Unexpected experiences 😱, dogs on water 🐶 , and taste to die for 🖼️. Accidental Insights #9 is here.
A summery read for the beach, the country house, or a sweaty day in the city. Dont forget to apply sunscreen while reading.
We are now entering vacation mode in Stockholm. This means a slightly slimmer and slightly with more direct links with fewer own takes on things Accidental Insights. Yet it will drop every second Thursday throughout the vacation. The regular version will be back sometime around mid-August. Sorry, this one became as long as the regular ones, but the next one might be shorter.
If you're a new reader looking for some beach reading, check out all eight back issues.
Summertime in Sweden also means DN Reklamcupen. A competition to highlight the benefits of print advertising. However, everyone seems to keep up with the competition in Reklamcupen’s Facebook group, which in itself is contradictory if the aim is to highlight the benefits of print advertising.
Lately, I have been obsessed with the internet’s reaction to the (very poor) styling of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy for the upcoming American Love Story series. I don’t have any haute takes, but you can read a good take on why getting it right is important here and a very good counterargument here.
INSIGHT DOWNLOAD
The most interesting things I’ve read, seen, thought about, or debated the last two weeks. High and low.
😱 Unexpected experiences. Luxury brands have been doing luxurious brand experiences, including tennis courts and luxury restaurants, lately. Now they are entering less exclusive spaces. Burberry hosted a pub quiz (Goldie was there), and Hermès hosted a mystery game. Louis Vuitton did the opposite and built a huge cruise ship (sic!) in Shanghai. What they all have in common is that they managed to deliver surprises. Never forget that the key learning from Les Binet is that making brands famous drives all business KPIs and the best way to become famous is to surprise.
🧑🏻🎨 The creative dividend. As reported in the last newsletter, System1 and Effies presented their new report “The Creative Dividend” in Cannes. They claim five things give your creative work an x21 profit likelihood: compound creativity, entertainment, cost of dull, brand codes, and emotional payback. If you manage to find a recording of Mark Ritson's Zoom lecture, I recommend watching it. His recipe was not complicated but hard: be emotional, be distinctive (many fail here), and keep on for a long time (you haven’t reached “wear out” yet). When asked about questions on how to apply this for influencer marketing, Ritson said that they still had too little knowledge (most of the research is conducted on TVC/OLV). This WARC article hints that at least distinctiveness (i.e., fluency and codeficiation) is crucial and often fails in influencer ads. TLDR? Do good stuff that touches people, brand it well, and repeat it for a long time.
🤝 Reworking Agency Relationships. According to the System1 study, one key factor in delivering outstanding creative work over the long term was not changing agencies. This was also outlined in this Journal of Advertising Research article. The big question is – do clients get the best out of their agencies given the setups they use today? I’m not so sure.
🐶 Dogs on water: In the last issue, I wrote about people spending loads of money on their pets. Now that we're entering the summer season, it appears that dog splurging is now happening at sea. FTHSI tells you how to pet pimp your superyacht. There is a dog surfing competition in Huntington Beach from which AP has shared loads of great photos if you’re into dogs.
🧘🏻♀️ Excluding health. Airmail wrote about pilates shift from inclusive and sleepy to excluding and sweaty – naming it “The Birkin Bag of Workouts (I only do my pilates with YouTube in my living room, so I’m not guilty of this). Now WSJ reports on The Hamptons Elite Fitness Scene – moms equipped with Hoka sneakers and Cartier bracelets. I know some of you are going to very high-end private gyms in Stockholm with other agency and marketing people, so please hand me the gossip.
💪🏻 Protein Power. The Atlantic writes about the protein boom in the US with protein in donuts, ketchup, and beer, and it’s claimed to save marriages (sic)! Starbucks announced that they were adding protein drinks to their menu. I walked by a 7-Eleven this week, and they are now peddling ProPud Soft Serve (sic!). In the US, David Protein Bars has become a viral brand. But there’s more to protein. The way that conservatives in the US win women over to their side is apparently with the argument “less prozac, more protein”.
🖼️ Taste to die for. John Hegarty posted how AI turns all creatives into creative directors, and therefore, the most critical skill is taste – the ability to judge creative ideas generated by AI. This Atlantic article argues that in an era of AI, taste is more important than ever, and an OpenAI ex-VP states that taste is the differentiating factor in the AI era. Also, taste is returning as pop cultural capital in an era of algorithms. During Coachella earlier this year, Charli XCX decided to share her taste with the world in an outspoken way and recommended 26 cultural creators for the summer of 2025. Artists like Dua Lipa, Emma Roberts, and Kaia Gerber all have book clubs and following celebs on Letterboxd has become a thing. Conclusively, is your taste to die for? Then you might succeed in the AI era.
🪩 Is clubbing growing up? 80-year-olds in a Brussels-based retirement home are going clubbing in order to combat loneliness. The Cut reports that Gen Z and young millennials are clubbing in a more organized and less chaotic way.
💖 Meaningful dating. Bumble is laying off 30% of its staff. Instead, young people dread dating apps and yearn for real-world connections. Alternatives include running and the slightly more vague “just talking”. On the contrary, some young women are hacking the system, doing the opposite of meaningful dating and going on dates just to get a free meal.
INSIGHTS EVOLVED
Here, I continue to build on previously published insights with new observations and micro-trends.
🚬 Smoking hot: Beyoncé was caught smoking on stage. Someone also told me that the 500 mingle in Almedalen was the only one where people were lighting their cigs.
📖 Power of print: Chanel launches an arts and culture magazine.
🇸🇪 Silicon Valhalla. Swedish tech is currently outscoring the USA.
OUTBOUND INSIGHTS
I read, listen to, and watch lots of stuff. Some ladder up to bigger insights, and some are just great reading in their pure form. I’ll share them here.
📰 Gen Z uses ChatGPT as a spiritual tool
📰 Rick Owens opened an OnlyFans account for his feet.
📰 Daydream is a new app for fashion discovery. FeedMe has a good take on why it might not be working.
📰 How FamilyMart became a fashion powerhouse.
🎞️ Dua Lipa, the master of the photo dump.
📰 ChatGPT may be eroding critical thinking skills.
📰 Can Savile Row be saved by women who want power suits?
📰 Google is now a shareholder in Gentle Monster, and they are collabing on smart glasses.
BEYOND INSIGHTS
Stuff that’s relevant for anyone in marketing. Hence, exciting job openings, new third places to freelance work, or random gossip.
🍽️ Esteriör and Cafériör are shutting down – a hard blow to Stockholm’s growing bagel scene.
🏨 The legendary Sheraton Stockholm is getting a revamp led by the Soho House designers.
💼 Abby World is hiring a junior PR advisor.
💼 IW Agency is hunting for creatives.
💼 OKTO is hiring a project lead.
Hope you enjoyed this issue. As always, this Substack defies gatekeeping, so please share this with your friends, enemies, colleagues, competitors, clients, and consultants.