Heinz Tomato Blood, Women Returning To Work and How To Get Into College | Non-Obvious Insights #293

Dear Newsletterest,

It's hard to believe we're almost into November! This week I'm deep into college applications with my son, doing final edits on a soon to be released new speaker video and prepping for the launch of Beyond Diversity in less than two weeks. Not to mention reading hundreds of stories as I always do to pick the most fascinating and useful of the week to share with you!

In this week's email you'll read about the science of playing longer as we age, Heinz's Tomato Blood Ketchup, why it can be toxic to brand your workplace as a "family," the hidden meaning behind that seemingly frivolous lawsuit against Pop-Tarts, and how Jean Paul Gautier created a new clothing rental platform to recycle fashion from the 80s and 90s. Enjoy the stories!

PS - If you happen to be doing the college application thing right now, you might want to rewatch my interview from last year with Jeff Selingo about "Who Gets In and Why" >>

How Long Can We Play As We Get Older?

"Today’s sports heroes play longer and better than ever before. They benefit not only from the inherent genetic advantage of all great athletes, but also from decades of elite training, cutting-edge treatments and the time and money to enact them."

Every athlete who does the impossible at an improbable age sends us a message. Whether it's the idea of anti-aging or simply remaining healthy for longer, many of us expect to play longer as we grow older. As this story from Sports Illustrated explores, helping people be able to play for longer is a multi-billion dollar industry that will continue to grow. So is there a secret to staying healthy enough to enjoy the sports we love as we get older? The closest that science and the writer of the piece seem to get is some relatively obvious advice: Exercise, but not too much. Focus on your core. Listen to your body.

I suppose sometimes it's the most obvious guidance that is the hardest to remember to follow.

Heinz Officially Launches Tomato Blood In Time For Halloween

Heinz knows you use ketchup for blood on Halloween - but they are finally embracing the condiment/makeup crossover market. This year, you can buy your own Tomato Blood Costume Kit, and if you are in LA they even have a pop-up Halloween Store where shoppers can "start decorating costumes at the store's interactive drip stations." The entire campaign is pulled together with the clever tagline: "If you have Heinz, you have a costume." This is one of those rare examples of something that seems to have started as a one-time creative campaign last year, and transformed into what should become an annual tradition for Heinz. When you are marketing a commodity like ketchup, you have to take any chance at attention you can get.

New Survey Finds 2 in 3 Women Who Left Workforce During Covid Plan to Return, Demanding More Flexibility

One of the most widely covered cultural impacts of the pandemic was the record number of women who left the workforce. This week a new survey released by MetLife offered some interesting findings about how some of them may be returning. Aside from the headline stat that "2 in 3 women who’ve been forced out of work say they plan to return," the survey also found that women are "overwhelmingly looking for more flexibility (78%)" and that more than half have considered a career change altogether.

Why You Shouldn't Try To Brand Your Workplace As A "Family"

What if branding your workplace as a "family" ended up creating more harm than good? We often hear that the best work cultures are the ones that foster more human and authentic connections between people. I have frequently written about that myself. This article from HBR gave me a reason to question that assumption. As the writer notes:

"Numerous examples and research show that overly loyal people are more likely to participate in unethical acts to keep their jobs and are also more likely to be exploited by their employer. These could manifest as being asked to work unreasonable hours or on projects or assignments unrelated to your role, or keeping things under wraps because it is in the company’s (read: family) best interest."

So family is good when it allows a team to bond and collaborate, but taken too far - it may result in compliance and blind allegiance that compromises ethics or leads to exploitation. That's not a perspective that we often hear when it comes to management advice.

The Hidden Meaning Behind That "Silly" Lawsuit About Pop-Tarts

If you already heard this story, you probably laughed about it. A woman is suing Kellogg's, alleging that "Kellogg’s strawberry Pop-Tarts falsely claim to have more strawberries than they actually do." Based on the facts, she's right: the product's packaging lists dried pears and apples before mentioning strawberries. On the surface, this seems like yet another get-rich-quick frivolous lawsuit from another greedy American trying to exploit the system. The woman suing (and her lawyers) claim to be taking a stand against the problem of food companies deceptively marketing products, and that is what most media about the story have been reporting.

There is a detail here, though, that seems to be getting overlooked. Consumers are getting angry. The more stories people read about record corporate profits or staggering obesity issues or constant media/ad noise, the more angry they get. This fury is starting to explode and it's going to continue. Sometimes in the form of lawsuits, sometimes in worker-led revolts or walkouts, and sometimes through consumer boycotts. For any brand hoping to avoid the backlash, there is only one reliable solution: bring more truth and transparency.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Every week I always curate more stories than I'm able to explore in detail. In case you're looking for some more reading this week, here are a few other stories that captured my attention ...

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Want to discuss how I could bring this thinking to your next event as a virtual speaker? Visit my speaking page to watch my new 2021 sizzle reel >>

Get Your Copy of Beyond Diversity ...

My latest book explores what it takes to create a more diverse and inclusive world. The book features the voices of more than 200 amazing people and is co-authored by inclusion expert Jennifer Brown. Be among the first to get an exclusive sneak preview of the book!

Get a FREE Excerpt >>

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Heinz Tomato Blood, Women Returning To Work and How To Get Into College | Non-Obvious Insights #293

How Long Can We Play As We Get Older?

Heinz Officially Launches Tomato Blood In Time For Halloween

New Survey Finds 2 in 3 Women Who Left Workforce During Covid Plan to Return, Demanding More Flexibility

Why You Shouldn't Try To Brand Your Workplace As A "Family"

The Hidden Meaning Behind That "Silly" Lawsuit About Pop-Tarts

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Older messages

Showing Censored Art, Learning Innovation From Package Design and a SXSW 2022 Announcement | Non-Obvious Insights #292

Why Visualizations Fail, Making Baseball Less Boring and Secrets of Squid Game | Non-Obvious Insights #291

The Decline of Clubhouse, Dubai World Expo Highlights and Why Marketers Are To Blame For Facebook's Choices | Non-Obvious Insights #290

ICYMI: Finishing Beethoven's Lost Symphony, the Internet Blackout and the Ultimate Writing Keyboard | Non-Obvious Insights #289

Finishing Beethoven's Lost Symphony, the Internet Blackout and the Ultimate Writing Keyboard | Non-Obvious Insights #289

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