Alphas and Zs are killing brands
Plus: Trust is the biggest problem of our time. And there's a new sports Coachella.
Morning,
Last week I was in Cannes. So many thoughts on that. Coming soon. The hot take preview: it’s ripe for re-envisioning.
Please blame the nationwide transportation in Italy for this letter being long. Rather than a leisurely letter-writing train ride, I found myself driving through the mountains to get home. Pretty, yes. Productive, no. Zero time for ruthless editing. When it cuts off, view it in your browser or read it in the app.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: CULTURE / your fave sector full of fun this week.
As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands.
Let’s dive in!
CULTURE
GREAT UNLEARNING // No surprise, there was a lot of AI discussion at Cannes. But the conversations never zoomed out enough. There seemed to be an assumption that in this new era, the world would behave the same way. Faster and more efficient. That’s only a fraction of the picture. Take, for example, higher education. Higher education will not just use AI as a tool for learning. AI is going to change the entire purpose of education. This week, a company called Base44, sold to Wix for $80MM. Cash. It was founded in January 2025. When people are enabled with the right tools to build companies in 6 months that sell to huge companies for +$80MM, they aren’t going to look to business school as the gateway to success. The anti-college movement is growing. But that’s not the full picture either. Higher education is about to have a higher purpose. Practicing thinking is about to explode.
shared a study MIT released this week that shows the enormous cognitive debt that using AI has on our brains. In short, people’s inability to think is crashing out. Thinking is about to be as necessary as going to the gym. Higher education may become a place, once again, where we go to learn to think. It will no longer be our solution for successful careers. It will likely become fragmented. You’ll go back often. For shorter periods. You’ll build a business in a few months, take a sabbatical, and return later to make something else. In between, you’ll practice thinking. This might not be completely right, but it’s one scenario. We aren’t living in our old models anymore. And the faster we acknowledge that, the better.AI FEVER DREAM // Kalshi, the betting platform that allows you to bet on anything and everything, created an ad that’s best described as an AI fever dream. Unsurprisingly, lots of people said it was terrible. But the other perspective is: this is what happens when new technology arises. We experiment. This allowed a small company to make a disruptive ad with a low(er) budget. Which is fun. But as said before, we all have these AI tools now. This absurd style ad won’t make headlines for long. The very best ads tap into something. This is tapping into novelty and our desire to ‘misbehave. AI will allow us to move faster, try more things, but ultimately, when every player has the same tools, it’s those that tap into culture and the moment best that will win. And that’s always changing. Good ideas will be more needed and in higher demand than ever.
TRUST ME // Still stitching this together. Bear with me. But…Trust is about to be the biggest issue of our time. And it’s already showing up. Everywhere.
recently interviewed Katie aka @babytamago, who was invited on the Kerrygold brand trip (a butter brand trip—amazing!) and whose post got over 1MM views. Impressive and interesting on its own. But this was a notable part of the interview: ”Are you paid at all to attend or post? Not paid or required to post!” Much like everyone is sharing the exact backstory to their boob jobs, creators are increasingly protective of their reputation. They don’t want to be seen as ‘bought’ by brands. said last week that many influencer posts are the infomercials of our time—hysterical and true. Most content is entertaining but devoid of trustworthiness. Even the best creators are being forced to defend their reputations. Last week, rebutted (insane) accusations of being paid to write about J.Crew. Emily’s value is that she’s someone you trust to tell it like it is. Unbiased. Never toeing the PR line. When too many Substacks simply repeat the PR pitch (just so you know, I would never), her value lies in your trust in her perspective. But it’s not just creators who are dealing with trust issues. Mark Cuban said, “Within the next 3 years, there will be so much AI, in particular AI video, people won’t know if what they see or hear is real. Which will lead to an explosion of f2f engagement.” If you’re tracking one thing as a brand, make it trust. Who you work with, what you put out into the world, what you make, and how you communicate are going to matter more than ever. Trust will be your most valuable asset. Build it and guard it wisely.F&B
NEEDS MORE BULK // Starbucks announced it is testing protein foam at several US. Smart short-term. Long term, they need to shift culture’s perspective, and that will require being bolder.
NOT MINOR // Minor Figures, the oat milk brand, is getting bolder. This is fun, though gag-inducing. They also have a pop-up in Shibuya. The oat milk wars are getting interesting. I love Oatly’s lookbook.
And more!
You can ride a pickle at Grillo Pickle’s pop-up. I love it.
DRUGS & BOOZE
LOON MOON // BlueMoon thinks that the Valencia orange is more than a garnish. And a core part of its identity. And that somehow that justifies this Eos lip balm collab. This is not how you stage a comeback.
ANTI PILLS // Outro Health is a start-up helping people taper off their antidepressants. Similarly, PainWaive, is a video game that’s geared at getting you off pain meds. The world is sick of being tethered to their pills. This conversation is getting louder.
