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There's no wrong way to have a family, and IKEA's latest ad totally gets it.

Breaking news everyone: Divorce happens.

While divorce rates in the U.S. are dropping (we can thank feminism, marriage equality, and true love for that), divorce is still a pretty common occurrence for couples and families around the world.

We're starting to talk about it more, too — at the dinner table, in stories about celebrity breakups and conscious uncouplings online, and in scripted and reality shows on every TV network, like Sarah Jessica Parker's new HBO show which is simply titled "Divorce."


Parker and Thomas Haden Church speak about their new show, "Divorce." Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

This is important because marriages don't always make it, and it's a fact of life.

But real talk about divorce is still missing in one key arena: advertising.

Heartbroken dogs, death, and raising families are fair game. However, for most brands, divorce is just a bridge too far. But, luckily for us, and all families navigating this tricky transition, that's changing.

Enter Swedish furniture and meatball giant IKEA, who tackled the issue of divorce recently in a moving spot titled, "Every Other Week."

The ad shows a young boy packing his things to spend some time at his dad's place for the first time.

GIF via IKEA/Vimeo.

He grabs his belongings and travels across town to his dad's apartment.

GIF via IKEA/Vimeo.

And thanks to IKEA, we see that his room at his dad's apartment is just like his room at his mom's.

GIF via IKEA/Vimeo.

Showing separation and divorce in ads can really be this simple. It doesn't mean this child or every child of divorce has an easy or carefree life, but this ad works because it doesn't make divorce a sob-fest either. Commercials like this normalize what life is like for millions of families around the globe.

IKEA isn't the only company featuring a perfectly-imperfect family in their advertising.

Nabisco's Honey Maid brand dipped a toe in the water in 2014 with their documentary-like spots celebrating "the changing face of American families." (Upworthy gave them a shoutout for their LGBT ad from the same campaign.)

The two-minute commercial showcased Isaac, a real child talking about his big beautiful blended family ... and eating graham crackers. (After all, they're still trying to sell products.)

The onscreen caption reads, "No matter how families change, what makes them wholesome never will." Here, here! Pass the marshmallows.

This representation matters because these families aren't necessarily broken, and they're not damaged either. They're just families.

With the divorce rate in the U.S. still hovering around 50% and 4 in 10 marriages being remarriages for one or both lovebirds, it's high time we see more families like these on the big screen.

Because families now look different from how they did 50, 20, or even five years ago. Families are going through divorce, or they're blended, or led by grandparents, foster parents, gay couples, or single people. And brands and companies should celebrate this positive shift, not shy away from it.

Watch IKEA's heartwarming "Every Other Week," in its entirety.

It's the first video in a series of nine for their "Where Life Happens" campaign.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Jason K. Pargin shares his controversial theory on lobster.

Novelist Jason K. Pargin has inspired an online food fight after his video about lobster received over 500,000 views on Tiktok and nearly 6 million on Twitter. Pargin believes that we’ve all been tricked into liking lobster and that people only like it because it’s considered high class.

Pargin is the author of the “John Dies at the End” and “Zoey Ashe” series and the former editor of Cracked.com.

"I don't think anyone actually enjoys eating lobster. I think they've just been convinced that it's a high-class food for a really specific reason,” Pargin says in his controversial video. He then describes how just a few centuries ago lobster was once used as prisoners' food and ground into fertilizer.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Pop Culture

This 1940s guide on 'how to be pretty' for teen girls has some surprisingly modern suggestions

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty."

1940s guide on "how to be pretty" is surprisingly modern.

Often, when we think of the 1940s and the messaging that was sent to women and girls back then, we tend to imagine lessons about how to get and keep a husband. But it turns out that all messaging wasn't the same and some girls were receiving a much more progressive message about their appearance.

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty." Surprisingly, the advice is rather timeless and not at all focused on becoming the best wife and mother you can be, but on learning to care for yourself. Stuyvesant refers to your physical appearance as icing on a cake and that good icing tastes nice but the cake is the most important part.

She goes on to explain to the girls that who they are as people is the cake and that's the part that needs the most attention.

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Weatherman rescues a chicken in a blizzard and now they're friends.

There's a little-known saying that every weatherman needs a chicken. OK, it's little known because I totally just made it up, but you have to admit, it's just random enough to make you wonder if you missed out on a weird colloquialism. But in this case, it may be a new saying because weatherman David Neal found a stray chicken while reporting on a blizzard, and they've somehow become best friends.

The chicken, now named Penelope, was running around in the snowstorm while Neal was filming, so he tried to catch her so he could make sure she was warm. Penelope had other plans and gave Neal a literal run for his money. Eventually, with the help of a bystander who was likely as confused as the chicken, Neal was able to get Penny in his arms.

Of course, he had some explaining to do once the cameras were rolling again, and he handled it like the pro he is, holding a live chicken.

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Today Info/Youtube

Taylor Swift "diving" below the stage of her Eras Tour concert

The highly anticipated, Ticketmaster-bustingTaylor Swift Eras Tour has officially begun. And it’s looking like the pop star is pulling out all the stops to deliver a heap of spectacle.

Case in point—a video from the “Anti-Hero” pop star's kick-off concert that’s making quite the splash online.

In a mesmerizing blend of live performance and hologram wizardry, audiences saw Swift, clad in a flowy red dress, dive into a pool built into the stage. She then swam across to emerge through waves in a shimmery jumpsuit, just before climbing a ladder and disappearing into a cloud.

Basically, it was like a romantic fairy tale brought to life.

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