Every year, planners at Y&R share a roundup of today’s most interesting trends and their inherent tension. This year’s North American Trends with Tension report takes on an array of topics from privacy, wellness, and gender fluidity.

1. Trends with
Tension
2017

2. Contents 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
The Wars for Wellness
Mental Fitness
Let the People Tweet
Oversexed and Over Sex
Engineering Consciousness
Gender Revolution
Privacy for Sale
We Eat What We Are
Giving to Give / Giving to Do
Trust Nothing / Trust Authenticity
Chasing Truth
Anywhere But Now

3. The Wars
for Wellness
Wellness was once a casual lifestyle of yoga mats and
granola bars. Now it has become a nearly dogmatic
obsession. Consumers have developed highly strategic,
yet conflicting approaches to ultimate health:
Natural Purity vs. Engineered Efficiency.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

4. The
Wars
for
Wellness
SAID
“Before using Honest Company products,
I’d have to use gloves to touch some of the
products I used.” – The Honest Company
CRUNCHED
55% of Americans think that
organic produce is more healthful than
conventionally grown produce. – Pew, 2016
OBSERVED
To illustrate the high quality of her
goop skincare line, Gwyneth Paltrow ate
her product on The Tonight Show.
SEARCH IT
Amanda Chantal Bacon
SAID
“You want to spend three bucks on liquid
doubt? Be my guest. You want clean?
Get a cleaner with bleach in it.” – Clorox
CRUNCHED
The dietary supplement category is
projected to reach $278 billion by 2024.
–GlobeNewswire
OBSERVED
Soylent, maker of a meal replacement
product, touts how it “engineers” food to
make a healthful diet more affordable and
convenient.
SEARCH IT
Multiply Labs
Seeking
Natural Purity
Engineered
Efficiency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

5. “Wellness” is no longer one size fits all. You can’t just tell
consumers that your products are good for them; you
must illustrate how your brand fits into their own
healthful approach.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

6. Mental
Fitness
With stars from Kid Cudi to Selena Gomez openly
discussing anxiety and depression, mental health is no
longer a taboo topic. Now it’s normal – just another thing
we all work on to keep ourselves up and running.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

7. Mental
Fitness
SAID
“Technology has opened a new frontier
in mental health support and data collection.
Mobile devices like cell phones, smartphones,
and tablets are giving the public, doctors
and researchers new ways to access
help, monitor progress and increase
understanding of mental wellbeing.” – NIH
CRUNCHED
The “brain-training” game industry
is estimated to reach $6 Billion by 2020.
– TIME, 2016
OBSERVED
The boom in apps geared toward
mental health, from mood tracking
wearables (Feel), to VR therapy (Oculus)
and meditation apps (HeadSpace).
SEARCH IT
calm.com
SAID
“An endless bombardment of news
and gossip and images has rendered us manic
information addicts. It broke me. It might break
you, too.” - Andrew Sullivan, New York Magazine
CRUNCHED
According to a recent survey, 9 out of 10 people
suffer from “low-battery anxiety.”
– Huffington Post, 2016
OBSERVED
We see a rise in the advent of “digital detoxes”
and tech-free sanctuaries like Camp Grounded
(motto: “Disconnect to Reconnect”).
SEARCH IT
Phone stacking
Plugging In to
Sanity
Unplugging for
Zen
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

8. Don’t think of mental health as a scary topic that
you have to tiptoe around. Consumers are ready and
open to thinking of mental health as just another form
of personal upkeep.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

9. Let the
People
Tweet
Social media has long been viewed as the voice of the
people. But for the first time this year, that collective voice
became powerful enough to reshape the fundamental
relationship between the public and its institutions.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

