New Google ad explores power of questions, Instagram playing Favorites, luxury travel motivations shifting

The week in social media

Instagram has confirmed it’s developing a new ‘Favorites’ feature, which would give users the ability to select the accounts whose updates they would like to see at the top of their feed. Pinterest is further rolling out its in-app shopping features as social commerce takes off globally, and Zuckerberg has announced plans for WhatsApp to become “the modern-day Yellow Pages”, starting with a launch in São Paulo. 

Google ad on unifying power of questions

A new Google ad featuring Marcus Rashford, the “voice of change”, aims to show the importance of asking questions and being curious about difference. The film, Hands Raised, made in collaboration with Uncommon, explores the idea that seeking facts and demystifying the unknown can lead to greater social unity. It will run alongside a bespoke, celebrity-fronted YouTube activation focused on the theme of allyship.

Olay aims to #DecodetheBias

Skincare brand Olay is tackling beauty-related bias with its latest campaign. The hashtag #DecodetheBias takes aim at an exclusionary definition of beauty that is perpetuated by computer algorithms. Olay is sparking a conversation about the dangers of poor representation online and is committing to improving diversity where it’s greatly needed – in science, tech, engineering and maths (STEM). One of the reasons said to be behind this long-entrenched issue is that the majority of programmers in the US are white males, resulting in design with significant blind spots. The campaign coincides with National Coding Week and includes a partnership with the organisation Black Girls Code.

Abercrombie & Kent's luxury travel trends

Luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent has found that travellers are embracing the great outdoors over city breaks, as well as ‘edventure’ – trips based on new-found hobbies cultivated during lockdown. The affluent are seeking out new frontiers and places largely free of visitors, while at the same time showing eagerness to visit places that may in the future be affected by climate change. Founder Geoffrey Kent has ventured that one of the main motivations for travel in 2022 will be spending quality time with loved ones. “We saw a similar reaction after 9/11 when travelers began to value life experiences over luxury purchases, and I think we are going to see that again after this crisis.”