Beyond The Happy Meal: products to transcend generations
Regular readers will know I’m a fan of the author and broadcaster Steven Johnson.
I also admit I’m rarely an early adopter (as frustrating as this can sometimes be), and in Johnson’s case I only discovered his work via his TV series How We Got To Now which was broadcast on BBC2 in the UK a couple of years ago.
As I tweeted from our sofa how much I loved the show, my (now) wife could only look on with bemusement when I gesticulated in wonder 10 seconds later. The show’s host had retweeted me to his 1.5m followers. It was magic, until I sheepishly realised the programme had of course been recorded months before. He was probably at home having a cup of tea.
Something else with a bit of magic is the kids’ version of the How We Got to Now book which launched a few months ago.
It got me thinking about other products, ideas and creations that either transcend age gaps or can be repurposed wonderfully for those much older or younger than the intended audience.
Here are a few of my favourites.
Arts & Raps
This series from Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital takes the TV interview format and flips it into today’s youth culture (hiphop stars, young hosts, and YouTube).
I like the blend of education and entertainment – the show touches on some tough topics that are important for young people to understand, without feeling like a public service announcement. And watching rappers squirm as they try to explain their lyrics to the young hosts is entertaining for adults too.
This path has been trodden before through shows like Kids Say The Darndest Things (the hook is the “out of the mouths of babes” cliche) – but as Derek Thompson suggests in his book Hit Makers, a key ingredient to making something popular is often about New Wine aged on Old Oak.
Kano
The London-based computer company ostensibly exist to support kids in becoming developers, but their products are used enthusiastically by people of all ages.
As the company say, billions of us use computers, but only 1% of 1% of us can take them apart and change them. Kano’s mission is to drastically increase that number.
Musicians are creating weird and wonderful new instruments, street artists are creating code-driven installations, and teachers are teaching other teachers how to code.
I interviewed Kano co-founder Alex Klein on the Tickets podcast – check it out:
Netflix’s Sex Education
Netflix snapped up this UK comedy-drama in late 2017, and the first season was made available at the beginning of this year. Its combination of dry British humour, US-style college campus setting and superbly curated cast have made it a sleeper hit.
I assume the show is aimed at the same demographic as its stars (14-18), but whether you’re going through the tribulations of puberty, have just cleared some of those hurdles, or wince at the memory of your own school days in decades past, Sex Education hits the spot on the number of levels. And it’s binge-worthy: my wife and I watched the whole series over this past weekend.
But the extra element that really makes it really stand out for me is that the unpacking and understanding of difficult topics are woven into the plot in a way that offers a guiding, but still optional, torchlight, rather than feeling like sitting through 6 hours of traditional sex education.
Kids’ fashion styles
Have you ever noticed how stylish some young kids’ clothing lines are?
Notwithstanding a few premium designer brands, why is it that beyond the age of 8 so much fashion (especially for men) defaults to black, white, grey or a little bit of navy?
I’m constantly astounded at the get-ups my wife and I have bought for our now 3 and a half-year-old nephew.
The search for something suitable in my size continues…
Pornhub’s sex education
From one style of sex education to another.
This one is more strongly aligned to edutainment than necessarily crossing generations, but given Pornhub’s traffic levels it’s fair to assume a few different age groups are using their service.
Note: This Quartz article that delved into Pornhub’s incredible data capabilities is well worth a read.
Partnering with
At the time of writing the site has been up for about 18 months. Given Pornhub’s undoubted financial resources it seems a bit of a half-hearted effort thus far, especially as there’s such a big opportunity for brands of all types to create valuable educational content.
Still, it’s a good idea – could Pornhub content even be on the school curriculum one day?
Inclusive Apparel
Sneakers are big business.
NBA star Steph Curry has released a number of signature shoes with sports brand Under Armour. The latest is the Curry 5.
They’ve been a big hit – until one young female fan discovered the shoes weren’t available for girls. She wrote to her hero telling him so.
A little embarrassing for Curry as he’s been outspoken about gender equality in sports, and has hosted a girls’ basketball camp in the past.
His response on Twitter helped clear things up:
There are a couple of things going on here.
First, it turns out sneakers for girls are no different in shape or production than the ones for boys, it’s just design/branding that shifts. This makes the Curry 5 omission even worse.
Second, this episode shines another light on big sports brands still having issues with inclusivity, particularly at a corporate level. Nike and Under Armour have both come under fire on this.
This lack of inclusivity is a big missed opportunity for these companies.
It sets them back on attracting great talent, connecting with new audiences, developing a better internal culture, empowering the athlete in everyone (as Nike to like to say), and yes, selling more shoes.
It’ll be interesting to see what the apparel brands do next on this front.
Of course, alternate versions or fully cross-generational products have been around for decades – from the McDonalds Happy Meal to The Simpsons.
What’s so interesting now is the increased generational fluidity across products – and more broadly than just toys, fast food or entertainment.
These are just a few examples of what’s happening