10. Let
The
People
Tweet
SAID
“Diversity is multiple voices at the table,
and social media has made that table bigger
and easier to get to.”– Kerry Washington
CRUNCHED
Online petitions are at an all-time
high, with Change.org alone boasting
more than 100 million users in 196 countries.
– New York Times, 2016
OBSERVED
During the Dakota Access Pipeline
protests, hundreds of thousands of Facebook
users checked in at Standing Rock to express
solidarity with the protesters and confuse police.
– CNN, 2016
SEARCH IT
#icantkeepquiet
SAID
“Trolls are turning social media and
comment boards into a giant locker room
in a teen movie, with towel-snapping racial
epithets and misogyny.” – TIME, 2016
CRUNCHED
In a recent survey, approximately
34% of students reported are experiencing
cyberbullying; 12% admitted to
cyberbullying others.
– cyberbullying.org, 2016
OBSERVED
Melania Trump has made cyberbulling her
official FLOTUS cause – The Guardian 2016
SEARCH IT
Rachael Ray + Lemonade
The Power to
#UNITE
The Power to
#DIVIDE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

11. Harness the social voice of your consumers and foster
conversations around your brand. But don’t let your own
voice get lost in all of the noise.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

12. Oversexed
and
Over Sex
Sexual media and imagery are everywhere
and on the rise thanks to developing technologies.
Yet, we arepracticing sex “in the flesh” less and less.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13. Oversexed
and
Over Sex
SAID
“It appears that online pornography is
causing, in some men, including a lot of men
in their sexual prime, an emotional
and psychosexual disconnection that is
manifesting physically with real world
partners” – The Huffington Post
CRUNCHED
The number of dating sites/apps has
increased at least 387% in the past 10 years.
– OkCupid 2016
OBSERVED
From Reddit threads, video
comments, and other web offerings,
it is clear that pornography has gone
mainstream among young males.
– Thought Catalog, 2015
SEARCH IT
Camsoda gas mask
SAID
“You’re now one click away from every
sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just
passé at this juncture”
– Scott Flanders, CEO of Playboy
CRUNCHED
People are 19% less likely to
consider sleeping with someone on
the first date compared to ten years
ago, with significant drops in every
gender and orientation.
– OkCupid, 2016
OBSERVED
In terms of getting a late start having
sex, millennials most resemble those
born during the 1920s.
– CNN, 2016
SEARCH IT
Hinge app
Oversexed Over sex
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

14. Sex no longer sells the way it used to. Free access to
sex media is the new normal. Short of crafting new
technological ways of enhancing actual sexual
experience, using sex to sell products has become
boring and outmoded.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

15. Engineering
consciousness
The line between human and robot is getting thinner.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

16. Engineering
Conscious-
ness
SAID
“Robots have traditionally been used as
tools, and now they’re becoming more
companions and social partners.”
- Yale Social Robotics Lab
CRUNCHED
Over 250 AI startups collected total venture
capital funding of $1.7 billion in the first half
of 2016, up from 176 companies and
$1.2 billion a year earlier. – Fortune, 2016
OBSERVED
AI implications have reached The White
House, because “replacing decisions made
by human-driven bureaucratic processes
leads to concerns about how to ensure
justice,fairness, and accountability.”
– whitehouse.gov
SEARCH IT
Moral Machine
SAID
“I don’t love the idea of being a house cat,
but what’s the solution? I think one of the
solutions that seems maybe the best is to
add an AI layer.” – Elon Musk
CRUNCHED
Kuzweil, The Direcor of Engineering at
Google, claims digital immortality is going to
exist by 2045.
– The Creativity Post, 2015
OBSERVED
The popular journal e-flux covers AI
issues on the premise that “virtual reality
reformats the very relation between the
self and the unconscious.”
SEARCH IT
Transhumanism
Humanizing
Robots
Robotizing
Hummans
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

17. Investment in AI – whether through consumer experience,
brand optimization, or in stock – is lucrative for brands and
relevant for consumers. AI can make brand experience more
predictive and personal, but pay careful attention to
avoiding the uncanny valley when riding the line between
smart machine and moral being.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

