Sorry cupcake fanatics, but I’m kinda over trawling through what seems like infinite articles on bacon and cupcakes.

I’m ready for a new food fads!

Well, apparently “artisan marshmallows” are forecasted to be the sweet food craze of 2012. Recently featured by ABC’s The Chew where they featured a whopping two-pound s’mores-flavoured marshmallow by Plush Puffs as part of their feature looking at “the newest sweet fashion.”

The Plush Puffs site reveals they’ve been getting a lot of media attention lately. They say their vision is: “To offer the highest quality, all natural, intensely flavored marshmallows ever. This is a marshmallow that is not only good enough to eat on its own, but amazing when melted in hot drinks, used in any number of recipes and/or roasting applications.  Each flavor is actually intensified when it is roasted. Quite simply: we want to provide a product that delights the senses.”

When you think of a food that’s a good Pacifiers™ example, marshmallows are a good fit. They make you recall childhood around a cozy campfire and yummy, warming cups of hot cocoa. The essence of this wave is things that soothe and comfort. When you bite down on these fluffy little pillows perhaps the Human Truth™ of Pacifiers™ happens to you: “Make the world go away.”™

Anyway, this time Prada has reached back to the Fifties with classic American automobile inspired imagery. While I’m not on board with this, there’s no doubt it’s causing buzz. “With classic car details appearing on their leather handbags, shoes, eyewear and many of their textiles, the new collection has “gotten engines running.”

The Los Angeleno Rock-a-billies have been doing the punk version of this look for decades!

Well, Prada’s not the only luxury brand that’s looking backwards to go forward. Check out the Absolut Vodkas’ lovely art deco style bottles inspired by the heritage of Savile Row’s iconic pinstripe tailoring. The hand-blown, hand-cut and hand-engraved bottle design is way out of most people’s leagues. Only 800 of the clear crystal bottles and a very limited number of the black crystal bottles -only 10- have been made and are priced at $1500 and $10,000 respectively. Prices that only a pin-stripe suit wearing gangster could afford?

The Time Travel™ wave is about looking to the past for familiarity, and in this case: Inspiration. The Human Truth is “By using the past a sanctuary, I feel more connected to to others.”™

Perhaps it’s just personal preference, in fact -it is, but I’ve always been more impressed with products, brands and services that look forward instead of back. Whatever works I suppose!

Ok whatever.  Lets look at some amazing advances in public transportation from “somewhere else”.

“China has made a momentous step forward for public transportation by unveiling the world’s largest bus – the Youngman JNP6250G. The megabus Superliner is 13 meters longer than regular city buses, and it can transport up to 300 passengers in a single trip. A fleet of the new buses will make up the Bus Rapid Transit service in both Beijing and Hangzhou, where populations are high and urban living creates great demand for public transportation systems. The sprawling bus is 82 feet long, and its top speed is only around 50 mph. While other methods of green transportation are faster, the megabus hardly crawls down the highway. Inside, the megabus is much more comfortable and also more wheelchair friendly. The aisles are widened for navigability, and a pavement level step makes wheelchair boarding much easier and faster. 40 regular seats line the bus, and five doors make it easy to enter and exit the vehicle.”

London has also upgraded their iconic red double deckers:

“The new version of the iconic bus features two staircases and three doors – enabling travelers to once again hop on and off whenever they want! Apparently the new bus will also be fuel efficient, saving 15% more energy than the existing hybrid buses and 40% more than the conventional diesel versions.”

I LOVE the asymmetrical design of these big reds!! The designer Thomas Heatherwick said:

“It has been 50 years since a bus was last designed and commissioned specifically for London. This has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a team to look again at the opportunities for a new open-platform bus. It has been an honor to be asked by London’s transport authority to take an integrated approach and design everything that you see and experience from the outside down to the tiniest details of the interior.”

Green Hot™ is, of course, about protecting the planet. I think it’s great that design that also looks “hot” is often part of the equation these days.

Look, I know there are incredibly varying studies out there about the links to the effects of gaming and a propensity for violence.  For example, you couldn’t get more contradictory that this one with the headline “Violent Video Games Alter Men’s Brains” and “Violent games don’t compel gamers to commit violent acts, researchers say.”

