Welcome to Razorfish Radar

A newsletter about life on the internet brought to you from the pioneers of digital innovation for marketing change makers. Radar delivers the latest news on cultural trends, technology, and platforms—along with the expert insights to help you make sense of it all.??

The big news

Ozempic and its ilk have turned from?treatments for diabetics to culture-changing phenomena—if you can afford them. Thanks ?to diet culture?and social obsessions with ?the bodies of the rich and famous, people are now talking about their desire—and ?the ethics? thereof—to get themselves a prescription?(#ozempic? on TikTok – 1.3B views).?

?This class of drugs is already creating scaled impact. Denmark, home to Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk, ?is getting an economic boost ?from the drug’s popularity. And just last week, Walmart CEO John Furner claimed that the retailer is already seeing a correlation ?between drug prescriptions and people buying less food. Stocks for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo ?fell as a result of Furner’s remarks,? even as people questioned whether Walmart should—or even could—use pharmacy data for market research.??

Related: TikTok has strict guidelines about health and wellness drugs, particularly ?regarding weight loss, but ?is having an issue combating trends like castor oil? that TikTok Shop creators are hawking.?

?Why it matters?

There’s still a major delta between demand (45% of Americans say? they would take a weight-loss drug like Ozempic) and availability, particularly? due to American insurance structures and policies. But ?the blockbuster? drug class’s impact could transform ?more than just the bodies of Americans, with categorical impact across health and wellness—including connected tech—retail, CPG, travel and hospitality, and more.??

Other news?and trends?

• In theaters: Taylor Swift.? Swifties, rejoice: Taylor Swift ?is making headlines ?at the premiere of her “Eras Tour” concert film ?at the Grove in Los Angeles, which shut its doors exclusively for the event (to?better accommodate Swifties and their?enormous?enthusiasm). The cinematic rendering of Swift’s 3.5-hour-long concert is expected to garner ?at least $100M in domestic box offices? over the weekend. Gossip rags went gaga over ?photos of Swift with Beyoncé at the red carpet; the Beyhive will have to wait a little longer for her ?tour-inspired film,?which is slated to hit theaters in December (#BeyonceAndTaylor? on TikTok – 331.4k views)?
• Trending on X: Continued scrutiny of misinformation.?One of the top trending phrases on X right now is “day of jihad” because of ?the reported speech of the former leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. It’s being interpreted by some, including? the LAPD?and administrators of Jewish schools ?in London? and ?New York City, as a credible threat. But on X, it’s increasingly difficult to tell what is real alarm, what is alarmist, and ?what is calculated and coordinated disinformation, particularly because of UI changes that remove headlines from news articles.?

• Meanwhile, on Threads:?Edits.?Mark Zuckerberg announced ?via his Threads account that the platform now includes editable and voice-based posts. In contrast to opportunities for posting on the platform formerly known as Twitter, ?every user can edit their content? without paying for a subscription, and Threads does not (currently) share a history of edits. Demand for editable tweets has been a rallying cry for years, and should Threads’ ?promise of trending topics? appear in the product roadmap as promised, the feature sets together may compel more people to actively adopt the newest app they’ve downloaded ?and subsequently forgotten.?

Contributors: Head of Social Content and Engagement Strategy Cristina Lawrence , Senior Vice President Jerry Lawrence , Group Vice President Andrew McKernan , and Senior Vice President Tammy Pepito .??

At Razorfish, we help brands define their higher purpose—the emotional reason why they belong in people’s lives. Ready to find your purpose? Learn more here.??