18. Gender
Revolution
A new binary has emerged: gender fluidity.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

19. Gender
Revolution
SAID
“My big thing right now is the multiplicity
of identity, and allowing people to have
what they really have which is 5, 6, 10,
50 identities and supporting that and
celebrating that.” – iO Tillett Wright
CRUNCHED
Facebook now offers nearly
60 different gender options.
– New York Times, 2016
OBSERVED
Louis Vuitton featured Jaden Smith
as a model in their spring-summer
women’s wear ad campaign.
– New York Times, 2016
SEARCH IT
Tinder gender update
SAID
“After a historic court ruling, I am free. I am the
first non-binary person in the United States to be
officially recognized. I refused to be classified. And
now, I’ve been vindicated.” – Jamie Shupe
CRUNCHED
56% of 13-to-20-year-olds said that they knew
someone who went by a gender neutral pronoun
such as “they,” “them,” or “ze.” Over a third of
Gen Z also strongly agrees that gender does not
define a person as much as it used to.
– JWT Inteligence
OBSERVED
Oxford University called for a removal of gender-
specific titles such as Mr. and Mrs. from their
websites and pamphlets. – Daily Mail, 2016
SEARCH IT
Agender
Adding Definitions
of Gender
Removing Gender
Altogether
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

20. Inclusion within organizations and their advertisments
looks a lot different now. There is a fine line between
representation and exploitation, and people are more
aware of it than ever. Enabling more diversity will
continue to be key.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
What this
means
for brands

21. Privacy
for Sale
We observed a heightened awareness of personal data
over the past year. In 2016, we went to greater lengths to
reclaim our privacy. But the price of our personal
information is low when exchanged for timesaving
products and services.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

22. Privacy
for
Sale
SAID
“I think much current thought around technology
is still naïve, but no one even pretends that the
outcomes will be utopic now.” – Roddy Schrock
CRUNCHED
86% of Americans have tried to remove or
decrease their digital footprint on the internet.
– ASecureLife
OBSERVED
Starting with Mark Zuckerberg, Americans
have begun to cover their webcams – whether
with tape or the “C-Slide” webcam cover.
SEARCH IT
DuckDuckGo
SAID
“I think privacy will be stripped away,
because people are permitting it
— one trade at a time.” – Pew, 2016
CRUNCHED
When deciding what information to share
with companies, 50% of Americans are
confident they understand what will be
done with that information. – Pew, 2015
OBSERVED
“Uber’s New Tracking Tool Is More
Convenient Than Creepy”
– Mashable headline
SEARCH IT
Visa and BioConnect
We’re Obsessed
with Privacy
We Exchange it
for Convenience
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

23. Give consumers the chance to choose which information
they’d like to share, yet clearly articulate the benefits of
sharing. Consumers are far less protective of the personal
information they so closely guard when they understand
the details and benefits of sharing.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

24. We Eat
What
We Are
Technology and convenience have fueled a disorganized
relationship with food. We have become more distant
from the journey it takes to our plates and the role it
serves in our lives. Meanwhile, we have put more time
and energy into understanding our food and mending
the broken relationships we have with what we eat.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

25. We Eat
What
We Are
SAID
“Understanding where food comes
from and the work that goes into
producing it ensures that children
value their food.” – Lauren Weller
CRUNCHED
65% of Farm to School grand recipients
plan to add cooking classes or related
activities to their schools. – Epicurious, 2016
OBSERVED
Consumers are more accepting of the “ugly”
produce that has been sweeping the nation
when they are familiar with its source. Idaho
farmer Richard Johnson sells ugly produce
altogether with top-notch produce.
For the same price. – Capital Press, 2016
SEARCH IT
SnapIt! by Lost it!
SAID
“It is precisely that cost differential in food
that has opened the door for food to be-
come a symbol of social status.”
– ScienceDaily.com
CRUNCHED
19% of 21-24 year olds have borrowed
someone else’s food to take a picture
and post on social media.
– MediaPost, 2014
OBSERVED
The obsession with posting photos of
food on social media has led to an age
of “instagrammable” foods, for which
looks are more important than taste.
SEARCH IT
#blacktap
Food is
Personal
Food is
Social Currency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

