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Each week, Padilla’s Insights + Strategy team stands at the intersection of people, culture and brands to bring you five stories that you can read in five minutes.
1. Capital B
Weighing in on a hotly debated issue, the Associated Press changed its writing style guidance to capitalize the “B” in the term Black, when referring to people in a racial/cultural context. Why should you care? The change conveys “an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,” said John Daniszewski, AP’s vice president of standards. “The lowercase black is a color, not a person.” We’re continuing to see the impact of today’s social justice movement on everything from Hollywood, to holding big brands/businesses accountable and even the smaller things – such as this. NYT, LA Times and USA Today have also followed suit. [AP News]
2. America is short on PPE…again
As coronavirus numbers continue to rise in America, we’re finding ourselves back at square one – with a shortage of PPE once again. Why should you care? With a mixture of caution fatigue, cities reopening prematurely and a nation still grappling with the reality of the pandemic – we’re getting a replay of the earlier months of COVID-19. As demand rises for PPE, so are prices as health care workers find themselves yet again having to reuse PPE or improvise with inadequate equipment. This – an ever-telling reminder that we are still very much in the thick of the first wave. [The Washington Post]
3. Sports teams names
The current social justice movement has moved sports teams to finally reconsider their franchise names with Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians beginning an official review. Why should you care? This isn’t the first time these franchises have been called to reevaluate their names, but with FedEx – the official sponsor of Washington’s stadium and brands like Nike pulling their gear around these controversially named teams, the pressure is on. It remains to be see if real change will be enacted or if it’s just another blanket statement with no real action. [USA Today]
4. Harry Styles Bedtime Story
#DreamWithHarry is now trending as Harry Styles has become the latest celeb to sign on to put you to sleep with a bedtime story on the popular meditation app, Calm. Why should you care? The collab isn’t really a stretch as Harry Styles is known to be an advocator of mental health and also was an early investor in the Calm app. In a world where most of us are probably feeling restless because of the pandemic and civil unrest, being soothed to sleep by the likes of Harry doesn’t sound so bad and if he isn’t your kind of jive, other celebs on the sleep series include Matthew McConaughey, Lucy Liu, Nick Offerman – among others. [Mashable]
5. Screaming on the inside
Japan is asking guests at their theme parks to “please scream inside your heart” when riding roller coasters. Why should you care? Screaming and riding a roller coaster normally go hand in hand but in the age of COVID-19, safety comes first. As we all know, intense vocal expressions produce droplets that could spread coronavirus, but it comes as no surprise that theme park goers are having a hard time adhering, according to a WSJ report. But honestly, we should have had more than enough practice screaming on the inside, especially after the cards 2020 has dealt us so far. [USA Today]
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