Brilliant. I love when creative people use their brains to tell a story and not sell something. In the beginning, they are deflated, an indistinct bit of plastic trash perched atop a subway grate. As a train passes below, sending warm air up, the mama and baby bear rise — they’re alive! But then, just as quickly, the train has passed and they wilt. The message is simple: Leave the car, take mass transit, save a few polar bears. ’Nuff unsaid.

How do they do it? Believe it or not, each magical Message Bean grows with an actual word lasered onto one side and an image on the other. Simply remove the foil top and bottom of the can (for drainage), and add a 1/2 cup of water to the enclosed soil -- in just 1-2 weeks, the bean will poke through the surface, revealing the special message! The bean then sprouts into a small plant that can be kept in the container or replanted. A simple and original way to send a greeting.