The Zeitgeist: April 5, 2024

Today's Edition: Tip Fatigue, Heinz and Soberchella

Good morning. Earth Month is here, and companies from grocers (Kroger, ALDI) to retailers (Poshmark, REI) are announcing or reminding consumers of their sustainability efforts. But a crackdown on greenwashing may change the way brands approach their comms strategies. More to come as we approach Earth Day. This week, brands like MoonPie and SunChips also doubled down on promotions and product launches ahead of Monday’s total solar eclipse. We’ve got our glasses ready to go.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Also, Chipotle’s Burrito Vault mobile game for National Burrito Day, Dramamine’s tribute to barf bags, Taco Bell x Wildfang’s coveralls, Frito-Lay x Hasbro’s “Game of Snacks” and some of the best April Fools pranks from brands.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

Corporate

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Connections

Feed intelligence

Media Moves:

  • Ken Yeung, writer of The AI Economy Newsletter, is now freelance contributing writer at VentureBeat covering how data and AI are transforming the enterprise.

  • Benjamin Snyder, formerly senior managing editor at Business Insider, is now managing editor at Fortune, starting Monday, April 8.

  • Dana Wollman, formerly editor in chief at Engadget, is now tech editor at Bloomberg.

  • Andrew Nusca, formerly senior director of corporate content at Activision Blizzard, is now editorial director of Brainstorm Tech at Fortune.

  • Thomas Germain, formerly tech reporter at Gizmodo, is now tech reporter at BBC, starting mid-April.

  • Phil Rosen, formerly senior reporter at Business Insider, is now co-founder and editor at Opening Bell Daily, an independent news and research outlet committed to demystifying markets, investing and Wall Street.

  • Taylor Hatmaker, formerly senior editor at TechCrunch covering social media, gaming and culture, is leaving the outlet and has yet to announce her new role.

Also... play Housle, a daily trivia game where players guess the list price of houses with only its location and photos as clues.

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.