The Burger King fallout, Nike's new brand moves and why OpenAI wants investors to avoid Elon Musk

Issue #27 | Weekly Exhale

Is there anywhere brands won’t go? Enter Burger King’s new breastfeeding ads. Some call it empowering; others wonder why we're cool pumping 980 mg of sodium into a newborn’s food stream. I wouldn't worry too much—at the time of writing, no one outside marketing cares: 1.2k views on Instagram, 2.6k on YouTube, and ghosted on TikTok. When someone brings up the "BK controversy," tell them it's a nothing burger.

But junk food does have a way of showing up in life's big moments. My mother died in the morning, at home, surrounded by the people who loved her. I held her hand as her breaths slowed until they stopped. In the strange quiet that followed, we ended up back in her kitchen—with, of all things, McDonald's.

Amidst the Big Macs and Happy Meals, I kept glancing up, half-expecting Mom to walk in and steal a fry. The calories didn't matter that day. The memories did. Sometimes comfort food is just that—comfort. This week marks four years since Mom passed. And if I'd made the Burger King ads, she'd have loved them. I'll take a cheeseburger with extra pickles, please.

Let’s rise together with every issue. ??

Market Movements

Interest rates could fall more quickly, hints Bank | BBC

Reeves raises hopes of investment surge | FT

S&P 500 winning streak best for 27 years | Forbes

Brand Beat

The Burger King fallout—fast food, childbirth and mansplaining | Marketing Beat

Beyoncé recreates Levi's 1980s laundromat ad | Creative Review

Nike's move to brand thinking shows boardrooms are relearning patience | Digiday

YouTubers like MrBeast are coming for Hollywood | The Economist

PepsiCo agrees to buy Tortilla chip brand for $1.2 billion | The Wall Street Journal

Behind Sweetgreen's new campaign starring Aki and Koichi | People Brand And Things

Unilever appoints all six holding groups in global media review | AdAge

Mondelez takes minority stake in non-HFSS doughnut brand Urban Legend | The Grocer

Amazon's Prime Video ad tier reaches monthly UK audience of 19 million | MarketingWeek

The 'green business' paradox and fashion's potential to fix it | Vogue Business

The meteoric rise of Temu and Pinduoduo—and what might slow them down | Wired

McDonald's is experimenting with a chicken Big Mac to lure back customers | Fast Company

Beauty brands move in on Amazon's dupes and fakes | Business of Fashion

What brands should know about adopting outlandish behaviour | Kira Klaas

Victoria's Secret's marketing exec on reimagining a 'cancelled' brand | The Drum

Trending: Rosemarine Textiles, natural clothing dyed using plants | Thingstesting

Starting Up

Big tech firms urged to do more to support European start-ups | The Times

Marna, a bold new iced tea brand crafted in London | Maddyness

Toyota to invest $500m in flying car maker Joby | Forbes

How to create a co-founder agreement | The VC Corner

Tech Tidbits

OpenAI asks investors not to rivals such as Elon Musk | FT

As Elon Musk moves xAI into OpenAI's old HQ | TechCrunch

Tesla stock slips after EV maker misses delivery targets | CNBC

AI startup Poolside raises $500m as AI coding market booms | The Next Web

Venture Vibes

"I still think it's the best time to be a founder in Europe" | Day One Sifted Summit

Everyone is scrambling to invest in ElevenLabs, AI voices | TechCrunch

Nvidia's venture capital arm is silently investing millions into healthcare | Forbes

Design Driven

Manchester's innovation district, Sister, gets new brand | Creative Bloom

A peek inside the New York Times app redesign | Fast Company

Is more always better? Interrogating social media and skincare routines | It's Nice That

How the internet killed design | Creative Bloq

Hello, Happiness

Berklee releases its happiness calendar for October | Greater Good Magazine

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being | Big Think

Whatever you're stressed about—it's not that important | The Banana Stand

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