[SIC] 185: Marketing Doodlebugs

Volume 4, Number 29

Mar 24, 2022

But you CAN pay, if you want to. Go right ahead. I’m into it. Monthly or yearly, or founding support (which includes a dinner at my house, if you’re in / can get to NYC). Other benefits that’d persuade you? Suggest ‘em. I’m open.

Feel free to share, too.

Hi all,

Another week without embellishment - no [SIC] Talks or ‘5 Questions For’ this edition because tbh I’ve been a little swamped starting a new full time gig (which I’m very stoked about). They’ll be back soon though, promise.

Meantime, lots to process this week per normal. Thanks as always to my friends / contributors for ideas - Celeste, Tommy, Bill, Kevin, David - I see you. As a reminder to everybody; this communique is very much a cross-section of my brain, but it’s also a platform for your brains too, if you want it. Don’t hold back.

And of course, don’t feel any compunction about sharing with friends, colleagues and any other smart people you know. It’s free!

Ok. Off to the links…

Guess the button-covered corporate logo and win this week’s prize….

======[SIC] 185: Marketing Doodlebugs=====

The World

Well this is encouraging….. a third of nurses plan to quit their jobs by end of 2022, survey shows / Healthcare Dive
Because… if You Thought Covid Was Over…Congratulations, You’re an Idiot. / Eand.co via Lefsetz Letter
Corollary? The current state of nuclear brinksmanship / NYT via Marginal Revolution
Epic is donating two weeks of Fortnite proceeds to Ukraine relief / The Verge
Meanwhile, Russians are turning to Clubhouse for information about the war. / Input
And the war is driving young professionals out of Russia / NYT
Escalating gas prices are “without a doubt” changing commuter behavior. / Yahoo Finance via Micromobility Newsletter
Noted climate writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells talks with The Slowdown about society’s troubling capacity for normalization, drama as a means to stir people to climate action, and why—despite all of the above—he’s feeling optimistic for the future / The Slowdown
Related: OK Doomer … /NYT via After School
And also, per [SIC] Talks alum Casey Lewis: “Is this the best commercial ever made? Honestly, maybe! … Gen Z preteens satirically questioning the legitimacy and purpose of climate-change concerns. And it’s hilarious” / YouTube via After School
Related: Securing the TikTok Vote / NYT
But, but: Are You Better Than a Machine at Spotting a Deepfake? / Scientific American

Trends

Some of the Tech Magic Is Gone / NYT
Though Stewart Brand thinks socials still have a chance to change (NYT)
Goblin mode is the spiritual rejection of “that girl” aesthetic / The FACE
Fortunately for us, it's officially short king spring / i-D via After School
“When Your Second Home Is the First One You Buy” / NYT
Corollary: nearly half of millennials “don’t see the point” of saving for retirement. / Bloomberg via After School
Meantime, how does Gen Z feel about credit cards? It's complicated. / Retail Dive
Related, sort of: the 2022 Future of Equity Report / Long Term Stock Exchange via Declarative Statements
Always lukewarm, never piping hot - How mundane gossip took over the internet / the FACE
From Celeste Blewitt: “It's only a matter of time for these types of consultants to become big in other areas such as tech and the like too …” The Cancel Culture Consultant / NYMag
Oregon Is Turning Sewage into an Endless Supply of Green Energy / Reasons to Be Cheerful
While Ford is preparing to turn its future fleet of EV vehicles into, essentially, mobile video-conference offices. / Techcrunch
And Hyundai’s design chief says future cars will be "living spaces on wheels" / Dezeen via PSFK
"The irresistible draw of Bridgerton reflects our need for a new aesthetic” and will lead to designers embracing Neo Regency style / Dezeen

Style

[SIC] homie Navaz Batliwala’s spring trend report / DisneyRollerGirl
American consumers are back at the centre of fashion’s radar after a decade where China drove much of the industry’s growth. / BoF
Loewe, Marni and Comme des Garçons are among the brands turning away from mass drops to prioritise innovation and links with specialist labels. / Vogue Business
Because fashion is best at its most resilient / The FACE
Hence, Craig Green reimagines adidas shoes with industrial screws and pumps / Dezeen
Elsewhere in adi-land: adidas filed for an “individualised footwear” patent, using AI to capture data through treadmill analysis, 3D foot scans, pressure plates, sprint analysis, jump analysis and questionnaires / Patent Drop

The Arts

Street Photography That Highlights the Female Gaze / Hyperallergic
Mike Mills on the Alleged podcast / Instagram
The art of writing funding applications / It’s Nice That
Is digital art going to change the way we create, consume and commission artworks? / It’s Nice That
But what if digital art becomes… boring? / The Art Newspaper via Jing Daily
Never boring: Mark Sucio and the poetry of skateboarding / 032C
Also poetic, from Kevin Johanessen: skate god Jason Lee on the Nine Club / YouTube
How small-batch ceramics became the new Supreme / FT via Lean Luxe

