Marketing is no longer a dirty word
Plus: Pamela Anderson is making pickles, and Gen-Z's real POV lives in the groupchat
Morning,
A lot of people ask where ‘I get this stuff’ and my answer is always: everywhere. But the very nice
asked, and I gave him a proper answer. Give my Media Diet a read, and a like and share if you’re inclined. And give Colin a follow, not only are the Monday Media Diets amazing, but he also writes gems like this Passport Stamp letter. RIP the stamp—a tragedy.If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: PRO MARKETING, PINK PICKLES, or FEED VS. CHAT.
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
pointed out last week that marketing is no longer a dirty word. Today, getting a comment like “now THIS is marketing” is the stuff of dreams. added that consumers want “to step into a world. They demand to be delighted. It’s not about budget or production value—it’s about effort. Followers know they are being marketed to, and they believe brands should put in the work to earn their attention.” Not long ago, every account was just a dump of UGC content and behaved like it wasn’t marketing. Today, that’s not going to cut it.PARTY MOOD // At this point, the cry for ‘where are the parties’ is a daily affair on Substack. We’ll Perfectly Imperfect agrees and is launching PI.FYI Events. “People want to have fun on the Internet again, in a space that hasn't been poisoned by AI slop, algorithm bubbles, evil companies, and unchecked capitalism.” They also tore into Partiful twice in the announcement for “their questionable past + being annoying to use” and lack of “meaningful event discovery.” There’s certainly a world where many Substacks (and letters) have curated event sections, just like they have job boards. Not only are newsletters the new LinkedIn, they’re the new Eventbrite.
MEDIA FRENZY // B2C companies are all in on original content, but the B2B world is not being lazy either. In a
interview this week, Matthew Leone, the CMO of Brown Harris Stevens, a retail group, told them the brand has 16 podcasts as part of their content studio, Studio 1873. 16. Insane. The Real Deal, a real estate news company, is also in on the action. This is one of my favorite views of the week. B2B is really just B2C these days. And we demand entertainment.F&B
PINK PICKLES // Pamela Anderson teamed up with Flamingo Estate on a limited-edition, luxury line of pickles. 100% of proceeds benefit the California Wildlife Center. There are so many trends wrapped up in this one initiative. 1) Silvers are cool 2) People love accessible luxury 3) This is what luxury do-good looks like now, not cheesy charity collections.
MUST HAVE MEAT // This week, I was chatting with one of the most successful restaurant groups in the country, and they told me they are all in on ‘steak restaurants’ because the demand is so high. Not hours later, Eleven Madison Park announced steak is back on the menu, after years of being vegan. In-person business is back, and suggesting a Vegan spot is tough. Vegan is out. Steaks are in. All things you’ve known for ages if you’re a regular here.
STAN ACCOUNT //
did a fun interview with the social team at Grillo’s Pickles. My fave bit:“ If a pickle lover doesn’t know about our brand yet, we want them to! By sharing the pickle love, we cast a wider net, inviting more pickle people into the Grillo’s gang.” Feels so obvious, but many brands miss this.DRUGS & BOOZE
GATEWAY COCKTAILS // “Many Gen Z customers who are drinking for the first time are doing so with spirits and pre-made cocktails, reversing the long-standing trend of younger generations first being introduced to alcohol through beer.” And brands like Talkhouse Encore are up 101%, offering additive-free formulas and focusing on flavors. Alcohol consumption is down, but it’s also shifted.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
dropped a lot of wisdom in this article of Z’s love of the group chat. “The feed is raw material, the group chat is the filter…When I drop a link to a TikTok or a news article and type, “Did you guys see this?”, I’m not just sharing — I’m soliciting context.” You can have all the AI listening tools you want, but 90% of the population are ‘lurkers’, the real sentiment is in the group chat. But good luck being admitted. RETAIL
VINTAGE HAUL // Often when a brand goes off the rails, they’ll try to buy all their licenses back to course correct. When you own the brand, you can steer it better. Well, Ralph is taking this thinking one step further and buying back all of its vintage. And then reselling it, with a mark-up for brand credibility. “Vintage resale now brings in ~$500MM/year for Ralph”. More than 7% of total revenue, growing 100% annually.
