[009] Monday Scroll Starter: everything to save, watch and post this week
I believe in you <3
Happy Monday, Victims 👋
I saw the F1 movie over the weekend and it was…not great! Unfortunately I expected the charisma of Tom Cruise in Top Gunn, and instead I got Brad Pitt trying to charm the pants off everyone with a terrible screenplay (that was low-key riddled with misogynistic and white saviour tropes).
Inside today’s newsletter:
The brand content that inspired me last week
What I’ve been watching (and loving)
Social news you should know
Post ideas to get you off on the right foot
Let’s get into it.
The best content I saw from brands this week (a few ICYMI’s from last week, with some fresh ones thrown in!)
Goodpop won TikTok over the weekend by quickly changing their bio to “Eli’s husband’s favorite pop” after this video went viral. This is community engagement at it’s finest.
This Nike collab with _sportsball to promote Faith Kipyegon (a Nike sponsored athlete) attempting to be the first woman to break the 4 minute mile record. I watched this whole video start to finish (which is saying something, because it’s over 2 minutes long!)
YSE Beauty’s Sephora launch announcement - simple and engaging! This made me want to keep scrolling, and actually made me look up more about the brand.
Nutterbutter continuing to be weird - did I get it? No. Was I meant to get it? Also (probably) no. I did, however, take notice. Awareness and disruption of culture is important for brands wanting to build relevance with the next generation of consumers, and Nutterbutter are ticking both boxes.
KFC collab with F1 movie - maybe a little cheesy, but for the KFC lovers who will happily watch a meal being prepared (my boyfriend is one of these lovers), this one hits.
Meshki - this social team is continually pioneering trends on Instagram with simply, gimmicky but addictive content (remember this post? It’s everywhere now. Example 1, example 2).
AI creeping into the feed - but in a way that looks natural? The Boston Celtics used it to make their player announcements and it worked! (I previously linked Crown Affair, which was adorable).
Brooklinen’s ice cream bed. I liked it, but I was surprised that there weren’t any comments questioning whether the image was made with AI - which goes to show that we’re becoming more and more desensitised to seeing it in the feed.
This carousel from Google showcasing Gemini’s new capabilities. The comments are full of anti-AI sentiment, which I’d expect. But it did the job of clearly communicating the capabilities of the product in a way that struck a chord with people.
subway with this Animorph style post (shout out to my fellow former Animorphs readers?). It made me chuckle, and that’s a sign of a good piece of content.
Social Creatives, don’t panic: here are some ideas to get the brain juices flowing.
Take the edge off - the window is closing for this one. The more absurd, the better!
Animated carousels - These quadrant carousels are huge and a simple way to showcase product. Here’s another one from Beauty of Joseon for inspo.
Trays, bags, suitcases - anything you can pack full of product is huge right now. However, if you’re going to stand out with this one, you need a different approach. I’d try and be as chaotic as possible, and hide weird, unexpected items in the tray or theme it in a way that makes sense for your brand. For example, if I was a period underwear brand, I’d have a tray full of the essentials to get through your cycle - painkillers, a heat pack, a can of diet coke and one of my favourite Fairy Porn books.
Prank your boss - I’ve seen a lot of these videos in which someone asks a man to take a photo using their phone, but the phone wallpaper is that man (terrible explanation from me). I’d try and film a version of this with your coworker or boss. Better yet: make your boss your Zoom background and hop on a meeting with them.
The content I saw over the past week that had me taking notice.
This guy crashing out over moisturiser - I have been both a) this level of unemployed and broke, and b) this level of distressed about moisturiser. Content like this is insanely watchable - it’s real, unfiltered and relatable. 1.8 million people appear to agree with me.
Method appears to be doing a huge rebrand - I associate Method with cleaning products, and the fact that they were taken off the shelves in Australia due to misleading labelling (claiming to be ‘non-toxic’ when this may not have been the case). I’m keeping my eyes peeled to see what happens here.
Princess Treatment - I, too, cannot stop thinking about this (and not in a good way). I can’t even imagine how refusing to acknowledge a server would fly in a regional Aussie pub, where you’re basically expected to hand over your life story in exchange for a steak (and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way).
This perfect explanation of brand collaborations and where they go wrong. We need to let the creators cook!!!
These highly visual, narrated videos - an interesting approach that reinforces the importance of storytelling. Human-led content may be popular on social media, but if you can craft a compelling narrative, you can make popular content.
Ultra Violette is lab testing their Lean Screen after CHOICE disputed their SPF rating
ICYMI, a recent report from CHOICE rocked the Australian sunscreen industry and alleged that multiple brands including Ultra Violette and Bondi Sands had SPF ratings as low as 4, despite claiming SPF 50 on the label. Given Australia’s world-leading skin cancer rates, public concern has been high.
Ultra Violette has chosen to be transparent via social media, and announced this week that they’re committing to third-party lab testing to prove that their labelling is fair and accurate.
Judging by the comments, people appreciate the clear communication from Ultra Violette, but not everyone is convinced. This is a huge blow to their brand, and to be honest (for both their sake and the sake of my skin), I hope they survive this.
Red Lobster is BACK, baby - and they’re letting everyone know
For my non-US readers, this is still worth watching! The new CEO of Red Lobster CEO is trying to bring the company back from the brink of collapse after a 2024 bankruptcy filing, and the marketing team is adopting a strategy of full transparency, bringing their audience along for the journey by having their CEO do the rounds on radio and podcasts, and even appearing in content.
It’s refreshing to see a young, intelligent CEO talking to podcasts/radio - essentially, putting himself exactly where his audience is right now. The brand is also tapping into the nostalgia of their heyday in an effort to remind people why they fell in love with the brand in the first place. (PS. I spoke about why brands should tap into nostalgia during times of economic uncertainty in a recent newsletter).
Instagram is testing lockable posts for IG Feed
This one has been in the works for a while but now seems very close to rolling out for users. The posts require a password or code to unlock the content, and no doubt we’ll see content creators and brands using this as a way of creating community, teasing products, etc. I also imagine this will have potentially negative implications (NSFW content is the first thing that comes to mind), as there are always bad actors when it comes to this type of thing.
The dead internet theory is picking up steam
This is a great explainer by Tech Crunch. Essentially, a 10 year old conspiracy theory that the internet “died” and is now mostly made up of bots is gaining mainstream attention due to the prevalance of AI slop on our feeds.
I recently mentioned the weird phenomenon I’d observed of AI-generated old people celebrating birthdays on Facebook, and I expect we’re not going to see this stop anytime soon.
This will affect all of us using and working in social media. My theory: human-made content is actually going to become more valuable in the dead-internet era. I wrote about this recently, check it out 👇
That’s it for now!
If you liked this newsletter, I’d love it if you let me know, or even shared it with a friend. If you hated it, let me know too! Hatred fuels me :)