This week, in One Cool Thing

Appropriating the AI trend for impact

Croix-Rouge française expertly appropriated the global obsession with AI-generated imagery to deliver their much more human message. They cleverly played on the uncanny valley (the sense of unease in response to highly realistic, but ultimately fake imagery) of AI-generated scenes, to land a far more meaningful message than that of technological play. The result is a campaign that grabs your attention for one reason, and then spits you out with a whole new perspective by the time it’s done with you. Reminding us all, that while we marvel at the power of AI, people are our cohort, and more so that so many people are currently in situations we couldn’t believe while sat our own realities. 

Style across borders

Lacoste celebrated their 90th anniversary with a charming series of shorts that celebrates and connects their fans of all kinds under the moniker “Impossible Encounters”, building on their previous campaign “Unexpected Encounters”. Each film bridges a pair of subcultures in split-screen. This approach both highlights their differences of location and context, while simultaneously spotlighting the brand that connects them. A simple, powerful, concept — executed in style.

A partnership worth hearing about

Colgate & Steeden partnered up in a super-impactful way for those that play contact sport with a hearing implant. The problem being that traditional protective head gear fits flush against the skull to protect the wearer, however, for those with implants this also absorbs the vibrations that carry sound to the hearing implant. The new product features redesigned padding, that both accommodates the implant and helps channel sound to it. The solution sounds fairly logical, but the result for hearing-impaired footy players is massive. Now they can experience the game they love on the same level playing field as that of their teammates. It’s pretty moving stuff.