The Zeitgeist: January 31, 2025

Today's Edition: Hellmann's, Barnes & Noble and Yahoo

January 31, 2025

Good morning. One week ago, you might not have heard of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has grabbed America’s attention this week and stunned investors. Its LLM called R1 is seemingly cheaper to train, more power-efficient and rivals OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It skyrocketed to the top of Apple Store’s downloads. The rollout and resulting press coverage highlight the impact communications can have on the market, putting AI competitors on high alert. Why this all matters, per Axios: “Maybe we can get what we want from AI without spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure or choking the planet with CO2.”

Source: Axios

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal re-create famous ‘When Harry Met Sally...’ scene in Hellmann’s Super Bowl ad

The pair are paying homage to their hit 1989 film, and Hellmann’s offered media a behind-the-scenes experience to sample the Sally-approved sandwich ahead of the Big Game.

By Drew Weisholtz | The TODAY Show

Move over, Taylor and Travis: The hottest new duo is Ellie the Elephant and Grimace

The sightings, captured in paparazzi-style photos, sparked dating rumors, but it’s strictly business: McDonald’s tapped Ellie to help promote this year’s McDonald’s All American Games taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

By Alyssa Meyers | Marketing Brew

Also, Popeyes x Don Julio’s Super Bowl collab, Valentine’s Day stunts and campaigns from Knorr x Tinder, Sweethearts, Grillo’s Pickles and Krispy Kreme, Yellow Tail x Domino’s Red Blend and Whataburger x Lainey Wilson’s partnership and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits promo.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

America’s $3 Billion Habit: Meat Sticks

What was once a limited category has exploded into the fastest growing snack in the U.S., but the flood of flavors and high-end options has divided fans.  

By Jennifer Williams | The Wall Street Journal

Why DeepSeek’s logo represents a new era of AI branding

The friendly blue whale diverges from branding trends currently dominating the AI industry, which lean into abstract design and rigid, tech-inspired aesthetics.

By Grace Snelling | Fast Company

Kids Are Having Birthday Parties at Sephora Now

Beauty retail brands are finding new ways to create lifelong customers at an early age.

By Melissa Magsaysay | Business of Fashion

The Hottest New Wedding Gift? A Charitable Donation.

Some couples are restructuring their registries and celebrations to support charitable causes that are close to their hearts.

By Sarah Lyon | The New York Times

Corporate

Why retired CEOs like Nike’s Elliott Hill keep coming back

“Retirement offered a reprieve the first few years, he said. ‘[But] there was a moment when I started to think to myself, ‘Is this really what the rest of my life’s going to be like?’”

By Diane Brady | Fortune

Black-owned brands are urging consumers not to boycott Target over its DEI retreat

Prominent figures such as Tabitha Brown have stressed that a boycott could inadvertently harm Black-owned businesses that rely on Target’s vast market presence to reach consumers.

By Staff | Quartz

Newman’s Own invites more companies to donate 100% of their profits to charities

The promise is not new but still hard to believe: 100% of profits from the sale of Newman’s Own foods are donated to charity. To celebrate what would have been Paul Newman’s 100th birthday, the Newman’s Own Foundation is inviting others to join them in that commitment, as part of the 100% for Purpose Club.

By Thalia Beaty | The Associated Press

Women’s wages are now growing faster than men’s, says Bank of America data

In a new report from the Bank of America Institute, data shows that female workers’ median annual income growth is growing faster than male workers, in large part due to bigger pay jumps when changing jobs.

By Sam Becker | Fast Company

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

How Alo Yoga is using Roblox to get Gen Z to its stores

The activewear brand is using scannable stickers at 150 locations to allow users to unlock digital wearables, a move intended to reach younger audiences.

By Zofia Zwieglinska | Glossy

The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It

BookTok readers are flocking to physical stores to snag a copy of the latest viral hit and helping the once-struggling chain turn a corner.

By Lily Meier | Bloomberg

Grubhub is bringing new delivery robots to college campuses

Grubhub and Avride launch 100 delivery robots at Ohio State, with expansion plans ahead.

By Sarah Fielding | Engadget

Private label sales soared in 2024

New figures from the Private Label Manufacturers Association shows store brand sales hit an all-time high in 2024 as consumers placed more trust in grocery retailers.

By Kristin Schwab | Marketplace

Connections

Feed intelligence

How Peloton is Becoming a Social Network

Peloton is tapping its users to transform its platform into a space for community building.

By Mark Wilson | Fast Company

On RedNote, Chinese Cooks Cheer On Americans Experimenting With New Cuisine

Many Americans who flocked to RedNote because of the imminent TikTok ban are staying for the food, inspired to take a crack at Chinese recipes like steamed egg custard.

By Liyan Qi | The Wall Street Journal

Like any millennial, Yahoo wants to be seen as cool again

Since this past fall, the company has been on a nostalgia-washing blitz, making memes about AIM and using dial-up-internet sounds and Microsoft WordArt in unhinged posts on Instagram and TikTok.

By Amanda Hoover | Business Insider

Inside Willa Bennett’s First Issue of ‘Cosmopolitan’

The publication’s youngest-ever editor wants to “make Cosmo a must-read for a generation that came of age as magazines were already well into their decline.”

By Diana Pearl | Business of Fashion

Media Moves:

  • Nicole Goodkind, formerly senior business reporter at CNN, is leaving the news organization and has yet to announce her new role.

  • Jane Thier, formerly future of work reporter at Fortune, is now senior editorial writer at Atlassian, a global software company.

  • Julia Hornstein, formerly intern at The Information, is now reporter at Business Insider covering venture capital firms and startups.

  • Lisa Eadicicco, formerly senior editor at CNET covering mobile devices and consumer tech, is leaving the outlet and has yet to announce her new role.

  • Kendra Barnett, formerly associate editor The Drum U.S., is now senior tech reporter at Adweek covering adtech and platforms.

  • Baker Machado, formerly news anchor at Cheddar and podcast creator at The Baker Show, is now multiplatform host at sports business news site Front Office Sports, leading the organization’s flagship daily show “Front Office Sports Today” as one of two co-hosts.

  • Fernando Hurtado, formerly manager of digital video at NBC/Telemundo, is leaving the network to launch In The Hyphen, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering U.S. Latinos.

  • Layoffs were announced this week at SiriusXM.

Also... watch retro TV shows like Hill Street Blues and The Odd Couple on Time Travel Television.

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