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS // Copenhagen is fast becoming the most exciting place for fashion.
’s recap of CPHFW was fantastic. Jalil’s fave find was Caro Editions. I fail to remember who called this brand ‘The Danish Bode’, but it was right. And somehow they’ve made Mulberry look relevant. Watch this one.NOT ALL RAINBOWS // Columbia Sportswear woke up and said ‘let’s try’ and they did. Their new campaign ‘Engineered for Whatever’ spotlights that the outdoors isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s often tough, frequently wet, and occasionally dangerous. And gear that works for every scenario is what you need. They’ve also carried the campaign into non-campaign content with the captions. Fun.
TECH
iBARTEND // Apple is planning a comeback by entering the robotics space. They are planning a ”tabletop robot that resembles an iPad mounted on a movable limb.”
astutely points out that the Vision Pro rollout was anything but inspiring. “Whatever Apple’s new thing is needs to be tending bar at a frat house and inspiring dancing silhouettes like the original iPod commercial in order to be successful.” Agreed.SPORT
NO CHEATING // With a rather MAHA-coded campaign, called ‘CrossFit is the Cure’, CrossFit is trying to make a comeback. “Society wants you to believe there’s a shortcut. A magic pill. A shot that changes everything. Big Pharma sells convenience. Society sells comfort. But your health? It’s yours for the taking. There is no easy way. No cheat code.” CrossFit feels made for this weight-training obsessed moment, but with so much interest in longevity and experts saying downtime from injury is a killer, they might need some bigger changes for a comeback.
QUIET ROAR // Really enjoyed
’s guest post on about Formula E. Recently, I found myself in an airport hotel lobby watching Formula E. It’s quiet. It’s quick. And oddly fun to watch. “This isn’t racing as spectacle. It’s racing as systems mastery. Energy regenerates every lap. Speed is recalculated in real time. Drivers become strategists. Engineers become artists. Performance becomes precision, not just performance for its own sake.” And it has a 374M global viewership.WELLNESS & BEAUTY
DIFFERENT NEEDLES // The anti-Botox crowd is getting bigger. “Cosmetic acupuncture is gaining traction as part of the “notox” movement, with Google searches up 248% in the past two years and TikTok views for notox content up 223% in the last year.” Related:
interviewed legendary acupuncturist Elaine Huntzinger about acupuncture this week. Elaine happens to be one of my fave insta follows.HEALF ZONE // The name of this London-based wellness center is hysterical. And their offerings read like a list of emerging trends. ‘Guided’ experiences a la Othership, biomarker analysis, pop-ups with niche, bougie high-performance brands like H2Tab (hydrogen pills to combat oxidative stress are new to me), and ‘nervous system’ health.
TRAVEL
AI DREAMING // “Find me a solo trip to a mountain town this winter, near hot springs.
says that Google’s new AI-powered Flight Deals tool allows you “ just describe your dream trip like you would to a friend and it finds the cheapest options that match.” I need access.FUN FOR THE WEEK
New Balance did a pop-up at Atelier September for CPHFW. Tomatoes were involved.
Billie made a Chia Pet with hairy armpits.
Little Fat Boy Frankie made a Chili Crisp Ketchup with Fly by Jing. The teasers were fun.
Graza is now also in glass. This made me laugh.
InStyle Season 3 of their social show ‘The Intern’ has 6.9MM+ total views.
Afterpay Day is the new Amazon Prime Day in Australia.
Law Roach is trying to buy Emanuel Ungaro and revive it.
More people agreeing that your demo targeting strategy is no good.
The AI billboards in SF are out of control.
According to
everyone is collabing with Pro Shop NYC for the US Open.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
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Thank you always for the love!! 💗 I love reading these
thank you for the shout, sending my best.