But regardless of those studies this really reeks of grooming our kids and young adults for service. Ask former Army paratrooper and author D.B. Grady, who took aim at the peripherals move, telling AdFreak: “There is something vulgar about the Army dropping all pretense and stamping its logo on [gaming accessories]. I can’t think of a single redeeming aspect to these products, and have to believe them to be some kind of elaborate practical joke. Otherwise even the most cynical of military critics will in some way be proven right.”

On top of this, there’s also the “Army Experience Center” with it’s hip and modern, with giant plasma screen televisions, brushed stainless steel fixtures, interactive displays, helicopter and Humvee simulators, a gaming area and cafe, nestled in a philadelphia mall across from Dave & Busters.

The Shielding™ wave is often filled with things that could be deemed as over reactions to perceived threats, but in this case I think the Human Truth rings true: “It’s not paranoia if somethings really out to get you.” It seems the US Army makes no bones about the fact they are “out to get” our teens.  One could totally argue that the point of marketing and branding is to increase attention and retention at all costs.   I just can’t help but feel the same way that “hard selling” junk food to kids and the commercialization of childhood makes me feel… It’s too strong.

“U.S. Census data projects that the last of the Baby Boomers will turn 65 in 2029, making up 16% of the total population. And now a suit — called AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System) — created by researchers at MIT’s AgeLab, can simulate old age. The suit can be worn by students, product developers and engineers for the sake of better design. Heavy helmets, neck braces and yellow-tinged glasses create the feeling of achey joints, limited mobility and blurred vision.”

The people who wear the AGNES suit get to feel what it’s like to have limited mobility in order to have a true understanding of the needs of our aged population.

Tesco is putting these kind of insights into effect by developing “Seniors Supermarkets”:

“The slow-tempo music fills the air as customers edge their way across the nonslip floor towards the extra-wide aisles. The shop’s overhead lighting is brighter, the shelves fitted with steps and there’s even the chance of a relaxing massage to ease away any trolley rage. This is the Seniors Supermarket – a European success story set to revolutionise the way silver shoppers buy their groceries.”

The Living Vicariously™ wave is about having an experience that doesn’t have drastic consequences. I’m sure after wearing these suits for a while, the students are very glad they can take them off …something I bet our senior citizens wish they could do.

So when I saw this cool Neverending Story-themed E-Reader cover from Etsy seller GrimcatProductions., I felt all nostalgic.

Hand-crafted from leather and suede, bound with filigree, and embellished with an AURYN. $58.95.”

The Time Travel™ wave is all about that warm fuzzy feeling. It’s about looking back fondly, and the sense of safety that comes along with the familiar. The Human Truth™ is: “By using the past as a sanctuary, I feel more connected to others.”™ This design has the effect of making a modern gadget feel warm and almost antique. As far as “connecting to others”, this is definitely a conversation starter at the coffee house.

So what are we talking about? Chocolate- but not just any chocolate, let me count the many ways this makes misanthropic roomates from the Mid-West roll their eyes:

It’s the first chocolate to be certified organic

It uses cocoa from Rainforest Alliance farms

It’s certified Vegan

It’s Kosher

It’s gluten free

Donates 20% of their net profits to intentional causes.

and this is the big whammy: It’s special ingredient is “Intentions” ie: good vibes have been embedded into the chocolates.

“The chocolates embedded with this new ingredient “Intention” have been shown to significantly decrease stress, increase calmness, and lessen fatigue in those who consume it. With the introduction of this groundbreaking new product, creator and founder Jim Walsh aims to create an entirely new category of chocolate that both enhances its already beneficial qualities and brings our understanding of nutrition to another level. Breakthrough licensed technology helps embed the focused good intentions of experienced meditators and then infuses those intentions into chocolate — some who have trained with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama himself stated, “I think this chocolate will bring great happiness to mankind.” Their hope with Intentional Chocolate™ is to reintroduce this ancient wisdom and galvanize a shift in the food industry to bring greater health and food that restores us, renews us and heals us.”

So I think you’ll agree that this chocolate brand is a perfect example of Flexible Flux™. The Human Truth™ of this wave is: “I want some good stuff even in my bad stuff.”™ It’s about letting yourself off the hook. We generally think of chocolate as a naughty indulgence, but this Intentional Chocolate™ is appealing to our higher order thinking. It’s helping people manage their internal approval by letting them feel “right” while being a little “wrong”.  Apparently it tastes amazing – so it might just work it’s magic on my roomate after all!

