Rhubarb is sexy now
Plus: The WNBA is spicy.
Morning all,
Thanks for all the lovely replies! It’s fun getting messages from you all.
As always, the lens 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.
RETAIL
TOD’S NEEDS PRIVACY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME -> Magasin
Tod’s plans to delist from the Milan stock exchange, agreeing to go private with LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton. BoF wrote, “delisting Tod’s could allow for higher marketing spend to reinvigorate the group’s brands…the company’s full-price business suffers from a high exposure to outlets and discount-prone wholesalers.” Moving from a wholesale model to a retail model is tricky. It’s a total shift. This will mean a whole new team. This is the type of challenge we love, can’t wait to see what they do.
TARGET’S DESIGN TEAM TOOK THE DAY OFF -> The Hustle
“Target’s new Dealworthy brand, with most priced below $10 to attract budget-conscious shoppers and compete with dollar stores.” What on earth is going on with this packaging? I know we’re going after the Dollar Store vibes but we can do better. No one WANTS their products to look cheap.
JACQUEMUS GIVING US SCULPTURES THAT MAKE YOU SWOON -> AfterSchool
“Bad Bunny continues to triumph in his role as Jacquemus' go-to menswear muse…Bad Bunny becomes a work of art himself, posing creatively atop stone pedestals.” Love these photos and love that Jacquemus keeps elevating Bad Bunny’s fashion status one campaign at a time.
SNOWBOARDERS THINK MONCLER IS GOOFY
“An avalanche of comments later, followed by a rush of TikToks ripping into the brand, you are forced to admit: no one in the production crew knew a thing about snowboarding.” The show was beautiful. Not sure most care about much beyond that. Moncler does seem to be leaning more into sport though, so something to get it right.
ALEX MILL GIVING FILLING THE GAP’S GAP
God lord, what on earth happened to the Gap? Anyway, not dwelling on that but Alex Mill has a new Denim line and the announcement post was very cute. Alex Drexler giving us Micky vibes.
Hermes posts a lot of illustration on their feed and it’s fun (and seems to perform). Wonder if this is a Gen-Z acquisition strategy. Also, to every brand we pitched pickleball that told us it wasn’t as good as tennis, cough cough.
The Benefit cosmetics NOLA event looked nice and then came across this deluxe version by Chanel which was way more swoon-worthy.
CINDY AND KAIA BRINGING BACK DONNA
DKNY ‘relaunched’ with Kaia Gerber as the face. And Donna Karen’s big new relaunch campaign features Cindy Crawford. Mom and daughter duo but not within the same campaign—interesting. The IN WOMEN WE TRUST campaign cast a lot of ‘older’ models—love—but the overall style feels very dated. Legacy brands need to do better than this to regain relevance.
CULTURE
“Over the last few weeks, the designer Batsheva Hay has stopped women in the streets and slid into the DMs of strangers looking for fresh faces to model for her New York Fashion Week runway show. What is unusual is that Hay has only been approaching women who appear to be over 40.” Casting real people in a runway show is street casting on another level. Hard to do well but it seems they pulled it off. Brava.
KAIA GERBER'S A TRUE SLASHY -> Feed Me
This week Kaia took her side hustle as “the internet’s librarian” to its next level. Gen-Z is single-handedly bringing the book back to life and now “Library Science will be spotlighting young voices, debut writers, translations, contemporary classics. You won’t be seeing the typical bestseller list here.” Sounds super aligned with Gen-Z values. Interested to see where this goes.
GET OUT YOUR ROLLERS, THE 70’S ARE BACK -> AfterSchool
Miley’s hair at the Grammys pretty much said it all. Then Marc Jacobs' S/S 2024 presentation featured with models in “decidedly retro flavor” looks. And apparently “there’s rising demand for shoes popular in the '70s”. We’re entering our disco era.
MALL’S ARE THE NEW BARS—UNDER 18s NOT WELCOME -> Feed Me -> AfterSchool
Atlantic Terminal Mall has instituted a new chaperone policy, which requires anyone under the age of 18 to be accompanied by an adult during most business hours. This is craziness. Casey wrote: “Teens belong in shopping malls. Give them a break!” and we couldn’t agree more. So interesting how brands all want Gen-Z but also want to keep them out.
“Tinder had gone without a dedicated CEO for nearly two years.” Until now. Faye Iosotaluno has stepped in. The mom wants to show her kids “that their mom—that women—can do these really amazing things and be fearless.” Best of luck mama—truly. Firmly believe moms have a unique perspective on all things. Tinder needs a lot of help.