HIGHLY CLEVER // Travel Agency, the dispensary in NYC, launched an online guide to enjoy Broadway with cannabis. I pitched this idea to a brand 3 years ago. It’s smart. Shifting the perspective of cannabis is about shifting how its users are perceived. And the reality is, most aren’t hanging in their mom’s basement.
SPRITZ BLITZ // The Spritz continues to own summer. Aperol was alive and well at Cannes. The Hugo Spritz is still popular. Italicus is another option I witnessed rising in France. Campari is a fave amongst many friends.
says another Italian apertif Sarti Rosa is gaining popularity on TikTok. All are FOMO in a glass that you can taste with your eyes.And more!
Julie, the morning-after pill brand, launched
on Substack. Love it.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
AI FRIENDS //
had a great issue this week that spoke about the rise of AI companions. This cute, alien companion AI app, Tolan, is soaring in popularity. AI tools for kids are about to get huge.YOUTH BOOM // Youth sports are continuing to get interesting. Nike is launching Toma El Juego, a youth-led street soccer platform “designed to unleash the joy, freedom, and creative expression of the game through neighborhood tournament play and community-driven experiences.” And
had a fascinating letter on the rise of flag football. has been talking about this for over a year.ATHLETE OWNER // The taking-ownership trend continues. The ATHLOS League has introduced a team-based competition model designed for and by the modern athlete. “Sha'Carri. Gabby. Tara. They're not just stars, they're owners.”
YOUNG ASSASSINS // Brands are quickly learning that pivoting to Alphas and Z for gains isn’t a recipe for long-term wins. First, it was Drunk Elephant. Now, Vera Bradley. I would also like to point out that I said Vera wasn’t in a healthy place nearly 1 year ago and offered to help. The offer stands.
And more!
Beame is a new “Interactive sunscreen” designed to help kids remember to reapply.
Love this brand, Youth Crews, filling the need for diapers for disabled kids between baby and adult sizes.
Everyone is obsessed with telling you that Gen-Z doesn’t want to lead. I call bullsh*t.
’s Gen-Z report gives you a much better picture.These alpha makeovers are just fun.
Loewe hired a 16yr old photog. Also fun.
It’s the grandma stone sourcing for me. Hiking patrol gets it.
Truly obsessed with this 70+ Hyrox cohort. This is influential. Silver athletes are going to get bigger.
RETAIL
COACH WITH THE MOST // Coach is in the midst of a big shift. “Coach brand delivered exceptional performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, achieving net sales of $1.29 billion, reflecting a 13% year-over-year increase on a reported basis and 15% growth on a constant-currency basis.“ I do love this feature: what fits inside your Coach.
EXPERIENCE IN STORE // As predicted, retail is getting more experiential. ”Canada Goose is adding VIP lounges to select locations, Coach is serving coffee and cocktails in its immersive flagships, and Tanger is building out lawns and movie theaters at open-air malls. Gen Z in particular is responding to these upgraded environments; Coach reports higher traffic, longer visits, and increased repeat visits in stores that have these extra amenities.”
And more!
Smoking is very back in. Case in point: Aime Leon Dore’s latest.
Pop Mart has a new jewelry concept. Oh boy.
I saw some of this Longchamp campaign in London and it was v cute. It’s worldwide too.
Hermes made a Mystery of the Grooms pop-up. It’s not as exclusive-feeling as I would have liked. But I do love this detail. It comes down to how it’s captured, which isn’t something you want to rely on.
Argos Arghaus—hysterical.
Burberry took over a hotel. Simple but cute.
ASOS made a brick-and-mortar location in NYC. Wow. Snooze fest. What happened?!
Leandra Cohen has a luxury jewelry collab with Aflalon, a company by Reformations’ former founder.
This new ‘design’ shopping center in the Arts District in LA has a very cute illustrated wheat paste campaign.
Telfar is launching a take on America’s Next Top Model called New Models.
Arielle Ratner made Vicky Montanari’s engagement ring, so you know who to watch in the jewelry space.
I think things are getting cut off around here. If so, you’re missing TECH, SPORT, WELLNESS & BEAUTY, TRAVEL, and FUN FOR THE WEEK. Enjoy!
TECH
AI FIREMEN // The IT department is about to be replaced with AI firemen. Every company will have a fleet. The danger of “prompt injection” is something I’ve read a LOT about this week. Attackers can now “jailbreak” LLMs—tricking them into outputting harmful, restricted, or unintended responses. These attacks often bypass traditional defenses like “do not do X” guardrails. And according to Sander Schulhoff, the OG prompt engineer, there’s no silver bullet. And agent-based AI systems are even more vulnerable to attacks than chatbots. “As AI agents start booking flights, sending emails, and even walking around in humanoid form, the risks multiply. Sander shares why agent security is the next frontier—and why most teams aren’t ready.” Start your hiring now.