I hate to get all 99% up in here, but what about the “everyman”? Surely these carriers can throw coach travelers a bone?

Well, as much as it pains my Aussie heritage to give kudos to Kiwis, I’ve got to hand it to Air New Zealand who has launched a way for economy passengers to lie flat. Yay!

As someone who is well acquainted with the arduous LA to Australia 17+hr flight, I can tell you: this is a big deal.

“Beginning next year, money-conscious long-haul travelers can take “cuddle class” and book a row of seats that convert into a couch or bed. Planned by Air New Zealand for trans-Pacific flights, the “Skycouch” is a row of three regular seats redesigned to create a space for children to play or a flat surface for adults to relax and sleep. The upgraded seating configuration, to be fitted in the carrier’s new fleet of Boeing 777-300 aircraft, will cost the price of two standard economy seats plus half-price for the third seat in the row. They will be big enough to accommodate a couple or a family with a small child.”

The First-Class innovations are certainly at home in the Private Pampering™ wave, but the “Skycouch” is definitely an example of Pacifiers™. The Pacifiers™ wave is about things that soothe and comfort. I can’t tell you how many positions I have tried to get comfortable in on those long flights, to no avail. The Human Truth™ of this wave is: “Make the world go away.”™

When it comes to flying coach with crying babies, couching old people and unruly kids… yes, that Human Truth™ almost becomes a mantra.

They set up a facebook page that will pair you up with someone else that’s wants it, then once you purchase, they make it look like it came from them. It will arrive gift wrapped and it even comes with a personalized card.

Not only is this a humorous way to sell a product,  it also builds a community of people who are into the brand. It’s an example worthy of the Living Vicariously™ wave. This is where we find things that are a kind of a “back up plan”. It’s about relying on substitutes to make us feel better. In this case, Heineken are helping you feel better about your “self-gifting” in a fun way. Click here to learn more about “Beerfriending”.

Yes, I want to quit soon… blah blah blah. I have also lived in Australia where we are inflicted with the most graphic, horrendous images every time we purchase a packet. That’s why I was quite interested to see that an American judge blocked a federal requirement that would have begun forcing tobacco companies to put graphic images on their cigarette packages recently.

“U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that it’s likely the cigarette makers will succeed in a lawsuit to block the requirement. He stopped the requirement until the lawsuit is resolved, which could take years. Leon found the nine graphic images approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June go beyond conveying the facts about the health risks of smoking or go beyond that into advocacy — a critical distinction in a case over free speech.”

It’s become a fun little quiz that I do lately. I ask people in the US how much they think a packet of cigarettes costs in Australia. I pass around the room and listen to their guesses. No-one gets close. When I tell them between $16 and $19… I watch the jaws drop. I say: “When you have a public health care system- you make the unhealthy citizens pay for it!” And the graphic “warning” images are part and parcel of the push to stop you buying that packet.

It made me think that it’s almost un-American to have a product that is trying to dissuade you to buy it. It goes against every advertising principle! So I “get” why this is an issue here. Couple that, with the resistance to universal healthcare and it becomes clear to me that it’s less about “free speech” or protecting us from gory images and more about capitalism.

The Shielding™ wave is about reacting to fear. As an (albeit light) smoker I can’t deny that I worry about the effect cigs have on my health. The hideous images I get on Australian packets are gross. I remember requesting a different packet when I got one with a bleeding brain because my friend had just passed from an aneurysm.

So does it work? No.

Nicotine addiction is stronger than graphic images. But in the long run those images probably do have a subconscious affect, because I always feel the need to explain that I’m planning on quitting soon.

The Human Truth™ of this wave is: “It’s not paranoia if something’s really out to get you.”™ There’s no denying cigarettes are “out to get” the smoker. I just wonder what could be the next extension of that?   A photo of a disgustingly obese person on the packaging of my Big Mac? A beer with a car crash on the label?

All I know is, the guilt is usually inherent regardless of scary packaging. Yet, in the moment… the moment of really wanting it… you’re going to buy it anyway.