26. Consumers want the opportunity to better understand
the foods they eat. But brands cannot expect their love
by merely showcasing this information. Consumers want
to understand food through their own lenses, and often
these lenses are social.
Consider experiential ways of sharing the journey your
brand takes to their plates, such as cooking classes.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

27. Giving to
Give / Giving
to Do
Philanthropy has changed in so many ways. Donations
are growing annually, albeit slowly, with the largest
rate of growth from those making the smallest donations.
We want to give and the world needs us to give.
But more of us are being asked to give more often than
ever before. And in more different ways.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

28. Giving
to Give
/ Giving
to Do
SAID
“Most donors across all age groups
do not plan to expand their giving in
the coming year.” – Blackbaud, 2016
CRUNCHED
Total giving in the US is at an all-time
high since 1975 at $375 billion (inflation-
adjusted dollars) with a slow overall growth
YOY of 1.6% – Giving USA Foundation, 2016
OBSERVED
The expansion of corporate alliances
that leverage the “ask for a donation at
register” has created more, smaller donors
with less commitment to their giving.
SEARCH IT
randomactsofkindness.org
SAID
“Crowdfunding is particularly attractive
to younger donors who are looking for a
more direct connection to the causes and
people they’re supporting.” – Katherina
M. Rosqueta, Executive Director. Center for
High Impact Philanthropy at UPENN
CRUNCHED
22% of all donors are enthusiastic
supporters who contribute in a variety
of ways. – Mintel, 2016
OBSERVED
BrandAsset Valuator has identified that the
cause-related brands with the greatest
momentum are those, older and newer,
that are action-oriented including Doctors
Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity and
even The Red Cross.
SEARCH IT
The Ice Bucket Challenge
Giving to Give Giving to Do
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

29. Consumers want to give for their own reasons and in
their own ways. Give them the options to customize how
they’d like to help. Some will take out their credit cards,
others will make experiences of it.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

30. Trust Nothing
/ Trust
Authenticity
We live in a post-truth, post-trust, post-PR era where
fake news sites run rampant and social influencers can
no longer influence. While we no longer trust “truth”,
we’re increasingly and almost singularly placing our trust
in what we perceive as “authenticity.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

31. Trust
Nothing
/ Trust
Authenticity
SAID
“Finding information that’s objective and
fact-based has never been more difficult.”
(over 55% of adults surveyed globally)
– Ford, 2016
CRUNCHED
In 2001, 44% of global brands were highly
trusted. In 2015, only 18%, or less than
1 in 5 brands were trusted. – BAV
OBSERVED
In the post-trust era, consumers are
more likely to ignore sponsored brand
content than ever before, especially on
social media. The practice of brands
partnering with influencers is losing
appeal rapidly. Instead, consumers trust
friends and family the most, and
celebrities the least.
SEARCH IT
snopes.com
SAID
“You can be authentic without being
truthful.” (>40%of global adults surveyed,
aged between 19-44) – Ford, 2016
CRUNCHED
70% of consumers said the
statement “being genuine and authentic
is extremely important for me and for the
things and people in my life” describe them.
OBSERVED
Hilary Clinton placed higher on the
“trustworthy” attribute than Donald Trump,
but Trump was rated 6 times more
“authentic” than Clinton. “He tells it as
it is” became the most important aid to
Trump’s presidency win. – BAV
SEARCH IT
Clorox Twitter apology
Trust
Nothing
Trust
Authencity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

32. Consumers aren’t perfect, and they know their favorite
brands aren’t either. Don’t be afraid to add dimension
to your brand by showing the goods, bads, and uglies.
Think Nike and Tylenol – imperfect brands who remain
relevant because they reacted to crisis in an authentic
way. The rose-colored glasses have come off in this
information age, and “real” brands make real money.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