SAM SPAM // We all have our feelings about Sam Altman. But I do respect his rah-rah spirit. At least someone is optimistic about the future. His latest essay on the future is quite the read. My fave bits:
“Intelligence too cheap to meter is well within grasp. This may sound crazy to say, but if we told you back in 2020 we were going to be where we are today, it probably sounded more crazy than our current predictions about 2030.”
“May we scale smoothly, exponentially and uneventfully through superintelligence.’
“Agency, willfulness, and determination will likely be extremely valuable. Correctly deciding what to do and figuring out how to navigate an ever-changing world will have huge value; resilience and adaptability will be helpful skills to cultivate. AGI will be the biggest lever ever on human willfulness, and enable individual people to have more impact than ever before, not less”.
“The price of many goods will eventually fall dramatically (right now, the cost of intelligence and the cost of energy constrain a lot of things), and the price of luxury goods and a few inherently limited resources like land may rise even more dramatically.”
And more!
Instagram cast Tyler The Creator in its latest campaign. I can’t fathom how much this must have cost.
Gen Z is betting that soft skills, like communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence, will matter more than technical expertise. They are right.
This AI tool for Reddit is wild. Every ad-selling brand will have this in the near future.
SPORT
STRONG GAME // Gymshark made a pop-up for Hyrox finishers to get their patches sewn onto their gear. So clever. A pairing that truly makes sense. I love watching this brand.
FANDOM-MANIA // “Fanatics has been slowly creating the Coachella for sports fans.” Fanatic Fest in NYC this year was huge. 400 athletes gathered under one roof for direct interaction with fans. Think: panels, photo ops, autograph signings, as well as events like the Fanatics Games, where athletes, creators, celebrities, and fans compete head-to-head in skill-based challenges.
And more!
Golf’s transformation continues. Love this Manor x Reebok content. And this group Swang, building community “for those who were never invited, but always belonged” on the course.
This haptic trailer for the new Apple F1 haptic trailer is cool.
Performance gear for women is a blank space in athletic wear.
This Kith x Wilson visual identity is not good. But I do love it when brands restore courts.
WELLNESS & BEAUTY
JENNY TOLD YOU // “Aging is top of mind for 75% of Americans, and 21% say they’re doing 'everything possible' to fight it. Chasing results, searches for NAD+ and peptides jumped 500% and 550%, respectively, on The Vitamin Shoppe’s site.”
did tell you about this in January.HIGH EFFORT // People want to “look natural” but want credit for their efforts. “Why give “nature” the credit when you put in the time, endured the pain, and paid the bill? It’s girlboss hustle culture for glow-ups, Protestant work ethic as applied to prettiness. Call it werk ethic!”
always frames it best.And more!
Messy is a new brand from the founder of Dry Bar. Want to love it, but the feed is reading 2010, not in an iconic way.
This TaskRabbit x Skin111 collab is very odd. But also, I’d love this to happen to me.
Two more brands giving us cute but gag-inducing content. Here’s Vaseline also doing it.
The dental industry is about to change. They have developed a bioengineered tooth.
TRAVEL
TRAVEL INTO THE FUTURE // Another gem from
’s letter: his take on the future of travel booking. “The itinerary/planning stage is tricky [for AI], and I think consumers will stitch together ChatGPT and TikTok and influencer itineraries. For booking, though, the “job to be done” is a lot clearer: just book me the damn flight. One of my favorite companies in AI + travel is Miso, which focuses on the booking side. Miso operates like a white-glove executive assistant, helping you execute everything from “change my seat to a window seat” to “move me to a different hotel.” I agree with this, though I’d contend there’s a huge opportunity for AI concierges at hotels for the itinerary phase too. I have an idea. Reach out if you want to help me build it.And more!
Portland is trying to attract readers with a “Golden Bookmark to Portland” treasure hunt a partnership with Little Free Library. I do love little free libraries.
A new study has found that blocking mobile internet access on smartphones for just 2 weeks significantly improves mental health and attention spans. Fairly sure we all know this already. But a travel brand should lean in.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
LEGO x Serpentine—love.
Frida could get into this space.
This car purchase comes with a farm stay.
I only read the quotes, but I’m a hard agree with all of it.
Invitation only is the only way right now. High touch all the way
The comment section here is hysterical.
The Instagram premium trend continues. This one is cute. E
Experiential toilets are now a thing.
Everyone loves a painted pool.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.
Will have to try Sarti Rosa - beverage director at Nitehawk Cinema says you might see the Santoni Spritz popping up this summer! https://substack.com/@cozygirlkristine/p-165732140
appreciate the shoutout! exciting times in sports are ahead