SMOKING IS COOL AGAIN -> Feed Me
Lots of packs of Marlboro in my feed later, just casually tossed in there like it’s nothing. Is it a campaign? Anyone know? Regardless, this whole Zyn phenomenon just seems to be revealing how cool people still think smoking is cool. This from one of Emily’s newsletters is perfect evidence.
ALPHAS
“Claire’s unveiled a new influencer platform focused on Gen Z and Gen Alpha, or “Gen Zalpha,” brand ambassadors from diverse backgrounds. Dubbed The Collab, the group will guide creative strategy across content, communications and activations, including in-store experiences.” This strategy isn’t new, interesting that they are going after PR for simple social listening. Would feel better if they did versus that told.
EVERYBODY’S WAKING UP TO GEN ALPHA
“Businesses across categories need to start preparing to meet a new generation of digital native consumers. By 2025, Generation Alpha (ages 0 to 13 in 2024) will be the largest generation in history, and the first to be born in the 21st century. Their global economic footprint is projected to reach $5.46 trillion by 2029.” Let the Alpha-focused marketing beginning!
THE TOOTH FAIRY IS MAKING BANK -> AfterSchool
Kids are getting $100 per tooth. The extravagance of this generation of parents is very interesting to watch. No judgment but it doesn’t feel sustainable. Casey reports, “The phenomenon of going big for smaller milestones, such as losing a tooth, has been termed "inchstones" and is predicted to be a top trend in 2024. Gen Alphas are going to be absolutely wild.” Hermes tooth fairy box on the horizon.
ONE GIFT IS NOT ENOUGH, IT HAS TO BE A BASKET -> AfterSchool
The extravagance continues with TikTok’s Valentine’s trend of gift baskets versus single gifts. It’s not just the Alpha’s, Gen-Z is happily enjoying the trend too. Is this a ‘core memory’ thing? Why is everyone going so over the top? Because gifting is now performance art. A brand could make this easier.
In contrast to Valentine’s baskets, Trend forecaster Ashley Edwards says there’s a rising “post-consumptive” mindset, where Alpha consumers are “scaling back their consumption in a big way, introducing ‘refuse’ and ‘repair’ into their eco-conscious lexicon beyond ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.” We all rebel against our parents.
THE NEW IMAGINARY FRIEND IS A ROBOT -> The Hustle
“AI-powered toys are flooding the market to chat with children while they play. Moxie is a $799 robot designed to help kids ages 5-10 hit developmental milestones through conversation. Plush rocket toy Grok costs $99 and can answer children’s questions. Fawn ($199) and Snorble ($299) help with everything from emotional development to building healthy habits. The $99 Miko Mini is a smiley robot loaded with OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 as well as proprietary AI models. It can answer kids’ homework questions, conversate, and play games.” Nothing worrying here.
TRANSPORT
“London’s Overground network is set to have a big makeover. The current (very) orange line will be divided into six, each with its own bespoke name and colour. The names are the Liberty line, Lioness line, Mildmay line, Suffragette line, Weaver line and Windrush line.The Mildmay line celebrates the hospital in Shoreditch at the forefront of testing and treatment of AIDS in the 1980s, the Windrush line honours London’s Caribbean communities, and the Lioness line pays homage to England Women’s national football team.” A juicy naming project for sure.
TSwift is telling you the hard truths: Jetlag is a choice. As someone who prides themselves on their jetlag strategy, this resonated. But it’s just planning and having a private jet to sleep on for a 12hr flight would help make the ‘choices’ much easier. A coffee brand should pick this up.
SPORTS
SUPERBOWL ADS HAVE LOST THEIR MEMORY
“What most marketers seem to have forgotten is that ads are memes. Pre-digital, 20th century memes to be sure, but memes nonetheless. Think the Bud—Weis—Errrr frogs, Joe Camel, “Yo quiero Taco Bell” or “Say goodbye a little longer, make it last a little longer, give your breath long-lasting freshnesssss, with Big Red!” Jokes, jingles, slogans and mascots are all iterative pieces of IP. They’re so effective I can remember them thirty years after they’ve been taken off the air. The only fever dream meme to come out of this Super Bowl was the Duolingo owl farting a new head out of its ass—or maybe reproducing by budding?” Accurate.
Who Gives A Crap just cracks (ha!) me up and while not a real Super Bowl ad, it was better than many of the real ads.
Cardi B’s Original Nyx Super Bowl Commercial Cut From Broadcast After NFL ‘Disapproved’ of Duck Plump ‘Innuendo’. It is interesting that they seem to take no offense to innuendo about women’s bodies but are very offended if you allude to male body parts.
