Farewell to the pioneering airtight and leak-proof food containers that cluttered generations of kitchen cupboards. Tupperware has filed for bankruptcy after years of declining sales and rising competition, with assets worth around USD 680 mn and debts of USD 1.2 bn, reported NYT. The company is the world renowned provider of… well, Tupperware — an iconic case of the brand becoming so ubiquitous that it becomes the go-to identifier for a class of products.

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We saw this coming. Last March, Tupperware expressed uncertainty that the brand would be able to continue as they faced a drop in demand, along with a liquidity crunch due to higher costs for products, labor and logistics. Earlier in June, Tupperware announced that it would be shutting down the last remaining plant in the US, laying employees off in increments with a planned complete closure in January.

In its filing, the company acknowledged that it did not adapt to the modern-day business model. Chief Restructuring Officer Brian J. Fox explained that they failed to develop a suitable sales strategy to keep up with online shopping, which led to customers not knowing where to purchase the products, despite the fact that they were well aware of what it was. The company only set up an Amazon storefront and began selling at Target in 2022, but by then it was too late to dig themselves out of the hole.

The company was founded almost 80 years ago by Earl Tupper to help families savemoneyon food waste after the Great Depression. Later on in the 1950s, the company’s popularity increased significantly with the rise of Tupperware Parties — essentially meetups where recruited saleswomen would socialize with neighbors and other homemakers, pass around tupperware catalogs, and place orders. This was a strategy developed by Brownie Wise — an incredibly effective one during its time — who later became vice-president of marketing for Tupperware Parties Inc.

When you pause your YouTube video now, you’ll be met with a nasty surprise. We hate to say we told you so, but even YouTube’s pause button has become a host to ads. While you’re taking a breather, advertisers are going to populate your screen. As if unskippable ads weren’t enough.

The purpose of Pause Ads is to create a ‘non-interruptive’ watching experience. Supposedly. Though the company hasn’t explicitly promised to make in-watch ads less frequent or even shorter, YouTube claims that it doesn’t want to interrupt your viewing experience anymore. This new method is rolling out to all the advertisers after a successful pilot program starting in 2023, which the company said was well received by advertisers and viewers alike.

It’s nothing new to the internet, but it doesn’t make it less annoying. A year ago, video platforms like Hulu, Max, and Peacockembraced the Pause Ad method.

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