Inclusive Marketing News #70: Oscars Nominations, Winter Games & The Traitors

Welcome back to our weekly recap of inclusive marketing news!

In this week’s inclusive marketing news round up, we talk about this year’s Oscar nominations (or lack of), Hershey’s Winter Games campaign, how TikTok has avoided the US ban, and much more.

If you want to be like some of these brands, and be known for your amazing inclusive work, or you want to start your inclusion journey, contact us today.

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(1/6) Instagram Tests ‘Friends’ Instead of ‘Following’ 👬

The Instagram team is testing out a new feature based on their latest increased focus on connections on the app.

Your ‘following’ list could be changed to ‘friends‘ 🧐

At the end of the day, Instagram is a social app, and there’s been an interesting change in how people use some features, especially DMs, becoming more important for users. So while this is not a completely wild move, it might not be as relevant as they might think.

Many users will look at someone’s ‘following’ list as a place where they can find similar accounts to follow, rather than scrolling through all their friends.

Our initial guess is that this test feature won’t make it into everyone’s profiles, but we’ll have to wait and see..

(2/6) Traitors’ Star Raises Awareness on Stammer 💜

Season 4 of The Traitors might have ended (don’t worry, no spoilers ahead), but we can’t stop talking about the great cast they have time and time again.

Disability is always an important part of the show, and this time, contestant Jessie, has been very vocal about her stammer.

It is very rare to see certain disabilities on mainstream TV, and seeing Jessie has been incredibly exciting this season (apart from the amazing energy she brought to each episode!).

She has spoken about how representing people with speech conditions was always her bigger goal, and many have reached out to her in admiration.

We love this type of representation!

(3/6) TikTok Avoids US Ban 🇺🇸

Some of us knew TikTok would find a way to stay in the US, and while it’s taken a while to finish the deal, it’s now official.

However, the agreement will make the app’s algorithm unique by using only US user data.

Some users are unsettled after the new deal, with several sharing that they’re leaving the app for good due to safety and privacy concerns.

We’ll have to wait and see how this develops.

(4/6) Pixar’s ‘Elio’ Gets Oscar Nomination 🏅

It’s Awards’ season, and last week we managed to take a look at this year’s Oscars nominations!

While most of it was expected, there have been some disappointments around certain inclusive productions not being selected. Including Cynthia Erivo from the latest Wicked film, or ‘Sorry, Baby’, where Eva Victor plays a non-binary queer character.

But there are also some great news, as Pixar’s ‘Elio’ was nominated for ‘Best Animated Film’. There, the main character, Elio, wears an eye patch, raising awareness of eye conditions, especially in kids.

An inclusive cast can have an incredible impact in the audience, if you want to explore how to make sure your production doesn’t leave any communities behind, reach out to our team at info@purplegoatagency.com 💌

(5/6) Trend Spotlight: 3 Best Friends 🤳

@refybeauty

best friends that encourage you >> Shop lip sculpt at refybeauty.com 🤍

♬ son original – lyrics_song

This is the perfect trend for office besties or brands that want to create an engaging video. We love how the team at REFY did it, bringing excitement and fun to viewers!

(6/6) Campaign Spotlight: Hershey’s 🏆

With the Winter Games coming up, the team at Hershey’s has created a beautiful ad featuring some of the athletes from Team USA that will be competing, including para athlete, Brenna Huccaby, who competes in snowboarding.

The campaign, ‘Happiness is The Real Gold’, tells their stories of hard work and perseverance, while tapping into family love and how their passion for the sport started.

Powerful storytelling with an inclusive narrative. 10/10 from us.

Make sure to come back next week to check our weekly news recap with the latest inclusive updates in the marketing and social media worlds, with a touch of inclusion. Don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for more news and exciting content.

Plus, learn more about our story and inclusive marketing services.