TIGER WOODS NEEDS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER
This logo for Sun Day Red will make every designer cry. Let us all pray is a placeholder (it’s not). Tiger Woods, free from his 27-year partnership with Nike, is launching this new apparel brand with Taylormade, May 1. “the brand plans to expand “to include women’s and children’s styles as well as footwear.” This part is smart.
“I get very emotional recommending this because i don’t want to bring in fair weather fans and also as more people come i get on the jumbotron less, but you simply must start going to WNBA games…It is the only place in the world i ever feel the full spectrum of emotions. These players are GOOD and many of them are DATING EACH OTHER which happens in no other sport at all basically!!!! Two years ago, 4 of the 5 starting players on Chicago’s team were literally married to each other (two couples, not poly though i wouldn't rule that out as something that could happen in the future). The tickets are so cheap because people do not value the league enough and then also the league itself thinks that people who attend the games have to be entertained the whole entire time or else no one will come, so they have programming for every second of the game, including a dance team of people aged 50+. It’s amazing and i cannot wait for next season.” Sounds great. A brand could do something with all this.
SUPERBOWL THOUGHTS AT THE END OF THE LETTER, SCROLL DOWN.
F&B
SNAX MAVEN LAUNCHES SNAX MATCH
“We’ve built a very simple matchmaking tool. People looking for snaxpals, shoppy shops, fun beverages and snacks. Brands wanting to look for shops and new audiences. Shops wanting to look for new beverages, snacks and new audiences.” Basically for Tinder snacks. Is this the future of wholesale sales? Feels like it is.
APPLE WATCH OUT, TACO’S TAKING OVER
“Taco Bell’s all-new Live Más LIVE event streamed directly from Las Vegas, Nevada on the weekend.” “And they revealed the brand's best-kept secrets and this year’s biggest Taco Bell news”. It gave hysterical Apple vibes but was also super awkward—the host feels like they’ve never seen the script.
MUSEUMS CAN’T BE MUSEUMS ANYMORE
The Museum of Food and Drink opened this weekend and the only thing you can think is—does anyone want to go to a museum? With the rise of things like the Museum of Ice Cream and The Color Factory, ‘real’ museums feel flat. MFB feels more like a science museum. Informative but not engaging enough to survive today. Feels like they had the idea 10 years ago and stuck with it. You have to evolve with the times.
Candlelight and iconic packaging, what’s not to love? An event/collab here would be magical, just saying.
SNOOP AND DRE KILLIN’ IT? NOT YET BUT MAYBE?
“Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre finally did the obvious thing, launching a ready-to-drink canned cocktail called — yep, duh — “Gin & Juice” 30 years after their hit song debuted.” This little spot is mildly funny. For sure the reason to buy is the name. Just like Josh, I think people will be amused for a minute if you show up with a case. But what happens from there?
Sweetgreen and cannabis lifestyle brand Edie Parker (love them) did a collab for NY Fashion Week. Sweetgreen feels like it’s lost its center lately and it is throwing things at the wall.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS: MAKE IT YOUR OWN-> LinkInBio
LinkInBio this week called out this liquor store that’s killing in on TikTok. I’m fascinated with this curated ‘make your own’ approach’—honestly genius.
Back in 2022, Poppi raised $25MM, bringing their total raise to $40MM. And it seems like they are ready to spend it. Based on their Superbowl ad, the pop-up we mentioned in our last GOOD THINKING, and then this Post Malone endorsement. Either sales are good or they decided to go hard in the paint.
Of course, they partnered for a sponsored post with milk drama creator, Andrea Valls, we mentioned 2 weeks back. Love this.
“Frog Club is the long-awaited new restaurant in the West Village….My friends, they cover your camera with a sticker.” Soho House has long been ‘photo-free’ so this doesn’t feel that odd but still it’s silly. Exclusivity is in.
TRAVEL
OFF-PEAK IS PEAKING -> The Hustle
“According to Booking.com, 71% say their clients are visiting destinations during off-peak travel during better weather conditions.” Travel off-peak is the peak—there’s nothing better. A hotel brand should really do more with this.
Gen-Z is flocking to NYC driving lowest vacancy rates since “Mad Men era 1968”. “The low vacancy rates are driving up rental costs, with the average rent for a 700-square-foot apartment in NYC exceeding $4,700. Only 1% of apartments are less than $2,000 per month.” Not fun times for rent but the NYC renaissance is here.
WELLNESS
Came across this Rare Beauty personalized messages strategy via LinkInBio and it’s fascinating. A lot of work but big impact, right?
