The Zeitgeist: August 1, 2025

Today's Edition: Christmas in July, Beyond and Sesame Street

August 01, 2025

Good morning. This week, American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney campaign and a new Dunkin’ ad starring The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Gavin Casalegno stirred up debates about messaging and tone. This Ad Age piece unpacks the AE campaign and how they handled the heat (spoiler: kind of didn’t). And yet - controversy aside - American Eagle’s stock jumped 10% in just a few days.

Also, back-to-school season is just about here, and shoppers are playing deal-or-no-deal - stretching budgets across summer sales and eyeing every promo. Retailers, feeling the tariff heat, are freezing prices on essentials while quietly nudging up the rest.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Why Is a Mid-Tier Restaurant Chain Selling Cowboy Boots?

Chili’s collabed with Tecovas on boots made from the restaurant’s iconic red booth material, catapulting the chain into the style spotlight.

By Yola Mzizi | The New York Times

Here’s how Astronomer used Hollywood to turn a viral disaster into a marketing win

Astronomer’s move to reclaim its narrative is earning praise from crisis PR pros.

By Nathan Rennolds, Lauren Edmonds | Business Insider

Also, Pizza Hut’s After Pizza Cake, Raising Canes’ Snoop Dogg hire for National Chicken Finger Day, Cheez-It x Brittany Hampton’s “tunnel fit”, Heinz x Mr. Men and Little Miss’ pasta sauce and 7-Eleven x Hot Wheels’ collectibles drop.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

You can thank Gen Z for new drink options from McDonald's, Starbucks

Fast food chains are revamping drink menus with colorful, customizable drinks to cater to Gen Z’s thirst for fun, alcohol-free options.

By Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Business Insider

Video: The Urban Design of Sesame Street

A look at how the urban design principles from Jane Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” are reflected throughout the show.

By Anna Kodé | The New York Times

It’s Not Just You - There Are No Good New Songs This Summer

After a hit-filled 2024, 2025 has fallen flat - leaving last year’s chart-toppers still dominating at home and abroad.

By Elias Leight | The Wall Street Journal

Inside a Gathering of America’s Growing Home-School Movement

The pandemic doubled homeschooling rates, raising concerns among civil rights and family law experts about growing polarization and fractured realities.

By Emma Goldberg | The New York Times

Corporate

CEOs Are Shrinking Their Workforces - and They Couldn’t Be Prouder

In the age of AI, fewer employees is a flex for corporate bosses, and shrinking teams is seen as an accomplishment.

By Chip Cutter | The Wall Street Journal

Exclusive: Beyond Meat is ditching ‘Meat,’ pivoting to Beyond

An exclusive interview with CEO Ethan Brown on reaching protein-obsessed customers and his strategy to return the company to its stock-market heights.

By Clint Rainey | Fast Company

Gen Z says they’re into ‘conscious unbossing.’ Something else is actually playing out in the workplace, Glassdoor says

Gen Z favors autonomy and wellbeing over authority, though many are stepping into management roles.

By Nick Lichtenberg | Fortune

AI adoption may heighten workplace isolation, survey shows

A new report says workers using AI feel lonelier on the job and crave deeper human connection.

By Carolyn Crist | HR Dive

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Brands are trying to get to your door in 15 minutes or less

We’re used to instant gratification in our entertainment and human interaction - but we still have to wait for physical goods.

By Ben Berkowitz | Axios

Shoppers Embrace ‘Christmas in July’ Amid Rising Costs and Tariff Limbo

People are starting their holiday shopping earlier this year, using summer sales to save time and money.

By Kailyn Rhone | The New York Times

Luxury Brands Are Getting Hit by a Vibe Shift

Expensive labels are trying to figure out why sales have weakened so much outside a recession.

By Carol Ryan | The Wall Street Journal

How Grocery Shelves Became Fast Food’s New Battleground

QSRs are expanding into grocery stores, competing to stand out as copycats and rivals crowd the shelves.

By Rachel Buss | QSR Magazine

Connections

Feed intelligence

How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry

VC-hosted podcasts are reshaping how insiders and the public understand the startup world.

By Anne VanderMey | Bloomberg

The creator economy heat check: What’s hot (and not) for the rest of 2025

The creator economy is projected to hit $480 billion by 2027. Digiday breaks down what’s trending and who’s cashing in.

By Kimeko McCoy | Digiday Podcast

Tea was doomed from the start

The Tea app, meant to warn women about men, sparked controversy and was breached, exposing user data.

By Kate Lindsay | Embedded Newsletter

Media Moves:

  • Sean McLain, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, is the new Amazon beat reporter.

  • Sebastian Herrera, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, is shifting to a new beat covering Microsoft, AI and cloud computing.

  • Ann Gehan, reporter at The Information, is the new Amazon beat reporter.

  • Theo Wayt, reporter at The Information, is shifting to a new beat covering Elon Musk and his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.

  • Jemima McEvoy, formerly staff writer at Forbes, is now features reporter at The Information. She’ll write tech features for Weekend, the magazine-style section of the site that chronicles the industry’s most interesting people, companies and trends.

  • Nikki Waller, formerly coverage chief for Life & Work at The Wall Street Journal, is now managing editor, equality and work at Bloomberg News.

  • Katishi Maake, formerly reporter at Mergermarket, is now senior finance reporter at Secret CFO.

  • Hannah Prevett, formerly commercial business and tech editor at The Times and Sunday Times, is now associate business editor at The Sunday Times.

  • Elspeth Velten, formerly SVP/group GM, travel & parents at DotDash Meredith, is now editor in chief at Good Housekeeping.

  • Layoffs were announced this week at CNET.

Also... check out this map of the most-observed plants and animals in each US state.

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