As one sits home and is bombarded with so much information, so much of it not particularly encouraging, I thought of bringing you through this article a bit of light and positivism in these times of uncertainty.
Making a comparison between Brie Larson’s attitude in the Oscar-rewarded movie called “Room” and our mandatory confinement: let’s look at this time as if the reality lied only between our 4-walls at home, cherishing it and recognizing the positive aspects that can arise from this little pause in our quotidian lives as Brie tries to convey to her son despite the not so good conditions they (we) are in.
Soon enough I am sure that we will step outside, be with our loved-ones, open the door to our workplaces, drink that coffee in our favorite coffee-shop, go to the beach, and have those loooong Portuguese-typical dinners with all our mates- but, for now, we have to make a life of our own inside the house/apartment/shared flat we are in by loving that morning coffee with our mom, by playing cards with the dad, by listening to our teachers making an effort to still teach, by working with our peers online and walking our dog or just yourself around the block, as if they were the only things in the world now to love. It feels like we are apart, but we’ve never been more connected before, with the same purpose everywhere around the globe- fighting this pandemic by sitting home protecting yourself and everyone else.
So, while you are seated and reading this article, I will go through some of the good things that have been happening now and make me smile when I read about them:
- Brands are getting super creative!
Shooting ads at this particular moment is really hard, or even impossible, because as we all should, companies need to follow WHO’s directives and stay put. This being said, I wish to share with you some of my favorite ads (a Portuguese and an international one) which adapted themselves to the time being, recurring to existing image stocks and copy-adaptability.
2. Brands are getting generous!
Amid the coronavirus crisis there has been a solidarity burst coming from various brands to help fight this pandemic, which moved my heart and I’m sure will move yours as well. I will list only some, but there are several examples! The Covid-19 may be contagious, but so is generosity and solidarity 😊 [4] [6]
- LVMH was one of the firsts to adapt its production line to making hand sanitizer for local hospitals and communities.
- KFC has partnered with the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack to help provide weekend meals to kids who might otherwise go hungry, donating $400,000 to go directly to providing prepackaged meals for school children.
- Procter & Gamble Co. Chairman-CEO David Taylor said that the company has begun to make protective masks to donate to health workers at more than a dozen locations around the world.
And many more! Sure, this helps boost their social license to operate, increase their level of CSR and even make profit from these practices, but at the end of the day the help is needed both for hospitals, children and patients but also for the workers of the companies too, because they themselves have families they need to support as well.
3. There is new food for [personal] thought; Some new self-marketing aspects:
I have been gathering information from a very little, biased and personal pool of people around me of how they are managing their quarantine: what are their gains, their new habits and new preferences in their new routine. Inevitably, everyone sees that their lives have changed, but not necessarily for the bad.
These are some of the most repeated statements:
“I have been taking care of myself much more lately: working out, cooking some new dishes and spending time with myself, which really is important, and I acknowledge that now.”
“I finally had the time to call up some friends that I have been meaning to call ages ago, it has been wonderful to catch-up.”
“I see the value of my daily-life routine much clearer after having it “taken away” from me; the value recognition of things really comes from its absence.”
“I am aware that I will never ever spend time with my family like this again; this is something I realized, and think is good!”
“I’ve been involving myself in other projects, for which I did not make the time for, and I have been learning so much.”
“I think I am much more productive through home-office and I never really thought I would!”
These among other statements have been going through some of my conversations and I firmly believe each of them is important. We have now a break to focus on self-care, personal achievements and family connection. Not only are the companies taking the possible opportunities from this crisis, we should do the same too. Take a course online, learn an instrument, learn from your friends and increase your potential!
In a nutshell, in my opinion, there is a silver lining in every aspect of life, and we shouldn’t disregard it- because without a purpose, and a positive one, living in this situation is hard. So, don’t lose hope and read and interpret these 3 findings that I listed above- if it made me smile, I think it can make you, too.
So now, just to wrap up, I would like to challenge you to finish this sentence in your mind or even write it below in the comments’ area with a new positive add-in to your day emerging from this crisis:
“Thanks to Covid-19’s change in my routine, I now…”
For me is that I now have time to work-out much more and to finish all the books I had lined-up for the year: what about you?
Inês B. Lopes
Vice-President
