The Zeitgeist: May 10, 2024

Today’s Edition: Indie Sleaze, Rap Beefs and Rebranding DEI

Good morning! This week kicked off with the highly anticipated Met Gala, where celebrities stunned on the red carpet. However, the real winners were the AI deepfakes that stole the show. Meanwhile, social media was flooded with comparisons to the Hunger Games, calling out the event for being tone-deaf given the current stark political realities.

In other news, Apple was quick to apologize for its new ‘iPad Crush’ ad, meant to show how much the latest M4 iPad Pro can do. Also, the loneliness epidemic continues to make headlines.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Also, Boll & Branch bedding Met Gala dress, Budweiser’s “UninterruptAds” with Spotify, Heineken’s “LaundroMatch”, Tropicana Pulp Prenup, and Impossible Meats rebrand campaign.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

Corporate

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Connections

Feed intelligence

Media Moves:

  • Becca Carballo, formerly at The New York Times, has joined Politico to cover education.

  • Isobel Yeung, formerly at VICE News, has joined CNN as an international correspondent based in the network’s London bureau.

  • Meena Duerson, formerly at VICE News, has joined CNN as a correspondent based in New York.

  • Rebecca Elliott, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, will join The New York Times Business desk as an energy reporter based in New York.

  • Monique Mulima, formerly of The Financial Times, has joined Bloomberg to cover the Canadian aviation, automotive, rail, and retail sectors.

  • Maxine Builder, formerly of New York Magazine, will join Wirecutter as deputy editorial director.

  • Dieter Holger, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, has joined Consumer Affairs as a data reporter covering product safety, recalls, digital privacy, and economics.

  • Erin Mershon, formerly of STAT, has joined The New York Times as a deputy media editor.

  • Gregory Schmidt has been promoted to the European business editor at The New York Times.

  • Pak Yiu, formerly of Reuters, has joined Nikkei Asia as its US news editor based in New York.

  • Ben Peter, formerly of InsideNova, has joined The Washington Business Journal to cover commercial real estate.

  • Nick Lucchesi, formerly of Interesting Engineering, has joined Laptop Magazine as editor-in-chief.

Also... in Times Square this week, a 65-foot-long frankfurter cantilevered into the sky and spewed out a blast of rainbow confetti. Hot Dog in the City is complete with hydraulics, and it will serve as an anchor for serious talks, playful performances, and political debate in the heart of NYC.

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—The Editors

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