Dove has teamed with Lizzo to promote its global campaign, "The Selfie Talk," which encourages parents to use the brand's "Confidence Kit" to address negative feelings girls might have about their appearance due to unrealistic portrayals and pressure on social media. A "Reverse Selfie" spot shows the amount of editing that goes into creating social selfies by reversing one girl's actions, and revealing the emotions that started the process.

Sid Lee USA created a "Get a Dos" campaign for Dos Equis that features a 30-second "Pregame" launch spot showing friends getting ready to meet each other for a night out in a bar -- but fashion and grooming missteps abound as everyone is out of the habit. "We'll get the hang of it. A Dos of comeback," copy reads.

Argonaut's global campaign for Fitbit encourages people to "shift the patterns" and take a holistic approach to their health. The push starts with two spots and out-of-home work, with Argonaut's Hunter Hindman saying it shows "how Fitbit is the only platform that helps you recognize and shift your patterns with small steps, to ensure that, as we open up and return to the world, we fit ourselves in."

Research by The Unstereotype Alliance and Kantar reveals that advertising that progressively portrays women and men performs better, and ads that have a higher "Unstereotype Metric" increase purchase intent, enjoyment and brand credibility. "When brands paint an inclusive and diverse picture of society, they play a role in redefining what is considered mainstream," says Unilever's Aline Santos, one of the founders of The Unstereotype Alliance.

Social media platforms present the biggest accessibility difficulties for people with any disability across four categories in a study by IPG Mediabrands Magna -- visual, hearing, speech and cognitive. "This audience is consuming a lot of content, so brands need to ensure they put in the work to make communications more accessible," says Magna Global's Kara Manatt.

A Society for Human Resource Management survey found 62% of Americans in the workforce oppose a government-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, although employer-mandated vaccinations received 52% support. Remote workers were more likely to back a government requirement than on-site workers.

Corey Newman
Executive VP, Strategy + Innovation Director
Deutsch NY
Now is our chance to be more sustainable as brands and marketers. Marketing sustainability is already en vogue. Just today you have probably seen something about a "clean" brand doing something new. This emphasis on transparency is good for both brand and public -- especially when done as earnestly as possible. It's a new superpower marketers are exploring: "What if our marketing team pushed our leadership and product development team to clean things up, so we can tell the right feel-good story?" We can't step on the brakes now -- customers now expect sustainability, and their expectations will only mount as uncertainty and environmental challenges become more salient.

Snap's advancing technology during the pandemic propelled its augmented reality capabilities from an entertainment tool to a revenue generator for brands such as Estee Lauder and Gucci Beauty. Snap's latest hand-tracking technology is expected to expand its appeal among vertical businesses with applications such as clothing and jewelry try-ons, and Manning Gottlieb OMD's Phaedra Poulimenou says the "possibilities are endless when brands think creatively."