Google doesn't understand humans
Plus: Paloma Wool drops a mother of a campaign & Louis Vuitton builds a wonderland.
Morning,
I’m coming off a very fun week attending Paradigms in Morocco. The midweek letter will be all about that. I met tons of interesting people (hi, guys!) running agencies you need to know about and masterminding things like ‘the word of the year’. There were some very cool speakers, like eubrandstrat, who dropped a lot of gems. And—a rare occasion—I found myself very impressed with how well-branded (Hey Studio killed it) and organized it all was. I can’t wait to share. So many good takeaways. Tune in Wednesday.
Somewhere in the midst of all that, we signed on a new client, presented some great repositioning work for a huge national brand, saw 2 national experiential tours go live, and, last but not least, organized a work trip to LA/NYC. If you’re in LA Oct. 8th-11th or NYC 12-15th and want to hang, give me a shout!
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: CHECKOUT AI-SLE. Palette cleanse with MOTHER OF A CAMPAIGN.
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
LUXURY LANDS // Louis Vuitton is building a 10-story “world-class experiential retail destination.” The plans include a spa, showroom suites, restaurants, a top-floor bar, exposition space, and a garden.
called it “the FAO Schwarz-ification of luxury.” In Seoul, Gentle Monster’s new flagship looks more like a Ghibli museum than a store. The GOOD YEAR 2025 predictions hit again. Pop-ups are moving into permanent retail. As AI dissolves for humans to hit buy (see TECH), and numbs us to digital spectacle, brands that marry real with wonder will win. At the conference this week, one of the standout lines was “your brand is the entertainment arm of your business.” That translates into every brand becoming a studio. And every brand becoming a wonderland.HOMEGROWN INFLUENCE // More on this Wednesday, but another standout was Eugene’s talk about personal brands. He touched on a lot, but one big piece was the power of employee UGC. Brands should be harnessing the energy of employees who also want to be creators. Brands like Ulta and Currys are not just involving employees in content. They are actively empowering and financially incentivizing employees to make their own content about the brand. Smart brands aren’t afraid of what unleashed employees might post. They’re giving them the tools to do it better. Interestingly, Sephora this week announced that they are building a brand-owned equivalent to ShopMy. It will allow creators to build custom storefronts with sales commissions (cleverly bypassing any ShopMy fees). The future of brands isn’t through its own narrow lens. Brands will be service providers. The creator will be the brand experience.
F&B
GOT CREATINE? // Just when you thought there was nothing else we could add to the creatine conversation,
manages to drop some wisdom. “If you ask me the real opportunity lies in making a milk RTD with creatine…there’s a lot to back up that milk (being a carb) is the perfect vessel for creatine to be absorbed by our bodies. If Fairlife and Coca-Cola know what’s good for them, they will listen.” Expect a muscular, milk-mustached campaign to hit your feed soon.CYCLICAL EATING // CPG is interested in cycles. Brands are building around periods, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. “See this PMS relief RTD and postpartum snack.” Or Chiyo, a TCM-based meal delivery service for prenatal and postpartum (recommended by Fly By Jing founder, Jing Gao, in
). In China, DoorDash’s equivalent lets you order “meals made to aid with menstrual cycles”. has written about cycle-optimal foods, too. The supplement aisle is getting challenged by whole foods—I did tell you.DRUGS & BOOZE
BOOM BOOM BOOMS // Back in December,
said boom boom was coming. Well, even Gwyneth was listening. At NYFW, vices were the number one bit of swag. Gywn, Paltrow’s new label (that got a lot of love in my feed), had cigarettes out next to the handcrafted, branded zucchinis. Multiple brands had merch beer (odd). And “show notes at Todd Snyder described the season’s guy as, ”a guy who just stepped off a seaplane, wearing a linen suit, a little rum in his glass, and a lot of confidence.” Next stop, ayahuasca influencer trips.SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
MOTHER OF A CAMPAIGN // Paloma Wool’s is pure poetry. The art direction is great. Love seeing a brand celebrate motherhood not just to make a political point (though I stand behind those), not just in May to sell you gift ideas, but because it’s powerful, engaging, and 10x better than another ‘city,’ ‘destination’ or ‘choose your trope’ campaign we’ve seen recycled ad nauseam. This is how you stop AI from stealing your jobs.
