The Zeitgeist: February 23, 2024

Today's Edition: Ozempic Hype House, 'dry tripping' and the cute aesthetic

February 23, 2024

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns, clever tactics and dumpster fires

Ozempic Hype House Backfires in WeightWatchers Brand Misstep

Social media personalities say they were asked to promote a product they “never tried,” and social-media backlash started before the posting even began.

By Madison Muller | Bloomberg

Why John Deere is daring a tech influencer to farm

“We are trying to help them understand the challenges our farmers face and how technology is helping them overcome some of those challenges.”

By Diana Bradley | PRWeek

Also, McDonald’s fictional restaurant WcDonald’s, the Courageous Conversation Global Foundation campaign highlighting the dangers of book bans and censorship, “America Erased” Starbucks’ braised pork latte, Nails.INC x McDonald’s nail polish collab, Olivia Rodrigo x Crumbl’s tour-themed cookie, KFC’s fried chicken pizza

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

The Americans Who Need Chaos

Political scientists recently coined the phrase need for chaos. Once you learn what it means, you’ll see it everywhere. “These individuals are not idealists seeking to tear down the established order so that they can build a better society for everyone…some men just want to watch the world burn.”

By Derek Thompson | The Atlantic

Is 'dry tripping' taking over Spring Break? Inside the new trend

54% of American legal drinking-aged Gen Zers haven’t had alcohol in the past six months, and now they are seeking sober vacations and finding benefits in hangover-free travel.

By Alexis Benveniste | BBC

How cute became the defining aesthetic of the internet age

In Dazed's monthly podcast on internet culture, the authors of Cute Accelerationism examine the power of cuteness and its modern influence on self-perception, from emojis to memes, favored by today's digitally immersed youth.

By Günseli Yalcinkaya | DAZED

OpenAI Can Now Turn Words Into Ultra-Realistic Videos

Amidst the ongoing competition in generative AI, OpenAI unveiled Sora, a text-to-video model with the capability to generate diverse scenes and characters from complex prompts.

By Lisa Lacy | CNET

Corporate

Spotify launches in-house music consultancy for brands

Aux debuts with Coca-Cola as one of its first clients, having helped the brand form a partnership with DJ and singer-songwriter Peggy Gou. It also built a recording studio in Spotify’s LA office where artists will come to record music and collaborate with the brand.

By Brandon Doerrer | Campaign

Study finds 76 percent of Black Americans celebrate Black History Month 

58% of Black Americans celebrate by supporting Black-owned businesses. 48% celebrate by educating themselves on Black history and culture.

By Cheyanne Daniels | The Hill

Google suspends Gemini from making AI images of people after a backlash complaining it was 'woke'

After users complained Google's Gemini had gone "woke," the company said it will pause the image-generating feature of people while working on fixes.

By Joshua Zitser | Business Insider

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

It’s Been 30 Years Since Food Ate Up This Much of Your Income

Rising costs persist for food manufacturers and restaurants, keeping prices elevated as consumers adjust by seeking out deals and making more budget-conscious choices, while executives anticipate further price increases.

By Jesse Newman, Heather Haddon | The Wall Street Journal

Google’s Wing debuts bigger delivery drones as tech gains momentum

Alphabet-owned Wing claims the fleet addition will give it more versatility in accommodating a range of order types for companies like Walmart, DoorDash and healthcare logistics startup Apian.

By Patrick Kulp | Tech Brew

Don’t Build That E-Commerce Warehouse in My Backyard, More Communities Say

Local communities are clashing with warehouse developers as local governments restrict or ban new logistics hubs.

By Peter Grant | The Wall Street Journal

AI Briefing: How Priceline and other e-commerce companies are approaching generative AI

Companies like Priceline and other major vendors are using generative AI to update their e-commerce platforms.

By Marty Swant | Digiday

Connections

Feed intelligence

Could OpenAI save journalism? Bay Area news outlets using their money to try

A look at how some local newspapers are embracing AI to bring journalism into the future.

By Chase DiFeliciantonio | San Francisco Chronicle

Only half of TikTok users actually post on the platform, report finds

Americans are flocking to TikTok for news and information, which means a small number of active users have increasing influence.

By Eleanor Hawkins | Axios Communicators

Media Moves:

  • William Gavin, formerly breaking news reporter at The Messenger, is now staff writer at Quartz.

  • Francisco Velasquez, formerly editor at News 12 in New York City, is now staff writer at Quartz.

  • Christina Sterbenz, formerly editor at NBC News, is now editor at Bloomberg Opinion working on special projects.

  • Carol Lee, formerly associate editor at Food Network Magazine and HGTV Magazine, is now associate e-commerce writer at ELLE covering beauty.

  • DC NPR station WAMU is shutting down DCist.

Also... check out Color Leap to see iconic color palettes throughout history.

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