33. Chasing
Truth
Truth has become a moving target. At one time, the
notion of “truth” was definitive. Today, “truth” is harder
to nail down. It’s much more subjective and constantly
changing based on personally held beliefs or the latest
clickbait.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

34. Chasing
Truth
SAID
“We can all step up and say simply and
without equivocation, ‘A lie, is a lie, is a lie!’
And if someone won’t say it, those of us who
know that there is such a thing as the truth
must do whatever is in our power to diminish
the liar’s malignant reach into our society.”
– Dan Rather
CRUNCHED
There are 26 active fact-checking
projects in 37 countries, a 50% increase
since 2015. – Duke Reporters’ Lab, 2016
OBSERVED
After the election news organizations
such as the New York Times, The
Atlantic, The Washington Post and others
have seen a rise in paid subscriptions.
– NiemanLab, 2016
SEARCH IT
Facebook Journalism Project
SAID
“The people wanted to hear this... so all it took was
to write that story. Everything about it was fictional:
the town, the people, the sheriff, the FBI guy. And
then... our social media guys kind of go out and do
a little dropping it throughout Trump groups and
Trump forums and boy it spread like wildfire.”
– Jestin Coler, NPR Interview
CRUNCHED
Eric Tucker, co-founder of a marketing company,
falsely tweeted about paid protesters being bused
to demonstrations against President-elect Trump.
It was shared at least 16,000 times on Twitter and
more than 350,000 times on Facebook.
– New York Times, 2016
OBSERVED
The Oxford Dictionaries have officially named
“post-truth” the word of the year for 2016.
SEARCH IT
Alternative facts
Searching
for Truth
Creating
Truth
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

35. In this post-truth culture, consumers will increasingly
demand greater accountability, not just from their
representatives but also from retailers. Brands should
deliver experiences balanced with emotion as well as
greater transparency rooted in facts.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

36. Anywhere
But
Now
We use technology to capture valuable moments in
our lives to relive them later rather than experiencing
them IRL. In turn, we look to more nostalgic, tangible
analog experiences to feel a stronger connection to
each other or to our own lives. But no matter what the
experience is, we are never actually present in the moment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

37. Anywhere
But
Now
SAID
“Yeah, I want to tell that lady as well, can
you stop filming me with a video camera
because I’m really here in real life. You can enjoy
it in real life, rather than through your camera.”
– Adele performing at a concert
CRUNCHED
Ironically, there are over 165 million
posts tagged #life on Instagram.
– top-hashtags.com
OBSERVED
Elite Daily’s mockumentary series
“Millennials of New York” features a chef who
opened a restaurant that makes food for the
purpose of Instagramming it.
SEARCH IT
Mannequin challenge
SAID
Actor Eddie Redmayne gave up his smartphone
in favor of an analog phone to be more present:
“It was a reaction against being glued permanently
to my iPhone during waking hours. The deluge of
emails was constant and I found myself trying to
keep up in real time, at the expense of living in
the moment.” – The Independent
CRUNCHED
“As CD and digital sales decline in the wake of
streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, record
sales are on the rise. In fact, the format has seen
260% growth since 2009.” – Forbes
OBSERVED
There is a trend for digital-tech companies to feature
more analog and tactile work spaces to encourage
greater collaboration and to strengthen relationships.
– The New Yorker, 2016
SEARCH IT
#filmisnotdead
Preserving
the Past
Using the Past
to be Present
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

38. In a culture where experiences are the new social
currency, consumers constantly look for different ways
to find happiness in the moment. Brands creating
experiences that acknowledge the unique pleasures of
by gone eras and also that beg to be shared digitally
will be the most successful.
What this
means
for brands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

39. Written by
Divya Darsi
Claire Heaps
Ethan Scott
Brendan Shyrer
Design by
Chloe Kang