In this week’s Our Take, Mozart makes a comeback, ASICS introduce a movement in work policy, a condom company wants to protect you in more ways than one, and are we gambling on our kids’ futures? A study says yes.
Mozart drops new banger
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has released a new bop titled, ‘Ganz kleine Nachtmusik, KV648’. Not even death can stop this classical music composer from gracing the world with a new hit.
The manuscript for this track (also known as Serenade in C) was discovered at a library in Leipzig. According to the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, the piece was ignored at first, but after years of historical and music-stylistic research the manuscript has been finally attributed to a teenage Mozart. (What were you doing when you were a teen? Yeah, thought so).
And this week, a mere 255 years after it was composed, ‘Ganz kleine Nachtmusik’ was performed to an audience for the first time, at an open-air concert in Leipzig.
Classic.
ASICS Calls for Workers’ Movement
Ahead of World Mental Health Day, ASICS has roped in Brian Cox, who plays the cutthroat Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession, to deliver a wake-up call to desk-dwellers everywhere. In a powerful PSA, Cox calls on office workers to ‘F**K The Fruit’ and reject tokens like free fruit at work, designed to keep them at their desk. Instead, he wants them to break free from their sedentary shackles and prioritise their mental well-being by getting up and moving.
Practicing what they preach, ASICS has introduced a “Desk Break Clause” to its own workers. It’s the first employment contract clause dedicated to movement, giving staff the right to 15-minute movement breaks, in addition to standard breaks. Whether through extended lunch breaks or impromptu yoga sessions, ASICS encourages its staff to make exercise a part of their workday.
ASICS also undertook The Desk Break experiment, overseen by Dr. Brendon Stubbs from King’s College London, which found that when office workers added just 15 minutes of movement into their working day, their mental state improved by 22.5% – and the one thing we know is that the stats don’t lie!
On 10 October 2024, ASICS is inviting everyone join the #DeskBreak Movement, and take a 15-minute movement break, share a photo of their empty desk, and help raise funds for mental health charities.
Go, ASICS!
Wrap Up Your Mic (and camera)
When it comes to sex in the digital age, it’s not just your body (or heart) that needs protection—your camera roll might need a little protection, too.
Introducing Camdom, a new innovation from German condom brand BILLY BOY. The app won’t prevent pregnancy or STIs, but it will (if used correctly) prevent revenge porn.
So, how does Camdom work? Before things heat up, both partners place their phones together and swipe down to disable all cameras and microphones. No secret snapshots here! If someone tries to break the block, alarms sound off, giving a “caught in the act” warning.
In a world where one rogue video can go viral in seconds, Camdom is a new digital safeguard – making sure no sneaky footage gets leaked.
What can we say? Let’s get it on (our phones).
Gambling on kids’ futures
A new report from Irish academia gives a stark warning about the normalisation of gambling. Among teens.
Despite it being illegal to target minors with gambling ads, a survey showed that 14- to 17-year-olds have levels of awareness of gambling brands that marketers dream of. As many as 15% of the surveyed kids felt driven to spend money on gambling as a ‘direct result’ of marketing, and there was a general view that gambling is a ‘normal’ part of sport.
The study warns that the amount of gambling messaging that our teens are exposed to is creating a ‘substantial public health risk’.
Hardly a risk worth taking. Read more here.