What actually is the Golden Hour?
No seriously, I did have to look this one up.
The golden hour, as a term, is actually based in photography. It refers to the period of time shortly after sunrise or just before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon, which creates soft, diffused, and warm-toned light — great for a certain je ne sais quoi, a cinematographic aesthetic that is otherwise unreplicable.
Photographers and cinematographers use this golden hour aesthetic to create a relaxed feeling, full of nostalgia. A moment when the main character can look off into the distance or at the horizon and recall the significant moments in their life with a sense of closure or fond attachment.
On The Brightside™ is that aesthetic as a feeling, in a can, for anyone to have on demand.
Why we needed it
Somewhere between the notifications and the doomscrolling and the group chats that never stop, we forgot what it felt like to just be somewhere. That moment where you stop being in your head and start being in the room — that's what we were trying to put in a can.
We created On The Brightside™ with relaxation in mind. A feel-good soda infused with 15mg of Zembrin® — a clinically studied extract of kanna that most people feel within 20–30 minutes. Warm, clear, and easy. No buzz, no crash, no next-morning anything.
Have you ever put your phone down for a whole day? For a week? Have you ever noticed that you feel less tense, less worried about things out of your control, when you stop staring at a screen?
That's the feeling we were attempting to create with On The Brightside™, and we think we succeeded.
So why the golden hour aesthetic?
There are two real connections back to that for us:
1. Remembering a time before screens. When we think about the vibe we want, it's that feeling from before phones. When you could be more in the moment and less worried about capturing that moment. When you didn't have to watch every move because someone else would capture it and post it. When the only opinions that really mattered were the ones that saw you at home, in the office, or could actually remember your phone number and give you a call. That's the feeling of On The Brightside™.
2. Nostalgia always feels better. The truth is, the past was never as good as we remember it, but it always feels that way. We're hard wired to look kindly back on the past, and so in trying to communicate the feeling we've canned in On The Brightside™, we want you to think about those moments you remember when you stare off at the horizon just after the sun sets.
What does the Golden Hour mean to us?
It means the feeling of actually talking to your friend on that landline. It means the feeling of knowing it's time to go home, because the street lights just came on. It means the feeling of drinking from the garden hose on a hot summer day. It means the feeling of being at a party where no one's phone is out. It means the feeling of putting on your headphones and selecting a song that isn't being streamed over the internet.
We can't escape screens completely – that's just not how modern life is. But we can be more present and more conscious about how we use them. We can put our phones away when our kids are around; we can leave them behind at dinner; we can put them in a basket when we have friends over.
That moment where you stop being in your head and start being in the room? That's the golden hour. And it's available any time you want it.
#lowtechsummer is here. So put the phone down, crack an On The Brightside™, and relax.
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