In our exclusive Design Fiction series for CB News, we dive into the future through imaginative storytelling: short, thought-provoking pieces that explore what’s next for industries like fashion, tourism, banking, and more. Inspired by real signals shaping our world today, each article examines the possibilities ahead and unpacks what they mean for brands, communication, and strategy.
When dentsu X Imagines tomorrow, now.
This first design fiction exercise, which will lead to others, carried out by dentsu X , aims to analyze how the weak signals of our society could make it evolve if they became the norm in twenty or thirty years. This exercise is not intended to predict the future, but rather to understand how brands could adapt, or even play a role in these possible transformations. In this fiction, it was imagined that from the 2040s, the explosion in the number of cardiovascular diseases linked to a sedentary lifestyle and obesity pushed the French government to adopt drastic measures in terms of healthy eating. What if tomorrow the consumption of sweets by children and adults was highly controlled and conditioned by the state of health? What if sweets became a luxury product and associated with the reward of physical effort?
The oldest among us speak of it with nostalgia: the time when eating a handful of sweets was a harmless gesture, including and even especially for children. Today, their sale is ultra-regulated, they have even become a luxury product and are associated with intensive sports practices. A look back at a major transformation of our century.
In the 2010s, the Government began to warn about the dangers associated with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Several campaigns had been launched to this effect: "Eat, move", "Eat five fruits and vegetables a day", etc. In the 2020s, a study by ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) began to mention the loss of cardiovascular capacity in children over a generation. At that time, doctors warned about the emergence of new pathologies for children: high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. Screens, junk food, and a sedentary lifestyle were identified as the main culprits.
The years 2040-2050, when the generation concerned by the ANSES study reached adulthood, marked a turning point in the implementation of a restrictive policy on healthy eating. The number of cardiovascular diseases among 20-30 year-olds tripled in one generation, and it was even called an epidemic because the phenomenon affected so many people, without social or geographical distinction. For the first time in France in years, life expectancy and healthy life expectancy fell by several years. Many studies then revealed the influence of children's eating behaviors on their adult physical condition. Rather than multiplying benevolent incentives, "nudges", the French government decided to impose restrictive measures and the candy and sweets sector, associated with childhood, was the first to be impacted.
From 2050, the "anti-obesity plan" introduced several key measures: the outright ban on the purchase and consumption of sweets for children under sixteen, the ban on representing the act of consuming sweets and candies in advertising visuals, including for brands that also offer sugar-free sweets, the "locking away" of sweets in points of sale like strong alcohol and identity checks upon purchase.
At the same time, thanks to the connected health system that was widespread across the country in the 2040s, the Government launched the STOPOSUCRE application, for which many public figures became ambassadors through advertising spots and displays. From now on, anyone wishing to buy sweets or candies must show their application linked to their health system when purchasing. Depending on a personalized diagnosis, the application indicates whether or not they are authorized to buy sweets, up to one per day. For anyone who does not wish to use this application, the consumption of sweets and candies has simply been prohibited. After months of arm wrestling with the Government, the major brands have managed to impose an additional condition: all people who have practiced at least one hour of intensive sport during the day have been authorized to buy one sweet per day.
In one generation, a transformed image and usage
Candy has become an object of desire that a small segment of the population is allowed to consume. For others, there is no other choice but to join a gym or follow all kinds of sports and nutritional programs to be able to access it.
Now, advertising screens in gyms broadcast many spots highlighting this modern Grail, candy, a symbol of the efforts made. Many advertising slogans are emerging, such as the famous "Just deserve it." inspired by Nike's "Just do it."
Sports influencers, while advocating a healthy diet consisting of detox juices and "low carb" salads, are the new ambassadors of these sweets reserved for adults, those with a normal BMI and/or intensive sports activity. Many aspirational vlogs have emerged, generating a lot of conversations on social networks. A large number of people who do not have the BMI required to be eligible to buy a sweet document their sports and food routine.
To support these initiatives, candy brands organize "bootcamps" hosted by influencers and broadcast live in the metaverse. During these events, there is no question of offering sweets, but many goodies are distributed, the community of "aspirants" with a favorable BMI proudly displaying their "No sweat, no sweet" t-shirts, and their sponsors - those who have succeeded - their "I made it" t-shirts.
To survive, brands have significantly increased their prices. Candy has become an expensive and luxurious product. Packaging has changed: the huge bags of candy have been abandoned. Now, they are bought individually, the packaging counts a lot. Brands are banking on collector and ephemeral packaging. Like a luxury handbag, sweets are objects that can be collected.
Candy now has its place on the back cover of high-end lifestyle magazines. Advertisements are no longer regressive and playful but adopt the codes of high-end.
In one generation, candy has gone from being a relatively cheap product for children, largely associated with the junk food phenomenon and consumed without moderation to a luxury product for adults whose consumption is now highly regulated. Eating candy is now associated with a healthy lifestyle and/or intense sports practice. While by implementing ultra-restrictive policies, the government was banking on the "end of candy" as was the case for cigarettes (whose sale was banned in 2030 for young people born after 2018), major brands have been able to bounce back both by initiating the "reward candy" which allows you to buy a sweet after doing an hour of sport but also by transforming the image of candy, which was largely associated with childhood.
And finally, by imposing this condition of sports practice, they have contributed, probably unintentionally, to the improvement of the general health of the population since a recent survey mentions that 60% of overweight adults would never have started playing sports without this reward at stake. It should be noted that this survey comes at just the right time to restore the image of large industrialists after the scandal of the study revealed by the independent firm Futuralim' last month which demonstrated a causal link between the implementation of this "reward candy" and the meteoric rise in eating disorders among adults.
Faced with these two studies published a month apart, the CEO of Snicky, a famous brand of chocolate bars, declared: " While it is clear that we have played a role in the increase in eating disorders, we consider that this is collateral damage and above all temporary in our fight against obesity and for a healthy population. It is our duty to prioritize the long term and the health of future generations ."
Originally published on cbnews.fr on October 15, 2024.
