The Zeitgeist: May 3, 2024

Today’s Edition: Bread Hat, LinkedIn Games, and Photo Dumps

May 03, 2024

Good morning! As we rev up for the Kentucky Derby and the Met Gala, brands are popping on their fun hats to join the party of pop culture moments. Meanwhile, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is sprucing up its guidance on workplace harassment, taking a firm stand on gender identity and sexual orientation. In other news, the buzz at college campuses hasn't quieted down, with protests making headlines, including some by Google employees who were fired and filed a complaint for unlawful retaliation.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Panera Debuts a ‘Bread Hat’ for the Kentucky Derby, and It Comes With a $100 Gift Card

The aptly named accessory was created by A-Morir Studio, which has created non-bread-themed fashion for the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga.

By Emily Price | Food & Wine

Inside Bumble's app relaunch and rebrand

CEO Lidiane Jones found a way to relieve the "burden" of women making the first move.

By Emma Hinchliffe and Joseph Abrams | Fortune

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

Airbnb’s new Icons feature lets you book a stay in pop culture’s most famous locations

Airbnb's Icons feature enables booking stays in iconic pop culture spots, aiming to expand its appeal with experiences priced under $100 per guest, marking a shift towards experiential marketing.

By Jeff Beer | Fast Company

The History Behind the Met Gala

The Met Gala has evolved from a Manhattan socialite dinner to a must-watch red carpet event. Its themes and celebrity attendees make it one of the year's biggest fashion events.

By Olivia B. Wasman | TIME

Why Padel Is Luxury’s New Favourite Sport

Brands from Valentino to Prada and start-ups like Pulco Studios are vying to cash in on the racket sport’s aspirational aesthetic and affluent fanbase.

By Daniel-Yaw Miller | Business of Fashion

Celebrity members club Soho House has lost money for nearly 30 years. Now its CEO is under mounting pressure to turn $22 cocktails into profits

Soho House has 260,000 members but has never made money. CEO Andrew Carnie is trying to balance popularity and profitability.

By Maria Aspan | Fortune

Corporate

Updated federal workplace guidelines now protects employee gender identity

Federal agency says repeatedly misgendering employees or denying them access to a bathroom consistent with their gender identity amounts to workplace harassment.

By Mariana Alfaro | The Washington Post

Google’s firing of employees signals growing pushback to employee activism

Google CEO told employees in a company blog post that the office is not a place “to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”

By Ruth Umoh | Fortune

The new generation of workers is ‘Gen Global’

Gen Global is a new generation of workers who want the growth opportunities, diverse experiences, workplace flexibility, and independence associated with global companies.

By Nicole Sahin | Fast Company

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Long-predicted consumer pullback finally hits restaurants like Starbucks, KFC and McDonald's

Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and KFC are among the chains that reported same-store sales declines this quarter.

By Amelia Lucas | CNBC

The hottest Gen Alpha obsession right now? Using parents’ money for online shopping, report finds

A new study found that Gen Alpha is spending over two hours a week, on average, shopping online.

By Sasha Rogelberg | Fortune

An unusual phenomenon led to ‘disappointing’ Starbucks sales: The brand is too popular with morning commuters

CEO Laxman Narasimhan noted customers are canceling purchases due to extended wait times and limited product availability.

By Eleanor Pringle | Fortune

Connections

Feed intelligence

LinkedIn launches gaming: 3 logic puzzles aimed at extending time spent on its networking platform

Queens, Crossclimb, and Pinpoint are games designed to test players' logic, trivia, and word association abilities while promoting increased platform engagement.

By Ingrid Lunden I TechCrunch

Bob Barker-era 'Price Is Right' finds new fans: Gen Z. They're watching together on Twitch.

Interactive TV viewing is trending on platforms like Twitch, where Gen-Z viewers appreciate the nostalgia of appointment television and retro programming.

By Katie Mather | Yahoo! Entertainment

Photo Dump Accounts Are The New Finstas

Photo dump accounts — wherein young people share authentic, unedited moments with a small group of friends — are a growing trend on Instagram.

By Carolyn Steber | Bustle

Media Moves:

  • Kylie Roison, formerly of Fortune, has joined The Verge as a senior AI reporter. She’ll work closely with The Verge’s policy and tech teams, delivering must-read coverage about the people and companies shaping the future of AI, how the technology is being developed and used by consumers and creators, and how it’s changing the world – for good and for ill.

  • Claire Brown started a new role at The Wall Street Journal, covering sustainability with a focus on climate, agriculture, and the energy transition for WSJ Pro Sustainable Business.

  • Kelsey Weekman, formerly of BuzzFeed News, is now a senior reporter on Yahoo’s entertainment and culture team.

  • Eleanore Park of The New York Times has been promoted to editorial SEO lead and audience editor for cooking and food. Park will use data and insights to inform the editorial strategy across cooking and the food desk and oversee various high-impact initiatives to help grow audiences.

  • Avery Hartmans, formerly of Business Insider, has been hired by The New York Times as the audience editor for the business section. 

Also…Two months after a Willy Wonka-inspired “Chocolate Experience” in Scotland failed so spectacularly that it cemented itself in meme history, a similar event in Los Angeles attracted dozens of people hoping to recreate the absurd experience.

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