2 minutes of non-stop laughing by the commentators.

Link to video

A Player Like Me

A 4 minute short that pitches the therapeutic virtues of gaming.

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‘The best f*king thing you’ll ever put in your mouth’

That’s from the lyrics of the song at the heart of this commercial for ‘hemp-infused’ sparkling water brand, Mad Tasty.

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‘Swimming Rainbow Turd that Smells Good Enough to Eat’

That’s how a SoraNews24 report is describing a bath bomb shaped as a poop emoji.  To quote from that report:

Japan’s love affair with human excrement has become something of a cultural icon in recent years, with the poop emoji personifying the cute side of the turd world and popping up on all sorts of weird places like textbooks, cake moulds and ice cream.

Now, the poop emoji is here to take over your bathtub, with something that’s confusingly called the Rainbomb Mini Poop Chocolate.

According to its makers, this bath bomb is definitely made for bathing, not eating, and though it looks like a turd, thankfully it doesn’t smell like it — it’s imbued with the sweet scent of chocolate instead.

While chocolate smells good, its brown colour isn’t the best look for a bath made with poo, so this sweet turd emits three colours of the rainbow.

It’s not every day you get to take a bath with a swimming rainbow turd that smells good enough to eat. If you’d like to enjoy the experience, the Rainbomb Mini Poop Chocolate can be purchased at the Dreams Online Shop, and retail chains like Plaza, Loft and Don Quijote.

Hunt Down Stress

From Estonia: as a solution for these stressful times, a print campaign for sporting goods retailer Rademar encourages people to “find the inside predator” and hunt down stress.

Wondrously One-Handed

A bewildering spot for AT&T Fiber that gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘single-handed’.

Link to video

KFC ‘Chickenstock’ Image Library

To quote from the campaign website:

It has come to our attention that many shops are using photos of our chicken to sell, well, their chicken.

We get it. They look so crunchy, juicy and irresistible. If it’s a temptation for customers, we can imagine what it’s like for competitors.

What we can’t accept is that they’re using them improperly. Pixelated, and in low resolution. People want to see crunchiness, not pixels.

That’s why we created KFC ChickenStock. A whole image bank full of KFC chicken. Free of pixelation, free of distortion, free of charge. Ready to be borrowed.

No, the Colonel is not crazy.

We’re just happy they love our images as much as we do. Because even though they can borrow our pictures, they will never borrow our taste.

Link to campaign video

Secured Footballers

Ryan Reynolds finds a way to insert himself and his football team into a cybersecurity commercial.

Link to video

The Responder (Season 1)

SERIES REVIEW

The Responder is an outstanding character study of a man on the edge of his mental endurance, that doubles as an above-average thriller, tinged with the feel of a documentary.  It centres on a Liverpool police officer who does night shifts, patrolling the streets.  He’s weighed down by his past- some of which he’s made peace with, most of which he’s struggling to reconcile with.  And he’s honestly trying to the make sense of the blurring lines between right and wrong.

Martin Freeman gives a career-best performance in the central role with notable supporting performances all around.  But it is the writing which shines above everything else.  What Freeman’s character deals with is unglamorous and stressful yet it is riveting.  Along the way, the narrative mixes social commentary with scenes of uncommon brilliance.

Link to trailer

Heinz Ketchup Seeks Recognition as Actor

Two years ago, just around the Oscars, Heinz Ketchup made an IMDb page for itself in the capacity of an actor, on the grounds of having made appearances in dozens of movies.  IMDb nixed the idea so the brand put out a marvellous protest campaign on social media.

Two years later, once again around the Oscars, the brand is renewing it efforts to seek recognition by applying to the Actors Union.

Link to campaign video

An Insurance Offer You Can’t Refuse

A new spot for Dutch insurer OHRA piles on mafia movie tropes to make the case for car insurance.

Link to video

Alternative link

Burger King launches Poop Emoji Ice Cream

It’s part of a campaign in Brazil to highlight that Burger King’s ice creams and desserts are 100% free of artificial ingredients.  But what exactly is the significance of the poop emoji? 

Going by a statement attributed to members of the creative team behind this, the idea was to use “a powerful and memorable visual to make people think about what’s in their food and making a strong point about ours.”  In addition, the creative director was quoted saying this:

It's better to look like a poop on the outside than to be stuffed with lots of bad ingredients on the inside. This was the rationale behind the development of this cone.

Link to campaign video

Uber Eats Pyjamas

From Japan: Uber Eats is promoting its late night delivery with pyjamas that make it easy to order anything to eat.  The scannable pyjamas are printed with menu items with QR codes that link to the Uber Eats app.

Link to video

Tattoo Translation Trouble? Duolingo has a fix

Are you someone who has had the misfortune of getting a foreign language tattoo, only to discover that it was an embarrassing mistranslation?  If so, and if the inscription is particularly glaring, you stand a chance to get “a corrective cover up” at no extra cost, thanks to a new campaign from language learning service Duolingo, to mark World Tattoo Day.  Regardless, be sure to check out the rib-tickling campaign video.