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OpenAI just announced a major upgrade to its flagship product. Judging from demo videos, GPT-4o ('o' for omni) will bring unprecedented levels of natural conversation to ChatGPT. While previous versions of the app's voice mode featured a noticeable lag, the new model takes an average of 320 milliseconds to respond to audio inputs, approaching the speed of real-time human conversation. It's also able to react to video input, express emotion, crack jokes and interpret tone and sentiment in a speaker's voice.

As OpenAI CEO Sam Altman notes in a blog post following the announcement, "... the new voice (and video) mode is the best computer interface I've ever used. It feels like AI from the movies; and it's still a bit surprising to me that it's real. Getting to human-level response times and expressiveness turns out to be a big change. The original ChatGPT showed a hint of what was possible with language interfaces; this new thing feels viscerally different."

Hardly a coincidence, then, that the female voice in OpenAI's demos bears a striking resemblance to Scarlett Johansson...

Even if your products don't include 🥤👗🧴 and your brand isn't one of the top polluters like The Coca-Cola Company (11%), PepsiCo (5%) and Nestlé (3%), keep reading anyway... 🤓

Historically, the burden of dealing with plastic waste and pollution has been unfairly placed on consumers. But, as young and old alike grow increasingly skeptical of climate actions, their call for robust regulations is intensifying. Enter the UN global plastic treaty, slated to be nailed down by late 2024. This pact will mandate action across the entire lifecycle of plastics, from extraction of fossil fuels to end-of-use disposal.

Instead of waiting for nations to agree on how to tackle plastic pollution, start scrutinizing your products and packaging today. How could your brand ditch single-use and reimagine long-lived plastics?

Hail storms are unpredictable, often striking hyperlocally with unexpected force. When they descend on a field of leafy greens, the perforations caused by hailstones can render a harvest unsellable.

When a large-scale spinach producer in the Netherlands recently saw a potential harvest damaged by a spring storm, the country's main supermarket chain came to the rescue. Instead of rejecting the spinach because of its visual imperfections — standard practice in the grocery industry — Albert Heijn purchased and packaged the crop. The retailer added a label for shoppers, explaining that some of the spinach leaves had suffered hail damage, making them slightly less attractive but equally delicious.

Writing off crops for not meeting rigid aesthetic standards is a major cause of food waste. Supermarkets have conditioned consumers to expect perfection in fruits and vegetables. By implementing a simple act like Albert Heijn's stickers, they can now help reshape those norms, saving massive amounts of (im)perfectly good produce.

A particularly controversial use of generative AI has emerged among Asian consumers — ‘bringing back’ the dead for purposes that range from personal to political. During election season in India, former movie star-turned-political hopeful Vijay Vasanth released an AI-manipulated video of his late father, H. Vasanth Kumar, endorsing his candidacy. H. Vasanth Kumar, who died in 2020 from COVID-19, was a well-known local businessman and former parliamentary representative, making his posthumous appearance particularly impactful.

In China and Taiwan, start-ups are developing consumer-facing apps that use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to recreate the personas of deceased individuals and pets. These AI chatbots allow users to engage with their lost loved ones for comfort and closure. It particularly resonates with consumers in markets where governments keep tight controls over religion and spirituality, therefore limiting traditional avenues for people to deal with bereavement and ‘the afterlife.’

The application of AI to ‘recreate’ deceased individuals highlights some of the most fundamental questions surrounding the use of AI. From an ethical perspective, how will the blurred lines between real and artificial impact human psyches and interactions? At the regulatory level, how can governments prevent misuse without stifling innovation?

Extreme heat has been affecting large regions of Asia in recent weeks. Countries are recording all-time high temperatures, and the heatwave has taken a hefty toll on human and animal lives. In response, governments and brands are launching immediate crisis management measures.

In the Philippines, Valenzuela's municipal government introduced free mobile showers to combat excessive heat and water shortages. The mobile showers make stops at different neighborhoods, allowing citizens experiencing water shortages to cool off and freshen up free of charge.

McDonald's Philippines is also bringing back its Night Classroom initiative. Nationwide, 107 McDonald’s outlets will serve as study hubs until 4 a.m. daily until the end of the month. Dedicated areas within each restaurant are outfitted with wide tables, appropriate lighting, charging stations and free unlimited Wi-Fi — offering students an air-conditioned environment for post-school study sessions.

