New year’s trends
Want to get into the mind of the average consumer? Advertising agency J. Walter Thompson recently released its report on trends for 2008 — those cutting-edge shifts in thinking that are supposed to drive consumer behavior.
So, what’s in for the new year?
So long, Kermit; hello, Grover
Blue, for one thing. According to JWT, “blue is the new green.” Apparently, with climate change being the latest environmental zeitgeist, and people associating climate with “the seas and the sky,” blue will be red hot.
For those of you who just bought a lime-green sofa or decided to go with hunter-green drapes, take comfort in the fact that green is expected “to become a subset of ‘blue’” — whatever that means.
Selling genetics along with Viagra
Also hip for the new year are advances in genetic testing. With scientists having recently “isolated genetic variations that are strongly linked to coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and several mental disorders.”
That’s all well and good, but JWT says to expect in the next few years for commercials on genetic testing “to crop up alongside pharmaceutical ads.” Egad. One is left to wonder what sort of disclaimers THOSE ads will have.
Sharing — to the nth degree
JWT also foresees a cooperative consumption taking hold of consumers, noting that “fractional ownership is moving beyond the shared planes of the jet-setting elite. The masses are already sharing everything from art to cars to designer handbags, and as technology for pooling demand and resources becomes increasingly sophisticated, this model will be applied to an even wider range of categories.”
What’s next — timeshare pets?
These clothes are the bomb
There are clothes to protect one from exposure to the sun, clothes that will wick away moisture and even clothes that will keep the stench of body odor to a bare minimum. Now, Radiation Shield Technologies of Miami, Fla., offers the latest in “personal radiation protection” with Demron, “the world’s first nuclear radiation-blocking fabric.”
An advanced radiopaque nano-polymeric compound fused between layers of fabric, Demron has been designed into full-body suits, blankets and tactical vests for military and emergency first-responders as well as collars and aprons for the medical community.
“Demron is a liquid metal that feels like fabric and is cool to the touch,” said Dr. Ronald DeMeo, the surgeon who developed Demron and president and chief executive of Radiation Shield Technologies. “… Demron is a lead-free, toxin-free and PVC-free nuclear-blocking material that allows heat dissipation and resists chemical permeation and cracks.”
Yeah, but is it fire retardant?
— Kimberly Hilden, SCBJ Assistant Editor
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