The Zeitgeist: October 4, 2024

Today's Edition: Beyoncé, Dirty Soda and Early Holiday Shopping

October 04, 2024

Good morning! This week, Siete Family Foods, known for healthier Mexican American staples, was acquired by PepsiCo for $1.2 billion. The news sparked mixed reactions on social media. Like many in the food industry, PepsiCo has been shifting its portfolio toward healthier options, often through acquisitions.

Meanwhile, retailers are kicking off holiday promotions earlier than ever to boost what could be a more frugal shopping season. With inflation and wavering consumer confidence, 33% of shoppers plan to spend less than in 2023. To entice buyers, Walmart's Holiday Deals run from Oct. 8-13, Target Circle Week from Oct. 6-12, and Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 8-9. Happy shopping!

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Beyoncé Strips Off Her Jeans in New Cowboy Carter-Inspired Levi's Campaign — and It's Instantly Iconic

Beyoncé and Levi's teamed up for the REIIMAGINE campaign in which they recreated iconic denim looks.

By Catherine Santino | People

Also, Pizza Hut’s Book It! Program, Wendy's x SpongeBob Krabby Patty ‘kollab’, Tostitos’ Salsa Cereal with Julian Edelman, and Cetaphil’s new brand campaign SkinLabs.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

'She deserved the purse': TikTok users pay it forward to moms in new trend

After a viral video showed a new purse abandoned in a Target baby aisle, moms on the app decided to leave money and gift cards for other parents to find.

By Daysia Tolentino | NBC News

The forgotten father of pumpkin beer

Years before Starbucks turned pumpkin spice into a billion-dollar business, a rebellious photographer brought pumpkin beer to life.

By Mark Dent | The Hustle

Why Do All These 15-Year-Old Boys Want to Smell Like the 1990s?

Men’s fragrances, including some dating back 30 years, are now hot among Gen Zers.

By Alina Dizik | The Wall Street Journal

‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ gives dirty soda shop Swig unexpected publicity

“People watch the show and think ‘I need to try this,’” said Swig CMO Dylan Roeder.

By Julia Walker | Campaign

Corporate

New study debunks employers’ RTO argument that remote work entrenches inequality

A study of workers in the U.K. assessed the compensation packages of people working from home to understand the financial fallout of working patterns that have become normalized since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By Ryan Hogg | Fortune

Anti-ESG backlash in US is overstated, JPMorgan exec says

The impact of a political backlash against environmental, social and governance-related (ESG) issues in the United States is overstated and having little bearing on the country's burgeoning green economy.

By Virginia Furness | Reuters

HR leaders brace for post-election day fallout

Perceptyx, a people analytics company, found in a survey of 2,300 people that 1 in 3 employees has experienced recent conflict stemming from political disagreements at work. What’s more, 80% of those who faced such conflicts are actively seeking a job.

By Tony Case | Worklife

Red Lobster, BurgerFi went bankrupt. That doesn’t mean customers will punish them for their financial hardships.

Exclusive new data from Fast Company and the FutureBrand Index looks at how customers perceive companies in financial distress. It matters less than you think.

By Christopher Zara | Fast Company

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Silicon Valley Launches First Drone Delivery Service

Matternet's drone delivery pilot is now operating in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, California

By Jess Weatherbed | The Verge

America's Absurd War on Organized Retail Crime

Organized retail crime in the U.S. caused $112 billion in losses in 2022, often involving individuals with mental health issues.

By Amy Martyn | Business Insider

Port Strike Risks Spiking Inflation, Economic Impact Depends on Duration

Manufacturers of everything from trucks to toys to artificial Christmas trees face obstacles now that the ILA has called a stoppage.

By Jeff Cox | CNBC

Connections

Feed intelligence

TikTok’s Latest Trend Lets Gen Z Write the Marketing Script

Boomers and Gen Xers are getting on TikTok and turning Gen Z’s slang into a marketing ploy, something that feels both funny and antithetical to the younger generation’s self-proclaimed hipness and Xers’ anticapitalist bent.

By Angela Watercutter | WIRED

Influencers Are Becoming a Go-To Authority for Most Gen Zers

New data from Morning Consult shows that, for many Gen Zers, online influencers are now a primary source of information on nearly every topic.

By Ellyn Briggs | Morning Consult

Podcast Use Is Booming Throughout The World, Study Finds

Podcasts are on the upswing at the apparent expense of radio, judging by a global study by Acast, which showed that 46% listen to 6+ hours of podcasts per week, versus 41% who spend that amount of time on radio.

By Ray Schultz | MediaPost

Media Moves:

  • Taylor Lorenz, formerly tech columnist at The Washington Post, is leaving the newspaper to launch her own publication called User Mag on Substack to cover technology from the user’s perspective.

  • Louise Matsakis, formerly deputy news editor at Semafor, has returned to WIRED as senior editor of the business desk. She starts November 11.

  • Megan Rose Dickey, formerly reporter at Axios San Francisco, is now reporter at Gazetteer San Francisco covering business and technology. She starts October 7.

  • Adam Banicki, formerly senior executive producer at YouTube, is now head of video at Fortune.

  • Alison Weissbrot, formerly editor in chief at Campaign US, is now executive editor at Adweek.

  • Kayleigh Barber, formerly reporter at Digiday, is now editor at The Trade Desk’s Edge Academy.

  • Samantha Boesch, formerly staff editor at Eat This, Not That!, has left the outlet and has yet to announce her new role.

Also... check out Nothing - a timer that tracks your intentional choice to do nothing, “a space where inactivity is the point - a digital oasis amidst the chaos of endless tasks and to-dos.”

Thanks for reading.

If you need help accessing the full text of any of these stories, drop your team a line and we'll send it right over.

—The Editors

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe to the Confidant Zeitgeist here.