January may be a time for renewal and self-improvement, but Diet Coke is calling on its customers to stay the same. Rather than selling an aspirational lifestyle, the brand is promoting positivity and confidence with the hope of appealing to people who are tired of having to begin again every New Year.

Anyone who’s tried to plan ahead in 2020 knows it hasn’t been easy. After an unpredictable year, people are rethinking their aspirations for the year ahead. Rather than aiming to lose ten pounds or go to the gym every day, many have set their sights on more practical resolutions for 2021.

With the pandemic having turned life upside down, how are people responding when their beloved rituals get disrupted? Canvas8 spoke to Daniel Stein from the University of California about the importance of rituals in modern life and why altering them can make people upset.

For many couples, lockdown has put a strain on their relationship – almost half of Americans say it’s been tricky to keep the spark alive. Canvas8 spoke to Ximena Garcia-Rada, doctoral candidate at Harvard Business School, to learn how relationship rituals can act as powerful commitment tools.