Howatson+Co, Sydney Jewish Museum Sell Premium Candles, Wine, Bread to “Repackage” Jewish Culture

​Howatson+Company and the Sydney Jewish Museum have launched ‘Incommon’, an online brand with a limited edition range of products connecting the general public with Jewish culture and rituals.

Based on the principle that connection reduces prejudice, ‘Incommon’ repackages parts of Jewish culture as contemporary products, stretching across food, fashion, design, and music, and accompanied by bold art direction and fun copywriting.

The products include Challah Sambo, which chief creative officer Gavin Chimes described as a classic Aussie feed with a Jewish twist, a perfume inspired by traditional Jewish havdalah spice boxes, traditional candles, a charm, and a Rosé.

“It's all part of wholesome Jewish traditions. It can be yours too -- the whole idea is the products are made for anybody to use, regardless of their background,” Gavin told LBB.

“If you want to dismantle prejudice, don’t just tell people why hate is wrong. Give them something to love instead.”

Gavin was referencing the copy found on the candle box, which reads, “It's a wholesome AF Jewish tradition and it can be yours too. So put your phone down, light up and just be.”

The project was born from the insight that most people have never met someone Jewish, let alone experienced Judaism’s traditions, food, art, and music.

Partnering with influencers, the brand has already achieved over 25 million views on TikTok, sparking new cultural conversations and making Jewish culture more visible, Gavin said.

He explained the project is a response to an “avalanche” of misinformation online stems from people “ignorantly” engaging with anti-Semitic content.

“The longer we don’t respond to that, the flame just gets bigger,” Gavin said. “‘Incommon’ is the kind of content that challenges that, and smothers the fire.

“It’s often not even political, it's just ancient tropes and stereotypes that people are brazenly sharing … [the] most hate you could ever imagine.”

In July 2023, the Sydney Jewish Museum and TikTok Australia began discussing how the platform could help tackle the issue. Given the platform had worked with Howatson+Company previously, TikTok suggested bringing the agency into the conversation.

Working alongside The Dor Foundation, Howatson+Company found that while Gen Z tends to be more progressive across social issues, anti-Semitism is the only form of hate that's growing among young people.

The finding reinforced the hypothesis that TikTok would be a crucial platform to reach young people.

“With the extremes, far right and far left … you’re not going to change those views,” he said.

“But there is a significant cohort in the middle that can be persuaded. We discovered that a lot of these Australians actually have no familiarity with the Jewish culture, the people and the community.

“There's a group of young people with a rise in anti-Semitic values that can be swayed just by breaking down the ignorance, giving them more exposure, giving them the correct information and engagement.

“Their attitudes are formed more by ignorance than intent. These aren't hateful people. They just don't know.”

Initially, Howatson+company considered using humour to “myth bust” anti-Semitic tropes online, but ultimately decided against engaging with tropes at all.

“All [it was] doing was making people feel guilty or bad or shameful, and you were creating more noise around the problem,” Gavin explained.

“We weren't doing anything to address the solution. So we thought, what if we could address anti-Semitism by not even mentioning the word, and just come from a place of openness and love, sharing the culture with everyone else.

“The unlock was: What if you just treated Judaism as a tourism campaign, and you got people to experience it or have a taste. That was interesting, and really reset our thinking.”

Many Jewish rituals, Gavin added, align with TikTok’s most popular verticals, like food, art, and music.

“These beautiful rituals and objects like Shabbat dinner … it’s not just a religious thing, it’s a part of the culture.

“So we thought, what if we actually repackaged Judaism, rebranded it almost, and turned this culture that is seemingly foreign [into] something open and enticing and packed with street cred, [making] it desirable for Gen Zs to connect with.

“[With ‘Incommon’], we've basically taken parts of Jewish culture and turned them into really cool, desirable objects. The idea was that they could be sent to influencers as cultural talking points that they could unbox and learn more. And they're available online for anyone.”

The store also features a vinyl record that samples ancient Jewish melodies and songs, to create a series of “techno dance-floor bangers.”

“There's nothing about the products that’s [exclusive to] Judaism, it’s about the act and the ritual. We just want to give people rituals. It’s like saying, ‘ You love wine? We love wine!’ We have shared values. We have more in common than we don't.”

Turning traditions into desirable objects, and giving people their first brand experience with Jewish culture, came with a lot of responsibility.

“It was important that the packaging didn't feel cheap, the products felt premium and considered, and that people had a good unboxing experience. It's taking all the learnings we have from branding and product design, and applying that to a cultural education.”

Offline, ‘Incommon’ will have a permanent home in the Sydney Jewish Museum gift shop once the museum’s move to a new location is complete.

“We've already begun some conversations with parties that would want to take this overseas,” Gavin said.

“And there's no reason why this couldn't become an ongoing social enterprise that, when we manufacture at scale, we create lots of cultural conversations.”

‘Incommon’ is not a way for Howatson+Company to make money (it’s a Sydney Jewish Museum brand), Gavin insisted, nor is it an indication the agency will focus on product development.

“It's the right solution for the problem,” he said.

“We have no house style, we wouldn’t say we’re doing more products. This just happened to be the right solution this time.

“It will definitely be part of the [museum] gift shop for years to come. But if it's successful, like we have a really great test case to find more investors … I'd love it to become a social enterprise where the profits from sales can actually sustain mass manufacturing and all it goes back into the business. And if we can create this brand at scale, that's where we can really make the biggest [impact].”