Without Thinking. Mexico

It's spring in Mexico City, the day after Easter, and the Chapultepec amusement park is packed with families.



We're here with 5 kids; Sophia, Mitze, Dulci, Brian and Angel and their Moms. The kids' energy is infectious and crazy, within minutes we're lining up for our turn on the giant slide. The kids don't notice the wait, they hop around chatting and singing, then take their turn, then we're off running to the next ride.

We run past confectionery stands, hamburger vans and ice cream stalls. All of a sudden Sophia calls out "ice cream!" and pulls her Mom's sleeve towards the cart. We all follow, without questioning, and choose our flavours. There's a pause and smiles as we unwrap and take our first licks, but then we're off again heading towards the roller coaster, with ice cream dripping on our hands.





Not for a moment did we think if it was a good time to eat ice cream - 11am, just before lunch, just before a roller coaster ride... this was obviously not a rational decision.

Ice cream calls to our senses and speaks to our emotions, but it by-passes our brains! That's why there's never a reason to eat ice cream, and never a reason not to.

Opportunity: Seduce the senses. Engage the emotions. Bypass the brain.

Ice Cream The Great Leveler. Singapore

While we were in the ice-cream shop, we saw different groups of people come in.

Mother and child.
Huge extended families with lots of adults in their 50s.
Groups of grown men in a shirt and ties.
Groups of girlfriends.
Your not so typical teenager groups.

They all ate ice cream together. They all had a shared experience. Ice cream was at the heart of all their shared experience.

The heading came from a guy when we asked him why he thought so many people enjoyed ice cream.

TRUTH:
Ice cream is the great leveller.

OPPORTUNITY:
If ice cream is indeed the great leveler and it cuts across age, power, success, ethnicity and gender; how can our answer reflect how elemental and yet universal it is?

A Shop Full of Happiness. Singapore

People are generally happier and nicer in an ice-cream shop.

They wait patiently in line for their turn, even when the person in front is trying out 5 different flavours before deciding.

They don’t mind small seating places. It's not uncommon to hear people say: "Oh it’s OK, we’ll just squeeze in here."

They’re not abrupt (a typical Singaporean phenomenon) and will tell the staff what they want in a nice manner: "Can I please have a double-chocolate ice-cream cone?"

There might be kids running around and screaming, but no one really cares. In fact, nobody really minds anything. When they’ve got their ice cream, everything is fine, everyone is happy.

We've managed to capture on film a beautiful moment of a little girl enjoying ice-cream. The expression on her speaks volumes about the pure, unadulterated joy that comes with ice-cream. Here's the clip:

Such unique ice-cream happiness is a visceral feeling we all can identify with. An unspoken joy that fills ice-cream shops everywhere.


TRUTH:
Ice cream brings out a certain emotion in people. We become nicer, and happier.

OPPORTUNITY:
Reduce global grumpiness.

Ice Cream is a Luxury. Singapore.

Some people always have ice-cream in their fridge. They say, “When ice-cream's in the fridge, it’s a happy fridge."


We all indulge in bite-sized luxury for our everyday enjoyment. Like when we buy a cup of Starbucks, we’re not just buying coffee; we're actually buying a cup of indulgence.

Truth is, luxury is no longer restricted to those who are rich. It’s an experience that everyone wants and deserves. Even students indulge in ice-creams on a regular basis.


In fact, ‘Eye on Asia’ – a study by Grey Global Group – confirms that the pressures of modern life are driving people to indulge in all sorts small luxuries, including ice-cream. It’s been reported that 85% of Asians believe in self-treating.

Truth: We all need a little luxury in our day. Ice-cream is an important triviality. A luxury we all buy-in to.

Get Lost In Ice Cream. Singapore.

Ice-cream lets us to escape in moments of pure pleasure.
It allows our minds to get lost, and wander.

TRUTH: People enjoy getting lost in ice-cream.

OPPORTUNITY: Few brands offer this intense, personal moment with their product. How can we make something out of this moment?