The World Meteorological Organization reported that Asia is the world’s most disaster-prone region amidst accelerating global warming. Besides short-term mitigation, long-term systemic solutions are urgently needed. For example, Singapore's government plans to coat buildings with reflective paint, after a study from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU) found that it cools urban areas by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celcius.

From repurposing branded spaces to rethinking infrastructure planning, what role might you play in helping consumers and communities cope with a hotter planet?

Yesterday, we spotlighted a campaign by Heinz focused on helping immigrants to Brazil. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have been displaced internally by devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul. It's the worst natural disaster the state has ever seen. A cruel irony of flooding is that it's often paired with a critical shortage of drinking water, which is now the case in Brazil.

Coming to the aid of large swathes of the population struggling to access potable water, brewing behemoth Ambev stopped production of beer at its Viamão plant and switched to bottling water. It purchased new equipment to ramp up production and is partnering with Ball Corporation, which donated cans. Distribution just got started. As of yesterday, the company had already donated 560,000 liters; going forward, it will produce over 850,000 cans of 473 ml of water daily. 

Brands are uniquely positioned to act as first responders in times of crisis, leveraging their resources, infrastructure and reach to provide critical aid. Their swift action can make a significant impact, offering not just relief but also hope to affected communities. With extreme weather events on the rise across the globe, the need for similar interventions will only become more frequent. Has your company dedicated time and energy to imagining how it might respond?

While AI image generation tools offer vast and exciting possibilities, the shadows of deepfakes, opacity and bias also loom large. As the line between real and artificial blurs, consumers demand authenticity and transparency. Nearly nine in ten agree with the statement "It's important that an image is authentic," and 78% affirm that "It's getting to the point where I can't tell if an image is real."

Those numbers are from a new report by Getty Images, Building Trust in the Age of AI. Getty summarizes its findings as follows:

• People don't want to feel that they have been fooled or lied to — 98% of consumers agree that 'authentic' images and videos are pivotal in establishing trust
• Industries with high levels of consumer trust such as healthcare/pharmaceuticals, financial services, and travel are increasingly expected to be transparent
• People feel less favorably towards brands that are using AI generated visuals to create people or products

Considering initiatives like Snapchat's AI labels and OpenAI working on detection tools for images created with DALL-E, what's your 360° strategy for AI transparency?

Heinz, the iconic condiment brand, has launched a new program to assist immigrants in Brazil with the process of becoming naturalized citizens. With Reviews For Naturalization, the brand is inviting customers at burger joints across the country to leave positive reviews about immigrant employees. 

With a record 710,000 refugees from nations like Venezuela, Afghanistan and Ukraine residing in Brazil as of 2024, many have found work in the restaurant industry. However, obtaining letters of recommendation from employers can be challenging for newcomers who lack established professional networks and may struggle with language barriers. Stating that "All are welcome at this table," Heinz's program seeks to transform customer reviews into letters that can be submitted as part of naturalization applications.

The concept emerged from Heinz's existing relationships with burger restaurants, which employ a significant refugee workforce. Patrons are encouraged to leave reviews focusing on individual immigrant staff members' service and work ethic. A glowing review about a "friendly server from Haiti" or a "diligent line cook from Syria" could help that employee demonstrate valuable skills and community integration to immigration authorities, potentially cutting bureaucracy time by half.

Reviews For Naturalization — developed with creative agency Africa and two years in the making — positions Heinz as a brand committed to hospitality for all, regardless of background or circumstance. As displaced people frequently face hostility and barriers, how could your brand aid them with similarly practical tools? Like Heinz, could you involve your customers in reinforcing an ethos of community and support?

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, 27% of people over 15 are excluded from formal financial services, and only 30% have obtained a loan from a financial entity in the past year.

Aiming to help unbanked and underbanked people level up, Ecuador-based Banco del Pacífico has found a novel way for them to build their credit scores. With 'Banca Gamer,' the bank now recognizes assets held in gaming accounts — think skins and other collectibles with monetary value — as collateral for securing a loan.

To broaden your brand's reach, why not follow Banco del Pacífico's lead and embrace a wider definition of savings and investments? Which untapped digital assets do your (potential) customers hold?

Earlier in 2024, The Guardian launched Reclaim your brain, a free email aimed at helping readers spend less time on their phones. The newsletter is a five-week coaching program with evidence-based assignments and readers are coached by science journalist Caroline Phinney, who wrote 'How to Break Up with Your Phone' back in 2018. 

