Longtime ad industry executive David Droga, now CEO of Accenture Interactive, helped create a precedent for how brands could try to tap into and create culture. Now he wants the industry to “dispose of the constraints inherent in the traditional role of an ad agency, and set a new standard for how creative thinking can transform businesses, far beyond anything resembling an ad,” per Fast Company.

Crocs, General Mills and Foot Locker have joined together to offer clogs inspired by Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, Honey Nut Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs that'll sell for $45 to $70. “The shoes come with cereal-themed Jibbitz charms such as berries, cereal logos and sugary cinnamon squares,” per USA Today. “So far, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crocs are the only ones available for purchase at Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Eastbay in kids' and men's sizes. The other three flavors – er, designs – will hit shelves in July.”

With the food delivery business declining from its high during the height of the pandemic, companies are feeling the chill. Just Eat Takeaway, which recently lost both its chairman and COO in unrelated moves, is exploring divestment options for Grubhub, the U.S. business it paid $7.3 billion to acquire less than a year ago, in June 2021, per TechCrunch.   

Basic economy usually means the most restrictive cancellation policies for airline tickets. But United Airlines is giving customers a break. The airline is now permitting customers to cancel their Basic Economy tickets for a fee rather than just lose all the funds. Delta Air Lines and JetBlue each have similar policies, allowing passengers to cancel with a fee that ranges from $99 to $200. Southwest is one of the few airlines with a long-standing policy of allowing customers to alter tickets without a change fee regardless of the fare class, per Afar. 

An online budget clothing company has quickly become the darling of Gen Z. The Chinese company uses influencers on TikTok to attract new customers. “Earlier this year, the investment firm Piper Sandler surveyed 7,000 American teens about their favorite ecommerce sites and found that while Amazon was the clear winner, Shein came in second,” per Wired. “In April, Shein reportedly raised $1 billion to $2 billion in private funding. The company was valued at $100 billion—higher than the combined worth of fast-fashion titans H&M and Zara.”

In an excerpt from his new book, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé writes of the console’s U.S. debut—and his fear it would get him fired. The company showcased games it was working on at the large Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006. “We would have them available for all 60,000 show attendees to play,” according to the excerpt in Fast Company. “This would be a particular challenge because we had a ton of games to show, and our traditional booth size was too small. This was especially true because we needed to have more space between players as some …

A recent ruling which leaves wearing a mask on flights up to the individual traveler, which is making some uncomfortable. Of 1,000 who were polled just after the change, 53% said they believe dropping the mask mandate will result in an increase in COVID cases. Nearly half of the respondents say they are very likely to continue wearing masks in airports (46%), on planes (47 %), public transit (46%), and trains (45%). “The airlines say they are offering options—including refunds in some cases—to those who no longer want to travel,’ per Afar.

Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart told customers in a letter that the discount grocer is committing to remove plastic shopping bags from all stores by the end of 2023. That equals the elimination of 4,400 tons of plastic from the environment every year, he says. The retailer has already removed plastic shopping bags from almost 500 stores and is on track to phasing them out of all 2,200 U.S. locations by the close of next year. Aldi claims to be the the first major U.S retailer to commit to eliminating all plastic shopping bags from stores.

Publix Super Markets has begun offering rapid grocery delivery in the Miami area using Instacart’s Carrot Warehouses. Customers can order from an assortment of thousands of products and have them delivered in as soon as 15 minutes, including during early morning or late night hours, according to the companies.  Items range from fresh produce, dairy and meat to pantry staples, household goods and other products. Instacart says it will offer “a wider online selection to customers than the industry standard” for rapid grocery delivery.

New York’s legendary Magnolia Bakery is reinventing itself with the help of the firm that created Burger King’s redesign, Jones Knowles Ritchie. It includes a new logo, wordmark and packaging to mail Magnolia’s goods nationwide. “We’re still the same favorite neighborhood bakery, but it’s taken a new meaning to us as a business,” Magnolia Bakery’s chief marketing officer, Eddie Revis tells Fast Company, referring to the company’s direct-to-consumer offering, which launched in October last year.