Slow Down. Singapore.

Singapore.

Our lives are dominated by moments of ‘rush’. Eating an ice-cream, however, provides moments of pure pleasure. Some say it gives them a light, summer feel. Others say it has the calming effect of slowing them down. Whatever it is, ice-cream has this amazing ability to make us smile. In that sense, ice-cream is a refreshing antidote to our crazy lives. It offers us a moment to really enjoy life.

Just take a look at the contentment on their faces. Mmmm....



TRUTH:
Ice-cream time is always a good time.

OPPORTUNITY:
Slow down and enjoy the ice cream.

Surprise Me. Singapore.

A new wave of quirky ice-cream shops has surfaced. While they offer a familiar, homey atmosphere, the ice-creams they carry don't come in the usual familiar flavours.

Island Creamery is one of such agent provocateurs of Singapore’s ice-cream scene; a shop that presents a wide assortment of unusual ice-cream flavours – from Horlicks (a popular breakfast beverage) to Chendol (a popular local dessert) to Tiger Beer (a popular local beer). But these are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s an endless spread of new flavours on display.

‘Teh Tarik’ is a milk tea sold in most local coffee shops.

‘Pulut Hitam’ is a popular Malay desert.



This is Mikey, son of the guy who owns Island Creamery. He says his dad is like the Willy Wonker of ice-cream. “Tired of the usual naff flavours, dad is always experimenting with new exciting concoctions to entice the taste buds of their customers,” he says. Though too modest to claim it, they have actually started a quiet revolution. And attracted a curious stream of people into his little Island (of unusal) Creamery.

Other shops with equally quirky offerings are 'Daily Scoop' and 'Cold Rock Creamery'. Like Island Creamery, they've sought inspiration from real food flavours. They carry an amazing spread of cool flavours like Wasabi Mango, Ginger Crumble, Chilli Chocolate, Lime & Black Pepper.



TRUTH:
Few rules apply when it comes to flavours. In fact, real food flavours make the easy cross into ice-cream flavours.

OPPORTUNITY: Be the ice-cream rebels. Be the one people come to when they seek surprise.

New Ways of Eating Ice Cream. Singapore.

Singapore is a rather small island. But when it comes to eating ice-cream, we have broken more than a few rules. For example:

1. We sandwich our ice-cream in a slice of bread.




2. We have different ice-cream flavours all mixed up together.



3. We have ice-cream that comes in all sorts of different ‘tropical fruit’ flavours.


These are called Potong ice-cream. They come in sticks, and usually cost S$1 each. Interesting tropical fruit flavours range from Durian and Jackfruit, to Red Bean and Sweet Corn.

4. We also encourage a generous topping of Milo or Horlicks on even the best quality of ice-creams. (For the uninitiated, Milo and Horlicks are hot malted beverages usually taken as breakfast.)



5. We also put ice-cream into the savory Indian pancake: Roti Prata.



It used to be only eaten with curry....



But today, Prata shops now offer a new variation – one that’s wrapped around generous servings of ice-cream.


This is a shot of a prata with at 3 scoops of ice cream wrapped in it. With fresh chocolate and strawberry sauce drizzled on top.

If you're curious to find out how ice-cream prata is made, check out this video clip:



TRUTH:
Quite evidently, the way ice-cream is presented is just as important as the taste of the ice-cream itself.

OPPORTUNITY:
Inspire new ways of eating ice cream .
Invent the next banana split.

Play with it. Global.

Mix it, swirl it, suck it. Sticky, sweet, messy.

Nowadays, food can be taken so seriously. But even when ice cream goes gourmet, it's hard to keep the smile off your face when you eat it.

Opportunity: Leave good manners at home and let people to get messy. Let them play with their food.




From China to America, people do strange things with their ice cream;

In Beijing we ate corn flavored ice cream in the shape of a corn cob.
In USA we watched people smash cookies, nuts and fruit into their own personal mixtures.
In cinemas around the world people dip their cones into their popcorn bags.
In Singapore the locals love ice cream sandwiched between slices of colorful bread.