As reported by NiemanLab, "the newsletter quickly garnered 100,000 sign-ups" and became The Guardian's fastest-growing newsletter ever.

Two hours a day spent scrolling through Instagram and TikTok adds up to a whopping 30 days a year. People are increasingly aware of the vast amount of time they dedicate to their screens. As their unease deepens (along with aches in necks and shoulders), many are seeking ways to proactively manage their digital consumption rather than being passively overwhelmed by it.

Brands have countless opportunities to help customers slash their screen time and boost their wellbeing. From making apps less addictive and sending fewer promotional emails, to providing customers with delightful things to get up to IRL. Whose side will you be on...?

On World Book Day this year, Audi Spain took a creative approach to an age-old problem — nobody actually reads the owner's manual for their car. The German automaker teamed up with Penguin Random House to merge dry, technical manuals with captivating short stories. Seven Spanish authors were tasked with writing original pieces of fiction incorporating specific words and phrases from Audi's manuals — Novelas de Manual.

The result is a series of stories ranging from tales of World War II to musings on modern romance, each punctuated with highlighted words that allow the reader to jump to explanations of their vehicle's features and functions. For example, a story about "The Day Alicia Sabater Died" connects to information about replenishing brake fluid. The campaign was developed for Audi by Ogilvy and marks the fourth time the two have celebrated Book Day with literary projects. Previous initiatives included crowdsourcing stories that hadn't yet been written and transforming customer service anecdotes into fictional narratives. 

One hundred and fifty-four. That’s how many times members of Gen Z pick up their phone every day. In a world that often feels overwhelming, phones offer escapism. They promise to alleviate FOMO or provide an illusion of control. But do they really help? More often than not, no. Most online spaces don’t offer respite; they simply add to the noise and many are addictive by design.

Gen Z — both your consumer base and your workforce — needs strategies to declutter their digital lives, calm their minds and reengage authentically with the world.

In April 2024, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation launched the Second Life Helmet campaign to enhance motorcycle safety awareness. New motorcycle buyers at 32 participating shops received a helmet accompanied by a poignant reminder — a sticker narrating the story of the previous owner, who passed away in a fatal accident. The helmets weren't involved in crashes because the drivers weren't wearing them. Donated by the families of deceased riders, the protective headgear is meant to encourage consistent use among motorcyclists.

In Thailand, around 12,000 people die in crashes each year, with nearly three-quarters of those fatalities involving riders of motorbikes and motorcycles. Just 45 percent of Thai motorcyclists wear helmets, a figure experts describe as unacceptably low given the outsize risk of severe head injuries that even low-speed crashes can bring. Many Thais forgo protection for short rides, but safety advocates counter that fatalities can occur regardless of trip length, lending urgency to campaigns promoting helmet use.

The Seoul Dog Patrol Program is a voluntary citizen initiative where teams of dogs and their owners are appointed to watch for and report any suspected safety risks to authorities while going on walks in their neighborhood. Dog owners who sign up for the program have to undergo screening, followed by training on safety precautions and what to look out for during patrols. 

Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the initiative started in 2022 with just 64 teams. In 2023, the program grew to 1000+ teams, who carried out over 48,000 patrol activities and reported more than 2,600 neighborhood safety risks — such as damaged facilities or people who appear to be intoxicated. The 2024 program kicked off this week with over 1,400 teams. This year, the goal is to expand to 2,000 teams and focus on preventing crime, ensuring the safety of women returning home late at night, and promoting responsible pet ownership.

Narrowly-defined beauty standards impact not just adults, but children as young as four. Research by Haleon, parent company of toothpaste brand Aquafresh, found that nearly half of British children aged 4 to 11 have suffered from low confidence because of how their teeth look — which is to say, not like a set of flawless, Hollywood-style pearly whites.

Rachel Deans, VP & Global Business Leader of Oral Health at Haleon points out: "The perfectly straight, white smile is on show in every movie we watch, every sports star we admire and gleaming through our phone screens courtesy of a bevy of influencers."

In response, Aquafresh commissioned a series of portraits by British photographer Rankin, celebrating the gappy smiles and wonky teeth most kids flash as they transition from baby to adult teeth. The brand aims to redefine dental aesthetics as #justhealthyteeth.