The Zeitgeist: June 28, 2024

Today’s Edition: Pride, Swiftonomics, and AI Automation

Happy Friday! Global Pride Month culminates this weekend with celebrations, marches, and parades popping up in major cities. This year will also mark the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and the grand opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York City.

However, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company is ending Pride Month on a very different note. Fearing a "Budweiser effect" and pressured by an intense campaign started by conservative activist Robby Starbuck, it announced this week the elimination of DEI roles that included supporting LGBTQIA+ employees, as well as other measures perceived by conservatives as climate change activism. This puts the spotlight once again on how politics are shaping companies' trajectories.

In other news, American tourism in Europe is fueling the economy. Taylor Swift's European Eras Tour may or may not be contributing to the boom. Some experts are out to debunk "Swiftonomics".

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Also, Chipotle’s Celebrity Card expansion, SKIMS drops 2024 Olympic Team USA campaign with Sunisa Lee and Topo Chico x Airstream staycation

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

Corporate

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Connections

Feed intelligence

Media Moves:

  • Morning Brew has hired Nicole Ortiz to be an editor for its Healthcare Brew newsletter.

  • VentureBeat has hired Emilia David as its senior artificial intelligence reporter. She has been at The Verge covering artificial intelligence and previously worked at Business Insider covering venture capital.

  • Mitchell Parton has joined Modern Retail to cover the industry’s transformation.

  • Quartz has hired Sarah Douglass as its executive editor. In this role, Douglass will manage journalists, drive news planning and coverage, and look to strengthen and streamline operations.

  • Duncan Mavin has been hired by Bloomberg News as an editor on a new weekend digital team. He most recently was a senior editor at The Washington Post based in London.

  • Anna Holmes has been named the workplace columnist for The New York Times.

  • Kara McGrath has been promoted from Deputy Digital Director to Content Director at Allure.

Also...AI generated images are getting better fast. Can you tell what’s real? Take the New York Times quiz.

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