Truth: Ice cream breaks all the food rules.

If You're Good. New York.

When you’re a kid, it’s simple. Good = Treat, Bad = No treat.

Everyone has a childhood ice cream story. Amanda is from Alaska, but her story is one we've heard around the world;

“I hated brussel sprouts when I was little, I mean who doesn’t. But I was willing to go through all that pain and suffering just for a big bowl of ice cream that lay at the finish line... It was just so worth it.”



The thing is, when we grow up there's no one to hand out the rewards, so we treat ourselves. For adults ice cream is like a little pat on the back for our inner child.

Opportunity: Reward all the good kids in the world - big and small.

For the Experience. Beijing.

On Thursday night at a big Beijing cinema complex, and we met up with Lin, Ji and Huang; 3 university students who live down the road from one of Beijing's many Haagen Dazs cafes.



Haagen Dazs outlets seem to be popping up at every upscale mall and popular shopping corner in China's cities. Add to that the proliferation of Dairy Queens, and smaller ice cream chains such as Sprinkles... it's obvious the Chinese love their ice cream.

But it's much more than ice cream itself that's creating the buzz - these ice cream cafes offer Chinese people a unique experience, following in the successful footsteps of McDonalds and Starbucks.

Lin thinks Haagen Dazs is the perfect place for a beautiful date, she loves it when her boyfriend brings her here (and looking around we notice the room is filled with happy couples.)

"The music, the colors, the menu, the ice creams... it makes me feel very good, like wearing beautiful clothes. Like a luxury."



And it's not just (relatively expensive) Haagen Dazs that offers an experience; Ji takes his girlfriend to Dairy Queen - it suits his student budget;

"When we need some desert, some treat or indulgence we get a Blizzard at DQ. And now, whenever I see the DQ sign, it makes me want that again." (Funny how ice cream needs a little prompting.)



As we watched people linger over the menu, chat to their friends, flirt with their dates and indulge their senses with their choices, it became clear; ice cream is not a product, it's an experience.

Truth: Ice cream is more than a magical mix of ingredients, it is a little luxury experience that can suit almost any taste and budget.

Opportunity: Be a matchmaker.

Ice Cream is the Answer.

Sore throat? Top of the class? Broken heart? Good behaviour? Feeling hot? Tough day?

Whatever the issue - good or bad, reward or consolation - ice cream seems to be the answer.

When things go wrong, ice cream may not solve the problem but it at least makes you feel better for a moment or two.

When things go right, ice cream is the perfect not-too-serious reward.

Opportunity: Give people an ice cream answer when nothing else will do.

All Consuming. Global.

Over the past few weeks we've seen a lot of people eating ice cream, all over the world.

It's amazing to watch people eat ice cream because ice cream is all consuming. People stop talking. Stop moving. Stop everything. Ice Cream takes control.

Truth: People of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds love to let go and surrender to the ice cream experience.

The Queen of Ice Cream. Russia.

“Oh! I love ice-cream so much! My personal record is 12 portions a day. Out of all possible meals just ice-cream will do for me!”



Katya is all about freedom. She takes the most important decisions in life spontaneously (one may even say irresponsibly), it may seem to be not consistent and not logical, however it makes perfect sense to her.

When she was a child they had a story once. There were 20 portions of ice-cream for the two of them: her father and her. They have agreed to eat as fast as they can and see who will manage to eat more! And she won. She got 12 out of 20.

Now ice-cream is almost the only sweet she eats. Some time ago she decided to stop eating cakes, chocolates and other sweets, which are not healthy and not good for shape. She loved sweets, but her decision was to stop eating that stuff. Only ice-cream does not require any limits!

Being spontaneous, unpredictable, emotional and impulsive she is still a wise person. Her feminine power is all in that – being wise.

Don't limit indulgence. Why would you worry if there is nothing to worry about?