12 : 05 : 23 : Weekly Debrief

UK – K9 Jets, a private jet charter company from Birmingham, England, addresses a growing concern among pet owners who wish to travel with their animals without the hassle of flying commercially. Its inaugural flight took off at the end of April 2023, carrying onboard 10 humans, nine dogs and a sphinx cat.

Pet owners have long been frustrated with the challenges faced when trying to transport their pets. Commercial flights have a complicated set of rules that vary by airline. Service animals –not considered pets – can be in the cabin, but others must travel as cargo. Even animals that can fly inside cabins must fit under the seat in front of the passenger, a rule that most pet owners have found arbitrary, according to The New York Times. Pets transported in cargo face fluctuating temperatures, poor ventilation and inappropriate handling.

Private jet services have stepped in to offer a solution. Some allow dogs under 150 pounds to sit on an aircraft seat, while others don’t levy extra charges for pets on a passenger ticket. Companies are also helping clients navigate country-specific laws and gather accurate documents. These seats do not come cheap, however, with a price tag that can run into thousands of dollars, even for domestic journeys. As discussed in our Pet Hospitality microtrend, new pet owners are ready to travel post-pandemic and actively seek animal-friendly services.

Portugal – Underwear expert Maison Pixel has joined forces with creative agency Atlantic New York to create undies that turn bums into screens. The technology consists of a specially designed Instagram filter compatible with all iOS and Android devices that can activate the undergarment’s chroma-key colour. Any content can then be projected on a green screen derrière.

A study from the General Social Survey claiming that 26% of American adults did not have sex at all in 2021 inspired the project. With rising phone usage and binge-watching in bed reducing couples’ libido, Maison Pixel wanted to create a new kind of watching experience by bringing partners closer together. The campaign shows how simple it could be to watch a baseball game, a western or the Moon landing on a partner’s backside.

In Isolated Intimacy, we previously analysed how new services similar to Maison Pixel’s tongue-in-cheek green screen underwear redefine the meaning of intimacy in a post-pandemic world.