Entertainment + IP

Why Hollywood Is Souring (Some) on Streaming /Puck
How Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G and Borat came to be / Airmail
And how Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens Navigate Pop / NYT
20 Years Of Grime. It's not new, but it's ever-ready. Run the road! / Trench
Defunctland is a YouTube series focused on the history of amusement parks / via Dirt
The Case for Super Vinyl / Notes of an Honest Broker via Music Redef

Platforms & Influencers

Instagram now lets all users tag products in their posts / The Verge via Motive Unknown
Vimeo is sorry, and here's how it's changing. The Verge
What TikTok videos have in common with Victorian parlour games/ Psyche
From Celeste Blewitt: 'A really interesting conversation around art, social media and the interaction between the two when people engage in exhibitions. A Human Size Spider Web Is Getting A Boost From TikTok' / NYT
There are no more Forts in Fortnite, circa the newest update to the battle royale game / Protocol

Marketing & Advertising

This is really interesting and intuitive: adidas created paid affiliate program that allows any of the 50,000 eligible student athletes at an adidas-partnered NCAA Division I university to become paid brand ambassadors / Retail Dive
This week in narrative counters: Klarna doesn’t want to be a ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ brand / The Drum
Also, Black Rifle Coffee’s military news site is aiming for a new reputation / Nieman Lab
And Online Brands are trying a Traditional Marketing Strategy: Physical Stores / NYT via Retail Dive
Elsewhere, Robinhood wants you to spend money to make money / The Verge via Future Party
Red Bull’s Sports marketing empire / Front Office Sports
Speaking of empires, at the active-living community for Jimmy Buffett enthusiasts, it’s five o’clock everywhere. Retirement the Margaritaville way. / The New Yorker
Aston Martin gives control of its brand to TikTok creators / The Drum
While Taco Bell Is Kicking Off Its 60th Anniversary With a Veggie Combo and New Streetwear / Restaurant Business
Corollary: from Tommy Cissel: “Maybe the best fast food marketing I’ve ever seen” [Pusha T for Arby’s] / Instagram
And corollary to that: why brands can't quit Kanye West / Glossy via Retail Dive

Media Business

The Monthly Fashion Magazine Is No More / WWD
Ergo: a survival strategy for Fashion Magazines / BoF
The rebirth of native advertising / The Rebooting
A corollary: the enormous media company you've never heard of / Simon Owens
And another: Enter “Lean Media” / People vs. Algorithms
From Bill Amstutz: “AdExchanger had an interesting story this week about changes in Google Analytics. Check it out.” / AdExchanger
Related: what “Inventing Anna” can teach us about consumer data / The Drum

Metaverse & Web3

There are now more NFTs than there were websites in 2010 / Twitter via Garbage Day
Kyle Chayka expounds on Ape Coin, and it’s all you really need on the subject unless you’re holding. / Dirt
Notwithstanding Casey Newton’s comment that there’s something off about it / Platformer
To wit: “the Man Behind Ethereum is Worried About Crypto's Future [tho] Most of what he says is true of almost any technology or venture” / Time via Declarative Statements
Corollary: The Stanford Social Innovation Review has a good, thinky piece about “Web3 and the Trap of ‘For Good.'” / SSIR via Untitled
Also corollary: what Crypto Enthusiasts Get Wrong About Entertainment / Bloomberg via Motive Unknown
Helpful maybe: Metaverse and Web3 glossary for marketers / Ad Age
Compare to: Jarrod Dickers sane persons guide to crypto / The Rebooting
Welcome, associates! From David Bloom: “Says a lot that a giant consulting firm such as Accenture has now carved out a group within its org chart to focus on services connected metaverse-style immersive experiences.” [Accenture Introduces Metaverse Continuum Group] / XR Today
More consulting, sort of: why Instagram will introduce NFTs to the gig economy in a big way / Midia Research via Nieman Lab
Though it turns out that crypto and NFTs do not magically create a utopia for artists and musicians while eliminating all traces of intermediation / Bloomberg via the Rebooting
Hence, Lil Miquela, the virtual Instagram influencer with over 3 million followers, is becoming a DAO / Medium
Umm … What will the metaverse smell like? / The Slowdown

Food & Drink

Thrillist’s list of America's 32 best doughnut shops doesn’t include Peter Pan in Greenpoint, and so is categorically wrong. / Thrillist
What Humanity Should Eat to Stay Healthy and Save the Planet / Scientific American
Peroni looks for US foothold with appeal to millennials’ wanderlust, betting on a younger demographic to help it build on recent momentum / Food Dive

Miscellany

On the new biomedical DARPA. Only $1 billion, but it will exist. / via Marginal Revolution
How masturbation boosts your immune system / Big Think via Elevator
Corollary? Beavers are back in London, The Independent
Swimming pools to cool down the Thai monkey wars / Thaiger via Marginal Revolution

Things to Do

OG [SIC] homie and data artist Melissa F. Clarke’s opening at Putty’s Coronation, Saturday / Instagram
The rooftop launch of Dizzy Magazine Issue #8! Printed Matter / St Marks on Sunday March 27, 3-6PM
Painter Jo Nigoghossian’s You Are Getting Very Sleepy at Broadway Gallery. Opening reception next Thursday.