| | | | | | | Presented By Okta | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Erica Pandey ·Oct 19, 2021 | | From Caitlyn Jenner to Matthew McConaughey, more celebrities are getting involved in public life — or thinking out loud about it — and it's a trend that seems likely to continue. - Today's reader photo comes from Jim Hauptman, whose ad agency in Maine is using a clever new perk to attract and retain workers.
- Keep sending us your photos or anecdotes of examples of "What's Next" in the wild. We're at whatsnext@axios.com.
Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,122 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Celebrities are America's new politicians |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | Launching gubernatorial bids, making presidential endorsements, founding schools: Celebrities are getting increasingly involved in U.S. public and political life, Erica Pandey writes. Why it matters: As we've reported, politics is no longer just the purview of career politicians, as companies and their CEOs throw their weight around to affect policies. Now, movie stars, famous musicians and professional athletes also are using their influence in politics. - "You could write the same book on celebrity in politics as you could write on business in politics," says David Jackson, a political science professor at Bowling Green State University.
What's happening: While we've seen celebrity presidents before — most notably Ronald Reagan — they've held lower elected offices before making it to the White House. Donald Trump's victory represented a paradigm shift, Jackson says: "He went straight from the tabloids of New York to the presidency, with no previous experience." - "That certainly established a precedent for a new route to the presidency that we have yet to see if others will take," he says.
According to a recent survey by the consumer research platform Piplsay, 63% of Americans believe Hollywood stars can make good politicians "with the right attitude and support staff." - Actor Matthew McConaughey has said he's "measuring" a run for Texas governor. And a recent Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler poll put him ahead of incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
- Former Olympic athlete and Caitlyn Jenner recently made a run for California governor.
- In the Piplsay poll, 58% said they'd support Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a presidential candidate. Another 30% said they'd like to see Angelina Jolie run for the top job, and 22% said Tom Hanks.
Stars are also participating in public life in other ways. The big picture: The popularity of celebrities in politics is part of a larger trend of distrust in government, Bowling Green's Jackson says. Read the full story. |     | | | | | | 2. Car colors as diverse and complex as the people who drive them |  | | | Endless variation is the theme of BASF's automotive color trends collection. Photo: BASF | | | | Henry Ford famously said of the Model T: "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black," Joann Muller writes. - Cars of the future will be painted in more diverse, textured and complex colors, say the experts at giant paint supplier BASF.
- White is still the most popular car color today, followed by black, silver and gray, but a wider range of hues are gaining traction, says BASF.
Why it matters: Color is an emotional and subjective consideration in buying a car, and it plays an important role in consumers' buying preferences, notes Paul Czornij, BASF's head of automotive color design in the Americas. - "Remember, your car is an outward expression of who you are," Czornij tells Axios. "The color hue, how bold or muted it is, depends on what you're trying to project about your personality."
Driving the news: BASF's coatings division just released its Automotive Color Trends collection for 2021-22, which it called "Superposition" — borrowing a phenomenon from quantum mechanics — referring to a state where "the limitation of binary systems is overcome." - "In other words, things aren't just black or white, heads or tails, one or zero," according to BASF. "The world has an uncountable number of variations, and this collection immerses itself in those variations."
- Color trends vary by region too, reflecting unique cultures in different parts of the world.
Between the lines: One color is "Knowing Ignorance," a featured color for luxury cars in China. It "begins with greenish sparkles on the light side, then moves to a warm and brownish space," BASF explains. - Finally, it "gives way to a reddish fill in its dark side — all showing on the same surface."
In North America, where consumers favor different aesthetics than Chinese customers, "the color spaces are anchored in optimism and resilience, and show the potential for humanity to move forward despite the challenges." - "Lambent Earth," for example, "presents the essence of the bountiful energy and fragility in the world, combining a fiery glow with a natural brown."
Read the full story. | | | | | | | | 3. Halloween 2021 will be pricier than ever |  Re-created from Well Kept Wallet; Chart: Axios Visuals Americans will spend more than $10 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: Halloween continues to become a mainstream adult holiday, with 55% of households without kids saying they plan to celebrate, per the NRF. By the numbers: While costumes tend to be where people shell out the most, 10% of people will spend more than $100 on candy alone this year, according to a poll by the Well Kept Wallet. - "On average, consumers plan to spend $102.74 on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards — $10 more than they planned to spend last year," the NRF said.
- The record $10.14 billion spent on Halloween this year is up from $8.05 billion last year, "when the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention suggested most avoid trick-or-treating," as USA Today notes.
- While 82% of households will celebrate, a whopping 55% of those without children will too.
Read the whole story. | | | | | | | | A message from Okta | | Protect customers with Okta's modern identity solutions | | |  | | | | Retailers around the world use Okta to power their most important customer-facing initiatives. Here's why: Engaging your customers online is essential – and keeping them safe is crucial. Learn how Okta can support your most important customer-facing initiatives. | | | | | | 4. TikTok drives new nostalgia economy |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | Older brands, trends and technologies are making a comeback as younger consumers desperately chase slower, less chaotic times, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. The big picture: TikTok's algorithm makes it easy for flashback items to resurface and quickly go viral both on its platform and eventually on other social networks. - After years of high-rise jeans taking over women's fashion, low-rise jeans and miniskirts — reminiscent of the early 2000s — have made a comeback on runways this year.
- Legacy brands like The Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch are seeing sales soar, thanks to flagship items like classic brand hoodies and''90s straight jeans, which have been heralded as hot fashion items on TikTok.
- Even wired headphones are hot again. TikTok vloggers use the small microphone feature on Apple's wired headphones as a symbol for speaking directly to their audiences.
Read the full story. | | | | | | | | 5. Reader photo of the day |  | | | Photo: Jim Hauptman | | | | What's Next: Innovative perks to retain workers Jim Hauptman writes: "Our Yarmouth, Maine-based advertising agency was contemplating the purchase of a utility van to serve as a mobile office/basecamp for video production shoots. "But with employee recruitment and retention increasingly top of mind, we took the idea of a van one step further and this past Friday surprised staff (primarily Gen-Xers) with a new RV that does double duty as a production basecamp during the week, but can also be used by staff on weekends for their personal camping adventures. "Increasingly, job seekers are looking for companies whose benefits align more closely with their personal interests and values. Here in Maine, at least, that's a kayak- and mountain-bike toting RV!" | | | | | | | | A message from Okta | | Give your workforce secure access to what they need the most | | |  | | | | With Okta, your organization can secure and enable employees, contractors, and partners --- wherever they are, and whatever they do. Your people are your future. Protect them. Learn why companies around the world trust Okta for workforce identity. | | | | Thanks for reading! If this email was forwarded to you, feel free sign up for Axios What's Next here. |  | | It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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