‘ALIGNED GPS’ ARE IN DEMAND -> Digital Native
Someone recently, mentioning perimenopause told me they were looking for an ‘aligned doctor’ for hormone replacement therapy and then came across Compound via Rex. Interesting. A new type of ZocDoc needed.
TECH
AIRBNB IS GETTING PERSONAL -> The Hustle
Airbnb is building an AI concierge. “Imagine an app that you feel like knows you — it’s like the ultimate concierge — an interface that is adaptive and evolving and changing in real-time, unlike no interface you’ve ever seen before. That would allow us to go from a single vertical company to a cross-vertical company,” Chesky added.”
STOCK FOOTAGE HAD THE COFFIN BUT HOW HAS THE NAILS -> The Information
OpenAI has a new artificial model, Sora, that produces original video based on text descriptions of what people want to see. “Sam plz don’t make me homeless,” joked YouTube video juggernaut Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, in response to Altman’s announcement on X.“
Nowhere does it say ‘use this app to date people’ in this ad but it’s making people want to date. Smart. But will it make people sign up for Bumble? Unsure.
FUN TO FOLLOW
JUST FOR LAUGHS
SUPERBOWL THOUGHTS
Michael Cera x Cerave - I think I was already bored of this bit before it got here.
Cetaphil - Wow. This drama around how they ripped off this viral TikTok is no joke. Honestly the originals are SO cute, goodness knows why they didn’t cast them.
Ice Spice x Starry - Simple concept, fell apart when the ex explodes.
Post Malone x Bud Light -Chaotic bad.
Dan Levy x Homes.com - Surely trying to be funny about elitism but felt tone deaf.
TMobile - The VI for Magenta Status hurts the eyeballs but funny ad.
Nyx x CardiB - Hysterical.
Addison Rae x Nerds - Loved it and the song choice. But apparently most of the Superbowl audience didn’t know who Addison was.
BMW x Christopher Walken x Usher - Very funny. But you DO NOT pay attention to the car at all though. Maybe you take away the electric portion, maybe you don’t. Usher portion of it was super unnecessary. ‘The rest are just imitations’ line is cute you’ve tuned out by that point.
Uber Eats - Funny. And good name dropping throughout.
Jennifer Lopex x Ben Affleck x Dunkin’ - This cracked me up. Had to do this humor well.
Beyonce x Verizon - Funny and I liked this duo.
Arnold Schwarzenegger x State Farm - They thought this was funny. Better on paper.
Martin Lawrence x Oikos - Classic formula ad. Not remarkable.
Drumstick - Terrible.
Kate McKinnon x Hellmans - Dating Pete moment is funny.
Oreo - Questionable but then it builds and it’s smart. Encourages a fun new use of the product AKA reason to buy. Also did not rely heavily on celeb power minus the Kris Jenner cameo.
Ken Jeong x Popeyes - Clever.
Jenna Ortega x Doritos - Beyond liking that they might be developing some cold abuela characters this was a miss. Chaotic bad.
Martin Scorcese x Squarespace - Beyond reminding you that Squarespace still exists, I don’t understand the hype on this. ‘Websites make it real’ though cute isn’t a differentiator.
Andrey Plaza x Mountain Dew - Classic Dew but not memorable though does reinforce the drink name decently.
Lindt - ‘Life is a Ball’ and then this cheesy ad. Yikes.
Google Pixel - Classic Google tearjerker.
E-Trade - Funny for a fin tech ad.
Poppi - Coudn’t tell if I like it or hated it. Watching in isolation and concentrating it’s not bad. Watching with friends in a loud room probably much less so.
Quinta Brunson x TurboTax - Conceptually this could have been interesting but was lost as to if they were starting a sweepstakes or not.
Etsy - Coud have been funnier, the premise was decent.
Kia - Was surprised by this one. Sweet (mildly over sweet) for a car ad.
LL Cool J x Coors Light- Payoff was good but the lead up was too long.
Volkswagen - Liked the sentiment and the overt inclusivity but was easy to tune out.
Microsoft - Eerie and wow i had to concentrate to read. Not sure this made anyone feel better about AI if they weren’t on the pro copilot train already.
Anthony Hopkins x Stok - Accomplished getting me to say what’s Stok and how did they pay Anthony Hopkins. Not much else.
Dan Marino x M&Ms - Yikes, what happened here. Asleep at the wheel.
Elf - NYT said ‘Objection: relevance’ and I laughed more than at the ad.
Mr T. x Skechers - Oy. Shows the shoes working is the only silver lining.
Reese’s - Traditional Superbowl commercial. No one will talk about it. Kids will buy it. But wouldn’t they have anyway?
That’s all folx!