Digital Digest – 30 April

In this week’s Digital Digest, we shine a light on Heineken’s trackside experiential F1 event, Dove’s campaign to highlight the damage caused by heavily editing selfies and the sight loss charity Guide Dogs’ latest ad campaign.

We then focus on big tech as Which? investigates ad scams, Facebook and Apple’s fallout over access to personal data and TikTok’s transparency centre.

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CAMPAIGNS OF THE WEEK

Heineken Creates F1 Trackside Experiential Event For Fans To Enjoy At Home

Heineken, the global partner of Formula One, has launched a competition for fans to win their very own Pit Wall Bar from home for the 2021 season. This unique experience is designed to imitate the Red Bull Racing Honda pit wall. The lucky fans will win the next best thing to being trackside, as The Pit Wall Bar comes complete with multiple screens to watch every angle of the action or race telemetry, Heineken® 0.0 on tap, racing team headphones and much, much more.

In a post covid environment, with most major sporting events still waiting to return to capacity, Heineken might have just struck gold.

Guide Dogs Celebrates 90th Anniversary with Animated Ad Campaign

The sight loss charity Guide Dogs turns to puppy power to mark its 90th anniversary. By utilising the animated charm of a cute labrador puppy to celebrate the work of its 14k strong volunteer army.

Using an animation style similar to Pixar, the advert features fictional puppy Flash who goes through the trials and tribulations of a year of training.

Created by Studio Kimchi, the main character is named after one of the first guide dog puppies raised in the UK in 1931. This campaign represents one of the largest advertising efforts ever undertaken by the sight loss charity.

Dove takes aim at digital distortion

Dove has launched a new campaign that highlights the damage caused by heavily-edited selfies on social media.

At the core of Dove’s campaign is a film titled ‘Reverse Selfie’ – a sequel to its 2006 campaign ad ‘Evolution’, which shone a light on the impossible beauty ideals of the advertising industry and media.

This campaign is a 2021 update, looking at the impact that editing apps have on the self esteem of young people, after Dove revealed that 85% of girls are using retouching apps and/or image ‘filters’ by the age of 13.

As we saw when an unedited image of Khloe Kardashian went viral, it is common practice for celebs to heavily edit their photos, setting unrealistic expectations for younger people who in turn edit their photos to hide their true and natural selves.

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BIG TECH

Which? Finds Big Tech Failing To Combat Scam Ads

Facebook and Google are failing to remove online scam adverts despite being reported by fraud victims, according to a new study by Which?

The group conducted a survey among 2,000 UK adults, in which participants were asked questions about their experiences with fake adverts. When the reporting is both clear and straightforward, as in the case of Facebook, users said they often don’t report because they don’t expect any action to be taken.

That applies to almost a third of Facebook users who had been scammed on the platform. A Google representative said that their teams constantly review accounts, ads and sites to ensure compliance with Google policies.

Facebook V Apple: The Ad Tracking Row Heats Up

A new feature has been introduced to iPhones and iPads which is causing a huge rift between Apple and Facebook. The feature allows device users to say no to having their data collected by apps.

Facebook has been put in a spin by this, because user data – and the advertising it can generate – is what makes the company so profitable. This update could deal a severe blow to its business model.

Facebook is not alone – advertisers across the board are now likely to lose access to large swaths of user data to which they previously had access.

TikTok to open ‘transparency and accountability centre’

TikTok is to open a ‘European Transparency and Accountability Centre’ in Ireland. Following a trend among big tech giants, the video platform will open its doors a little more to regulators, politicians and consumer concern groups. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Centre will initially operate virtually. TikTok plans to establish the centre in Ireland and aims to have it fully operational by 2022.

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SEEN ELSEWHERE

1. Unilever, PepsiCo, Shell and TUI join forces to improve black representation in UK marketing, after finding 42% of marketing professionals haven’t made any decisions to increase black representation in the past year.

2. Football’s boycott of social media – which now includes, but is not limited to, the Football Association, Premier League, EFL, PGMOL, Kick It Out, Women in Football, BT Sport and talkSPORT – continues to grow, with organisations suspending all use of their social media accounts from 3pm on Friday April 30 until 11.59pm on Monday May 3.

3. A landmark case alleging Google illegally tracked millions of iPhone users is now set for the Supreme Court. Two days of arguments will be heard, although a judgement is not expected for weeks.

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WORTH A READ

1. ‘Breaking Point: How Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook Became Foes’ by Mike Isaac and Jack Nicas for The New York Times.

