The Zeitgeist: June 27, 2025

Today's Edition: Daydream, Laundromats and CNBC's Baby Boom

June 27, 2025

Good morning. This week, Anna Wintour pulled the most Anna Wintour move possible: stepping down without actually going anywhere. In a plot twist that left fashion insiders clutching their lattes and The Devil Wears Prada fans furiously quoting “That’s all,” Wintour announced she’ll be giving up her title as Editor-in-Chief of American VOGUE. But before you scream into your silk scarf - she’s not leaving. Instead, the EIC role is being sunsetted like a pair of last season’s kitten heels, and a “head of editorial content” will now report to her. Translation: she’s still running the show. As Wintour told The New York Times, “This is my all-in moment at the company.” She’s not even moving her Clarice Cliff pottery.

Meanwhile, Axios recapped their post-Cannes convo with Robyn Delmonte, the mastermind behind GirlBossTown, who had one key message for brands: go niche or go unnoticed. The piece features takeaways from the Confidant/Vytal “Cult of Everything” study - a data-backed look at how brand obsession is no longer mass, but micro.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

JCPenney Gifts $10,000 Dream Wedding to LA Couple Amid Brand Revival

Under CMO Marisa Thalberg, the department store is angling to regain its status as a destination for budget-conscious trendsetters.

By Cydney Lee | Adweek

Peppa Pig’s rebrand strategy—how Hasbro is modernizing a preschool icon

The new campaign is treating Mummy Pig’s pregnancy as a celebrity media event while the show gets a visual update and deepens cultural relevance.

By Parker Herren | Ad Age

Also, Jimmy John’s romantasy audiobook, Olive Garden’s pasta-themed pool floats, Heinz x DJ Mustard’s Mustaaaaaard, Olipop x Amazon Ads’ PR boxes for consumers and The Bear’s Season 4 brand partnerships and stunts.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

Dirty Clothes, Clean Fun: These Laundromats Aren’t Just for Laundry

The rise of unconventional gathering places isn’t slowing down. Some laundromat owners are transforming their spaces with coffee bars, live music and watch parties.

By Alexis Benveniste | The New York Times

TikTok Chefs Have Upstaged Their Clients

A new wave of private chefs in the Hamptons is leveraging “Day in the Life” social media content to build personal brands, gain influence and shift traditional household dynamics.

By Rob Franklin | Grub Street

The “We Do Not Care” Club Taps into the Apathy, Rage of Perimenopause

The club, founded by influencer Melani Sanders, celebrates women who have stopped trying to please everyone.

By Meghan Holohan | TODAY.com

The return of the soundtrack: how original movie music made a comeback

Rising interest in vinyl and physical media as collector’s items has fueled renewed enthusiasm for movie soundtracks.

By Jesse Hassenger | The Guardian

Why Did the Novel-Reading Man Disappear?

More men on social media are reading fiction to better understand themselves and grow emotionally, breaking old stereotypes about what they should read.

By Joseph Bernstein | The New York Times

Corporate

Can Walmart Shed Its Discount Vibe? Its New Home Office Offers a Clue.

The retailer is spending billions to attract top tech talent to a new HQ and wooing shoppers with drone delivery and a broader range of items (like Louis Vuitton handbags).

By Kevin Draper | The New York Times

Flipped, Tricked and Stuck in Snow: The Streets Are Mean for Food Robots

“Some find them endearing and track their favorites on social media. Others, like recent graduate Isa Sheikh, see them as harbingers of a depressing future.”

By Heather Haddon, Owen Tucker-Smith | The Wall Street Journal

Gen Z won’t stop oversharing at work, and it’s changing our workplace culture

Gen Z is forging a new workplace culture where oversharing about relationships, mental health and political views is the norm.

By Emily Stewart | Business Insider

Coach Foundation announces $20 million commitment for scholarships

The fashion retailer is awarding 10,000 scholarships by 2030 through the North American Dream It Real program to low-income youth.

By Staff | Philanthropy News Digest

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Goodbye Fancy Bar, Hello At-Home Pizza Party: Young Americans Cut Back

A combination of economic challenges is driving a 13% decline of in-store and online purchases for 18- to 24-year-olds. Spending by older groups is still on the rise but has slowed.

By Rachel Wolfe | The Wall Street Journal

Are small format stores retail’s way to expand in urban centers?

Moves like CVS’s mini pharmacy stores test highlight the potential of ongoing experimentation with small format stores in urban retail.

By Vidhi Choudhary | Retail Brew

This new AI app just might make online shopping fun again

Launched by retail veteran Julie Bornstein, Daydream, a new AI agent, aims to transform the way you shop online.

By Elizabeth Segran | Fast Company

Hermès Mystery Game in NYC Raises The Bar of Brand Engagement

The mystery installation, where visitors engaged in an escape room-like game to find missing horses, was an ode to the brand’s heritage and craftsmanship.

By Clara Ludmir | Forbes

Connections

Feed intelligence

Snap acquires Saturn, a social calendar app for high school and college students

Snap acquired Saturn to support its shift from a social media platform to a real-time communication app focused on close friends and Gen Alpha engagement.

By Aisha Malik | TechCrunch

Inside CNBC’s Baby Boom: 6 Pregnant On-Air Anchors and Reporters Share How They Created Community in the Workplace

The expecting reporters and anchors spoke with People about how they’re leaning on each other for support and finding community during this time.

By Hannah Sacks | People

When ChatGPT becomes your spiritual guide

Some users are turning to AI chatbots as a direct line to spiritual insight, using it for New Age practices like astrology, tarot and manifestation.

By Laura Pitcher | Dazed

Media Moves:

  • Fast Company launched a new podcast, By Design, hosted by Mark Wilson and Liz Stinson, which will cover the macro impacts of design trends, covering topics like wearable technology, AI and product design and how design intersects with business, tech, politics and culture.

  • Derek Thompson, formerly staff writer at The Atlantic, has left his full-time role at the publication to focus on his Substack while continuing to contribute to The Atlantic and run his podcast Plain English (which is one of our favorites). Thompson is also co-author of current NYT bestseller Abundance with Ezra Klein.

  • Rebecca Bellan, senior reporter at TechCrunch covering transportation, is now covering artificial intelligence at the same outlet. She will also still cover autonomous vehicles and robotics as they “fall under real world/physical AI.”

  • Jeff Bercovici, formerly managing editor at The San Francisco Standard, is now deputy technology & media editor at The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco. He will start late July.

  • Allie Canal, senior reporter at Yahoo Finance, is now one of the rotating NASDAQ correspondents, in addition to her regular reporting duties. She will be covering markets and the economy more extensively.

  • Steven Tweedie, formerly deputy editor and business newsroom coach at Business Insider, is now deputy executive editor at the same outlet overseeing the business news, corporate desk and the weekend teams.

  • Madison Mills, formerly anchor at Yahoo Finance, is now senior markets reporter at Axios and author of its daily Axios Markets newsletter.

  • Emma Ockerman, formerly audience engagement specialist at Nikkei Asia in New York, is now senior reporter at Yahoo Finance covering labor and the economy.

  • Kristina Monllos, formerly senior marketing reporter at Digiday, is now senior reporter at Marketing Brew.

  • Olivia Bria, formerly contributor at Parade, is now contributor at Men’s Journal covering food news.

  • Neha Tandon, formerly shopping editor at Dotdash Meredith, is now beauty editor at The New York Times.

Also... make your own Star Wars-inspired intro crawl with the Star Wars Intro Creator.

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