Take a breath for ASICS' latest spine-tingling campaign, say bye to Buzzfeed, and what's a blue tick worth these days?

SHE BREATHES: ASICS ??

ASICS has launched a stunning new campaign, created by female-forward studio WMN, to support the launch of its new collection and it’s really quite special. Founded on the belief that ‘movement can transform the mind’ the brand has created a campaign to back the benefits of an active body to minimalise stress - specifically faced by women in today’s climate. 

The "She Breathes," campaign uses data from the brand's State of Mind Index to underline the positive link between mental well-being and movement. 

Highlighting the stressors women face in everyday life, an all-female team at CPB London sought to address the gendered issue that globally, women exercise on average 40 minutes less per week than men, leading to a lower state of mind. 

Both visually striking and paced by its organic soundtrack; noting the shortness of breath when under pressure and the crescendo of steady mindful breath when exercising, the campaign illustrates the benefits of women prioritising time to work out for their health and mental well-being.

Gary Raucher, Executive Vice President at ASICS EMEA added: “Our own research shows that women don’t exercise as much as men and that negatively impacts their State of Mind scores. We need to change that.” 

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Bye-bye Buzzfeed ??

Last week was pretty hard on the OG media outlets, though potentially a long time coming, the demise of Buzzfeed and Twitter may be the initial collapse of media journalism as we know it. 

Last week saw the closure of Buzzfeed News, the digital media and entertainment company, founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III.

The company started as a platform to track viral content and has since expanded to cover a wide range of topics including politics, DIY, animals, and business. Although BuzzFeed initially gained fame for its online quizzes, "listicles," memes and pop culture articles, it quickly became a global media and technology company with a focus on digital media. 

So where did it all go wrong?

Perhaps it was the company's reliance on social media platforms for traffic and its failure to diversify revenue streams, but it doesn’t feel like much of a shock to see the platform’s closure. After all, BuzzFeed’s life force was always tied tightly to its ability to go viral. 

The platform has relied on businesses like Facebook, which could send BuzzFeed tumbling with the simple tweak of an algorithm - seen just last week when Elon Musk stripped journalists of their Twitter blue ticks.

Eventually, the social-media giants saw the benefit of localising their ads internally, bringing more digital ad revenue for themselves leaving the likes of poor Buzzfeed high and dry. 

The closure of BuzzFeed has significant implications for news outlets and the media industry at large. It underscores the importance of digital media companies diversifying their revenue streams to ensure their long-term survival. Additionally, the need for greater protection and support for journalists and other struggling news professionals has become more pressing than ever.

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Another Day in The Chaotic Life of Elon Musk: A Verified Failure ??

Shock to no one, The Twitter Blue Tick verification update has fallen on its arse as swiftly as the idea was coined by Elon Musk only 3-ish months ago. 

On Thursday Musk pushed the button and the update saw the removal of legacy checkmarks in the app, meaning that the only blue ticks displayed in the app were appended to paying ‘Twitter Blue’ subscribed accounts. 

Musk claimed that the update was to target bots and to remove prior dodgy dealings across the platform whereby HQ appointed the tick based on favouritism…or bribes in some cases. A money-making scheme - never!

Very quickly it was clear that those previously accredited for status and naturally occurring profile growth were not happy. Very publicly indeed, a-listers gave their thoughts and feelings on the update, with some even posting that it was they who added value to the platform and not the other way around. A few top-tier highlights include; Halle Berry and Charli XCX.

So whilst king-pins like Beyonce and Taylor Swift seemingly paid their $8 Twitter Tax, Elon Musk took it upon himself to pay the subscription costs for those particularly vocal on the platform including William Shatner, Stephen King and LeBron James. 

To be clear, Musk clarified in a tweet that it was 'just Shatner, LeBron and King' who would receive this preferential treatment. Though Shatner’s initial thoughts were quite a 360 to the gracious thank you he gave Musk after his tick was pre-paid for him.

In response to Stephen King’s tweet to his followers to reassure them that he hadn’t in fact paid for the new blue tick he was quite recently slating, Musk simply replied ‘You’re welcome namaste ??’. 

By the end of the week, Musk returned ticks to most accounts with over 1 million followers, despite no sign-up to Twitter Blue - including a few dead celebrities for good measure.

Though it’s unclear what his next move will be (will we ever know) it seems this storm has somewhat passed and most are back to not caring at all. 

So, you’re welcome, namaste.

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