2. ‘Five Steps For Lawyers To Improve Their Digital Marketing’ by Seth Price for Forbes.

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Under The Radar – 30 April

This week, we discuss

1. The UN’s failed attempt to kickstart negotiations to reunify Cyprus

2. Asda’s embrace of the circular economy

3. GCHQ’s new dyslexia recruitment drive

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The other two-state solution

What happened?

Following a three day summit in Geneva aimed at kickstarting formal negotiations to settle the Cyprus dispute, The UN have announced that there is still not enough common ground to resume formal talks.

What does it mean?

Cyprus is a strategic gem, perfectly situated at the intersection between Europe, Asia and Africa – even Britain does not want to give up its military bases there. As such, the issue of security has been a constant thorn throughout the entire peace process.

But now, the Turkish Cypriots, backed by Ankara, have thrown another spanner in the works by calling for a two-state solution rather than reunifying war-torn Cyprus. This move would see the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus achieve international recognition as a sovereign state, rather than occupied territory which is only recognised by the motherland.

Predictably, this plan has been outright rejected by the Greek Cypriots, who currently represent the entire island on the world stage. In their eyes, such a move would legitimise the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the island’s subsequent partition. They have consistently called for a Cypriot federation between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Although this often seemed like the most promising future for Cyprus, it has been rejected by President Tatar who argued that such a move would see Turks become minorities in a Greek ruled federation.

With the chasms widening, it is unclear when (or if) formal negotiations to end this dispute will ever get off the ground.

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Asda embrace the circular economy

What happened?

Asda will start selling second-hand clothes in fifty UK stores, following a successful trial in Leeds. The venture will see their ‘George’ brand join forces with specialist wholesaler Preloved Vintage Kilo to encourage customers to “buy vintage, retro and second-hand branded pieces, preventing thousands of tonnes of garments going to landfill each year”.

What does it mean?

Asda has aligned itself with two growing trends on both a consumer and business level. Consumers have increasingly embraced the value and visual aesthetics that can be found in second-hand clothes, whilst the sustainable benefits that come with it are becoming more relevant as environmental concerns grow in salience with the public.

For businesses, the need to demonstrate strong ESG credentials has never been more important. With this in mind, Asda’s decision to partner with Preloved Vintage Kilo – a company that has prevented more than 800 tonnes of clothing from going to landfill – makes a great deal of sense.

The move may well pave the way for an increase in footfall for the company – one that comes from a younger demographic that may otherwise be less inclined to purchase their clothes from Asda’s George brand at a time when designer clothes have never been more popular.

Whilst the attraction of preloved clothing to both consumers and businesses may be underpinned by parallel desires to portray a certain image – one of environmental consciousness in keeping with current trends – moves to embrace a circular economy, regardless of the motives, will be key to achieving global sustainability.

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DfE should keep its eyes on the spies

What happened?

GCHQ has confirmed that it actively seeks to recruit people with dyslexia and other neurological differences because it equips spies with the necessary skills to spot patterns in data.

What does it mean?

GCHQ’s apprentices are four times more likely to be dyslexic than those on other schemes. This statistic highlights how, unless workplaces make active efforts to hire neurodivergent employees, dyslexic candidates often fall through the cracks. Historic misunderstandings of neurological differences continue to be propagated by the current education system, which leaves many dyslexic children falling behind in their classes and graduating school with sub-optimal grades.

Harvard University published a study in 2011 which showed a link between dyslexia and visual processing abilities, as dyslexic students outperformed classmates in making sense of blurred images. Since that study, teachers have become increasingly aware of the unique capabilities of neurodivergent children in their classrooms thanks to initiatives to educate teachers on “dyslexic strengths”.

And yet, no matter how understanding teachers are, lesson plans are still dictated by the demands of national A-Level and GCSE exams. These assessments follow a strict format which rewards writing and the ability to stick to a rigid set of instructions above other cognitive skills.

The cancellation of exams during the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Government to rip up the playbook and rapidly create an alternative grading system. While everyone agrees that the past academic year was complete chaos, at the very least it showed that there are alternative ways of testing and measuring academic success.

It’s time our education system celebrated different ways of thinking.

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This Week’s Must Reads

1. ‘China’s government is starting to screw up’ by Noah Smith for Noah Opinion.

2. ‘The bold GB News ​bet on a Fox Nation business model’ by Alex Barker for the Financial Times.

3. ‘Bridging the Gulf: why Greece is making new friends in the Middle East’ by Richard Spencer for The Times.

