the age of 'conspicuous hydration'

There comes a point with a giant sippy cup where you start to question who is really holding who - with my arm buckling under the weight of my gargantuan receptacle, I’m no longer sure it’s me in charge. And given that human beings are 90 per cent water, the line between who is the cup and who is the person holding the cup is even more blurred. Am I in fact the cup?

As new iterations of sippy cups are released with their own bags, phone holders and more, perhaps the sippy cup can no longer be reasonably described as the ‘accessory’. It is very much the main event. Next, perhaps I won’t even need a home anymore. I could just move into the enormous cup at the end of my arm and live happily-hydrated ever after.

One thing at least is clear - conspicuous consumption was so last decade. We have now plunged deep into the era of conspicuous hydration. And why not? It’s not just your skin, teeth, hair and nails that stand to benefit. You see, it’s not just a cup. It’s a lifestyle. And a much easier lifestyle to get into than others I have toyed with before. Athleisure? A little too inappropriate in the office, and prone to awkward rashes. Public protein shaking? Always left a lingering scent of dead/wet dog emanating from the bag under my desk. But with a giant sippy cup? Now I have a hygienic and fancy way to show the world I put my personal wellness first. And what better way to show I prioritise my wellness than making twenty people wait behind me for half an hour whilst I fill up my hourly two gallons at the communal tap.

And although I’ve dived into this trend mouth first, it did take me by surprise. I never thought tap water could become a trend. There is nothing more functional, more base, more human, and yet… here we are. But perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. The thing is, trends don’t need to have a purpose, they are the purpose. Just ask Orcas from the 1980s. It turns out it wasn’t just humans affected by misguided sartorial decisions that decade. There was a trend where Orcas, (yes, as in the whales in the ocean) started to swim around with dead salmons on their heads. Scientists were confused. The ‘salmon hat’ phenomenon, as it was known, dumbfounded them as they searched for climate induced, or human-induced factors. Then suddenly, just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Orcas got bored of their salmon hats and they moved on. Scientists, in the end, just concluded it was a trend. Orcas are very intelligent social creatures, and like humans, they use trends to create a sense of belonging. Trends, including wearing dead pieces of fish on your face, come and go because it’s not what you’re doing that matters, it’s the fact you’re doing it together.

That’s important for brands. We’re very focused on the benefits of getting on a trend when the time is right. And rightly so. Getting your TikTok, audience, and culture strategy right can supercharge your fortunes like never before. The 110-year-old Stanley brand – which has set the gold standard in sippy cups with its quencher – grew from $70 million in revenue to $750 million in 2023, in large part through leveraging a viral TikTok video showing it surviving a burning car with the water inside still ice cold.

But brands also need to be aware of when the tide turns on trends. Something which usually happens very slowly, and then very quickly. Just as it might be hard to believe that something so essential as water can become a trend, we can also be blinded to the fact that things that are very established can also fall out of favour or evolve.

Even things like our connectivity.

The emergent symbols that our era of connectivity is about to go through a major sea change, especially amongst young people, are becoming increasingly visible.

• Product symbol – tick

• The rise in dumb phones. Intellectual symbol tick

• World leading Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation topping charts (his speech about Gen Zs destructive relationship with smartphones left audiences open mouthed at this year’s Nudgestock).

• Grassroots symbol – tick

• A small movement of parents campaigning for a ‘phone-free childhood’ went nationwide almost instantly. Brand symbol – tick

• Dove taking a stand against the toxic influence of social media particularly amongst young girls.

When there are multiple symbols emerging it’s usually a sign that something we see as fixed and immovable is potentially about to have a moment of course correction. And brands need to think now about what their strategy is for digital responsibility if they want to ride it out.

Everything can be a trend. Every trend can change, decline and evolve. And brands must stay on top of both sides of the coin especially as the rate of change is now faster than ever. And as for me, I must now stop writing because I need my tenth well-hydrated-wee of the day. Perhaps my sippy cup’s days are numbered after all.

Matt Waksman is the head of strategy at Ogilvy UK