RETAIL
PREMIUM LORE // “Lore is core” was the keynote title of one of the talks at Paradigms. Unsurprising. It’s a popular topic since Nutter Butter’s big revival. But often, lore is synonymous with ‘unhinged’. Depop’s latest campaign, ‘Taste Recognizes Taste’, gives it an ‘Instagram Premium’ spin. The ‘lore’ is a true story. The campaign was shot by Tom Emmerson, the same director as the ‘Unreasonable Reasons’ Mercedes-AMG campaign. Depop is on a mission to move out of its Gen-Z positioning. They want to be a major player in the higher-end resale economy—it’s headed in the right direction.
FIRST RESORT LUXURY // Speaking of luxury resale, the resale ecosystem is sidelining luxury brands. “You can now purchase a Chanel tweed jacket or Hermès Kelly without ever setting foot in a designer boutique. And your first luxury experience might happen on The RealReal, Fashionphile, or eBay rather than in a brand-controlled environment…“today’s modern consumer” seeks out luxury resale as “an option of first resort, not last.” Ralph saw the writing on the wall and had the right answer.
TECH
CHECKOUT AI-SLE // Google has announced that it has an open-source tool to allow agents to make purchases on your behalf. The agent will get users’ permission to make purchases as soon as a specific item is restocked, or get personalized deals and offers from merchants. Knowing most of my own ‘out of stock’ habits, this will result in a massive uptick in returns. Do consumers wait for a restock, or do they move on, not knowing the timeline? Better to be looking at tools like Poke, which raised a $15M seed for an AI-assistant that lives directly in iMessage. Consumers would much rather be texting their ’agent’ than turning up to doom-scroll, buzz-induced out-of-stock items they forgot they ordered. Just look at the success of subscription businesses if you need proof.
SPORT
COOL CRICKET // I’ve been a ‘cricket is cool’ evangelist for a while. But now Nike and Drake agree, according to
. The new NOCTA ‘Cardinal Stock’ capsule features a fictitious “Nocta Cricket Association.” There are 110 national cricket teams. And 300M tuned in for the Cricket World Cup in 2023. And it’s not just a man’s game. Female cricket is gaining traction (fun fact: female cricket players play in color versus whites to keep more women in sports and not spiraling in shame on their cycle—love that). It’s also very fun to attend. If you like the Honey Deuce’s side of tennis, consider this a sport to watch.WELLNESS & BEAUTY
WEARABLE CLAIMS // We’re used to clinical trial claims in wellness, but not on our foods. That might change. Another gem
dropped in her interview (read the whole thing, it’s great) is that companies like Good Idea are using wearables like Whoop to prove they don’t spike blood sugar (something I suggested Banza do). Throne, the one-of-many smart toilets, might be partnering with Olipop to prove their products help your gut. Wearables like the new Lura, worn on your tooth, can track biomarkers like ketones, glucose, and biologics. And, CPG brands in the wellness space are jumping on them.OLD LONGEVITY // Parsley Health was the OG of ‘total wellness’ but this Longevity Labs launch feels like catching up at best. They need to push themselves to a more interesting and ownable place. This segment is becoming ultra-crowded. Dubai is building a full island just for longevity. One advantage Parsley has is their in-network status in key markets. But convenience will only get you so far. You need a deeper moat. A better brand would help.
TRAVEL
NICE NICHE TRIP // The nerd economy is out-performing the S&P500. It’s also driving the travel economy.
shared that people are building LARPING destinations. Over 3 days, travelers can enter Eclipse with another 149 players. It takes place at Alvernia Planet, a former film studio in Krakow, a massive network of concrete and glass domes spanning 13,000m2. But if LARPing’s not your thing, you can also opt for a knitting retreat in the Alps, co-hosted by Knit Knit Berlin.FUN FOR THE WEEK
The Ordinary’s mini-mart packaging is cute.
This Dubai-based ‘coin’ burger chain would do well in the US.
Are we entering an era of ‘lived-in’ pop-ups?
Fashion brands are casting Substackers as models.
Anta’s NYFW pop-up looked like a knockoff Nike. Bummer, this brand has potential.
Gisou is constantly on brands’ experiential moodboards. This is why.
This is fun, Disney. Removing Kimmel, not so much.
Dua Lipa is now the co-founder of Frame, the pilates reformer brand. Not not smart.
China’s answer to Sephora looks like a beauty library.
J.Crew’s casting for this campaign is great. As
said, very GAP energy.Unpopular opinion: Kith has lost its edge. Their members’ club could be anyone’s.
Did you know you can play movie roulette at AMC’s Screen Unseen?
This Shopify template uses an AI dupe of Molly Baz. This shit has to stop.
Othership opened a huge Williamsburg location. I’m ready for the sauna’s 4th step.
1/3 of OpenAI use cases are practical guidance. Therapy has been dethroned.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
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