4. ‘Are we ready for social media influencers shaping politics?’ by Joshua Citarella for The Guardian.

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Under The Radar – 23 April

This week, we discuss:

1. Boris Johnson’s ambitious climate targets

2. Russia’s withdrawal from the ISS

3. No.10’s move to cancel the proposed televised briefings

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Johnson’s Green Card

What happened?

This week, the UK government announced radical new commitments to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035.

Hitting the target will require changes to most industrial activity, including an electricity system that operates without generating carbon emissions, a reduction in meat and dairy consumption across the UK, low-carbon heating systems in homes and planting more woodland.

What does it mean?

While China and the U.S. battle for pre-eminence in climate leadership, Boris Johnson is keen to champion Britain’s credentials. And in the Prime Minister’s defence, he’s making significant progress.

The latest commitments are the most ambitious among leading economies because they incorporate our share of international aviation and shipping emissions. His effort is being met with similar commitments by world leaders, including Biden’s pledge to cut emissions by 50%.

While the UK’s contribution to global emissions is relatively small (1.1% as of 2017), Johnson is looking to persuade his counterparts that it’s possible to cut emissions while stimulating economic growth. This is a sound principle, which could involve less focus on carbon taxes – which antagonise and burden normal people – and more focus on retraining programmes and creating jobs.

Despite impressing on the international stage, Johnson could do a better job communicating his green agenda at home. While research suggests that over 50,000 green jobs could be created in Red Wall seats over the next two years, many in these areas are still concerned that the loss of existing industries will devastate their communities.

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Russia walks out on the ISS

What happened?

Russia has announced it will be withdrawing from the International Space Station (ISS) by 2025, ending more than two decades of cooperation with the US in space.

What does it mean?

The withdrawal is the culmination of increased clashes between Russia and the US – cyber-attacks, election meddling and geopolitical disputes over the Crimean Peninsula have all contributed to a steep decline in relations. Now, with space becoming the new battleground for global supremacy and strategic dominance, the two global superpowers are set to take diverging paths forward.

The US continues to expand its ‘Space Force’ ambitions through a blossoming partnership with Elon Musk’s Space X, which saw its first successful human space launch with NASA in 2020.

The US is also set to continue working with the European Space Agency aboard the ISS, whereas Russia is awaiting the green light from Putin to build its own space station in time for 2030. Coupled with the memorandum it signed with China last month to jointly build a base on the surface of the moon, it would appear the battle lines for space domination have now been drawn.

Though the impending rise of a new era of geopolitical space wars may seem trivial to some, others will rightly be feeling an unnerving sense of trepidation – a wrong turn, or a hostile act, could have devastating consequences for the critical satellite infrastructure above us, which provides everything from GPS technology to operating systems for nuclear weapons.

The battle for space dominance is more important than we realise.

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What a waste of money!

What happened?

After spending £2.6 million on a new briefing room, plans for televised White House-style press briefings at Downing Street have been abandoned.

Boris Johnson’s aide Allegra Stratton, who had been hired on an £100,000 salary to front the briefings, will become the spokeswoman for the COP26 climate summit instead.

What does it mean?

Masterminded by former Downing Street comms director, Lee Cain, and inspired by the Trump administration’s punchy comms strategy, the televised briefings were intended to reduce the influence of journalists and give politicians the chance to address the public directly. A noble aspiration for sure, but, from the get go, the idea was met with scepticism.

Televised briefings were important during the early stages of the pandemic, when it was crucial for ministers and experts to communicate why lockdown was necessary and the current state of public health. But with fewer updates to share, many No 10 insiders began to worry that these press briefings would become an opportunity for journalists to catch the Government out. And after unsuccessful rehearsals in January or February, many doubted whether Allegra Stratton was the right person to keep the “Gotcha!” moments at bay.

After months of kicking the start date down the road, No. 10 eventually put the press briefings out of their misery, sneaking the news of their cancellation into a day dominated by the European Super League. Despite this cancellation, ministers insist that the venue was not a waste of money, adding that the press facility would be used by future governments (assuming whichever party is in power is happy to be surrounded by Tory-blue panelling).

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This Week’s Must Reads

1. ‘One Reason Why the Super League Failed’ by Grace Robertson for Grace On Football

2. ‘Welcome to the YOLO Economy’ by Kevin Roose for The New York Times

3. ‘Jacinda Ardern is now the West’s woke weak link’ by Con Coughlin for The Telegraph

4. ‘Celebrating Derek Chauvin’s conviction is not enough. We want to live’ by Derecka Purnell for The Guardian

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