The Zeitgeist: May 23, 2025

Today's Edition: Signal, Too Good To Go and Doom

May 23, 2025

Good morning. This week, Trader Joe’s topped the 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100 Reputation Rankings - an annual survey that gauges the corporate reputation of America’s most visible brands - suggesting it has emerged from recent scandals unscathed.

Also, this weekend kicks off the busy summer travel season, and the AAA predicts 45M+ people will be traveling, breaking the 2005 holiday weekend record of 44M travelers. Of those travelers, 38M+ are expected to hit the road, marking the highest number of Memorial Day drivers AAA has ever recorded, but 3.5M+ people are still expected to fly this weekend, a 2% increase from last year. Happy Memorial Day weekend to all!

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

CeraVe introduces a goat mascot, Sarah V., in its latest social campaign

The brand’s influencer-driven campaign plays into fans who refer to the brand as the “G.O.A.T.” of skincare, aiming to achieve mascot fame on par with Grimace and Duo the Owl.

By Sabrina Sanchez | Ad Age

Also, Selena Gomez x Oreo, Kit-Kat’s #FakeBreak campaign, Tory Burch x BonBon’s candy-inspired collection, White Castle x Heelys, and Heineken’s Pub Delivery campaign for the Women’s Champions League Final.

Culture

Snackable bites of consumer culture

The Monster-Slaying Game You Can Play Almost Anywhere

For decades, tech enthusiasts have made the 1993 video game Doom playable on screens of all sizes, including treadmills, calculators and even pregnancy tests.

By Mac Schwerin | The New York Times

To Gen Z, Everything Is a Recession Indicator

“To the extremely online, the portents of doom also include serif fonts, the popularity of press-on nails, messy buns, Lena Dunham’s latest public departure from New York and Gwyneth Paltrow’s decision to start eating cheese again.”

By Hannah Erin Lang | The Wall Street Journal

For a Year, This App Told Me What to Eat for Dinner

From the writer who survived a year of chaos with the help of food rescue app Too Good To Go: “I learned to stop expecting control and to revel in what I found instead.”

By Mehr Singh | Best Food Blog

Is Whole Milk Propaganda? What About Gracie Abrams?

The “propaganda I’m not falling for” lists on TikTok is a trend Gen Z is embracing as they cleverly call out things that feel slightly off in our society.

By Nicole Stock | The New York Times

Corporate

It’s Time to Kill the Casual Workplace

An argument that the casual workplace culture has gone too far, and that it’s time to bring back more structure and professionalism.

By Carrie Battan | New York Magazine’s Intelligencer

The real reason Starbucks baristas are so angry about its new dress code

Starbucks union workers aren’t as upset about the dress code; they’re upset about the lack of a contract.

By Grace Snelling | Fast Company

Will Anyone Take the Factory Jobs Trump Wants to Bring Back to America?

The president has pledged to bring more factory work back to U.S., but many manufacturing jobs are already going unfilled.

By Chao Deng, Te-Ping Cheng | The Wall Street Journal

Why Businesses Are Pursuing Socially Responsible Policies Despite Political Hostility

A new survey finds companies doubling down on CSR, DEI and ESG programs but communicating about them less as Trump-led antagonism rises.

By Bruce Crumley | Inc.

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Retailers rush to save US summer shopping season

U.S. retailers, including Walmart, are racing to secure China-made merchandise for the busy summer shopping season after Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily slash tariffs.

By Casey Hall, Siddharth Cavale | Reuters

Google’s latest AI shopping tool is Cher's ‘Clueless’ closet IRL

At Google I/O 2025, Google unveiled a new shopping feature that uses AI to overlay clothing from product listings onto full-length user photos.

By Haley Henschel | Mashable

GoDaddy survey reveals Gen Z and Millennial shopping habits

GoDaddy Consumer Pulse survey finds younger consumers will abandon cart for digital wallets.

By Sandra Levy | Drug Store News

DoorDash’s new drone delivered my Cheerwine. Here’s how it worked

An explainer on how DoorDash’s drone delivery service with Wing is quietly reshaping last-mile logistics in Charlotte - revealing a future of faster, contactless delivery.

By Sandra Levy | Axios Charlotte

Connections

Feed intelligence

Print Is Dead. Just Don’t Tell Microsoft.

Microsoft’s VP of comms strategy was inspired to launch Signal, Microsoft’s new print magazine targeting business leaders, after reading a New York Times story about the success of Costco Connection.

By Sarah Grevy Gotfredsen | Columbia Journalism Review

TED’s app launches a short-form video feature ahead of potential TikTok ban

The non-profit behind TED Talks announced a new, TikTok-style video feature on its app, “TED Shorts.”

By Lauren Forristal | TechCrunch

AI use is becoming more common on social media. Should brands use it—or shun it?

Social media consultant Rachel Karten thinks “proof of reality” will bear more weight for brands than obvious AI, but companies like Adobe are betting otherwise.

By Jennimai Nguyen | Marketing Brew

Media Moves:

  • Samantha Murphy Kelly, formerly tech reporter at CNET, is now consumer tech reporter at Bloomberg, with a focus on major players in Big Tech, fitness wearables and home robotics.

  • Chris Welch, formerly editor and reviewer at The Verge, is now consumer tech reporter at Bloomberg News.

  • Ellyn Lapointe, formerly science and technology reporter at The Daily Mail, is now science reporter at Gizmodo.

  • Chris Hatler, formerly senior editor at Men’s Journal, is now deputy editor at Esquire.

  • Brittany Gibson, formerly commerce writer at First Media, is now weekend commerce writer at The Arena Group, writing deal-focused content for Parade, TheStreet and Men’s Journal.

  • Caitlyn Martyn, formerly associate commerce editor at Byrdie, is now commerce editor at FOX.

  • Lydia Wang, formerly love and life editor at Women’s Health, is now lifestyle and entertainment editor at Business Insider.

  • Valeriya Chupinina, formerly beauty editor at Hypebae, has left the outlet to pursue freelance writing covering beauty, lifestyle, fitness, travel and fashion.

  • Layoffs were announced this week at Marketplace and Digiday, which included senior marketing editor Kristina Monllos and senior reporter Marty Swant.

Also... check out the Library of Short Stories, a free collection of short stories from the public domain available online.

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