Emergency contraception.

Smoking cessation. Drug safety. Pimple patches.

Most founders wouldn’t touch these with a 10-foot pole. But Brian Bordainick and Julie Schott aren’t most founders. They’ve made a name for themselves by embracing the taboo. And their new brand, Overdrive Defense, might be their most surprising venture yet.

In today's newsletter:

• How Overdrive Defense turned the taboo into an opportunity (find out how this brand turns controversy into $$$)

• The first 7 minutes of Smile 2 will make you smile - literally (check out this super creepy campaign)

• Trend plug - Trying to sleep but…

• Ask the Editor - I want to follow trends but not many seem to fit my brand 

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

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Is it taboo? Or an opportunity?

Your edge is your competitive edge.

Brian Bordainick and Julie Schott, the pair best known for founding acne patch company Starface, are testament to that.

The daring duo have a reputation for fronting products that tackle social stigmas head on, from acne-patches to emergency contraception.

Think about it like this: most cosmetic brands treat acne as a quiet, clinical condition to be erased or hidden.

Products focus on hiding, concealing and straight up pretending it’s not there.

This brings an air of shame to the issue from the jump.

Starface, on the other hand, made acne a neon badge of honour. The brand’s pimple patches—a literal and figurative star in an industry obsessed with flawlessness—were big, bold, and unabashedly bright yellow.

They were not designed to blend in; but stand out, to declare, 'Yes, I have a pimple, and I’m not hiding it.'

This unorthodox approach to a 'flawed' skin condition didn’t just create a product; it crafted an entirely new category.

[Keep reading]

-Sophie, Writer

The First 7 Minutes of Smile 2 Will Make You Smile - Literally

Want a sneak preview of the hit horror sequel Smile 2? Then you’d better be happy to see it!

Shortly after releasing in theatres last month, Paramount Pictures made the first 7 minutes of their Smile (2022) follow-up publicly available online (for over 18s that is, given it's R-rated).

The catch?

You have to smile the whole time you watch it. And the website for watching the clip uses your front-facing camera to ensure that if you stop, the video does too.

It's a delightfully creepy and jaw-aching experience.

But if you're a die-hard fan of the franchise, making your face go numb for a bit is a worthy price for getting a slice of the film.

What's the deal with Smile? It doesn't really sound happy...

Without getting too spoiler-y, the Smile franchise revolves around a curse that breaks victims' minds by making them hallucinate.

And that hallucination involves seeing people non-stop staring at them while giving big, full-teeth grins.

Doesn't sound so cheery now, does it?

[Keep reading]

-Devin, Writer

Trend Plug - Trying to Sleep But…

While it's unclear where this trending sound comes from, we can decode that it's from South Africa, maybe?

At least, the original clip has #TikTokSouthAfrica in the caption. In it, a distressed lady is seemingly panicking, rubbing her hands anxiously over her face and head.

TikTokers have taken the original clip's sound and are using it to describe times when they're struggling to get some sleep.

Examples include, 'When you're too tired to study but you can't sleep because you need to study' and 'Trying to sleep but you can't stop thinking about the new clothes you just got.'

How you can jump on this trend:

Using this sound, get in bed and film yourself restlessly moving around like something's keeping you up. Add the onscreen text of what's on your mind.

Start the sentence with, 'Me trying to sleep but I have to...'

A few ideas to get you started:

• Social media managers trying to sleep but they have every single TikTok audio known to man stuck in their head

• When I'm trying to sleep but I have to fight the urge to check all my social media accounts to make sure I didn't accidentally post something embarrassing 

• When I'm trying to sleep but I need to check if my posts are still scheduled

-Abdel, Social Media Coordinator

Today on the YAP podcast…

Want even more ‘YAP’ing? Check out the full podcast here.

Ask the Editor

Q - I want to follow the social media 'trends' but not many seem to fit my brand. Should I do the trend just to up my views? -Ember

Hey Ember!

The fact that you're thinking about how trends align with your values rather than just jumping on them is great. Because the last thing you want to do is alienate your audience by creating content that doesn't match up with what you stand for.

If you do want to do some trend content, you have a few options. The most obvious one is to just join in trends that fit your values and forget about the rest. Or, if you want to take a more creative approach, you can take trends that maybe don't fit your brand and try putting your own spin on them.

Depending on your brand tone, this might be doing your own humourous take on them or something more thought-provoking. Either way, you definitely should be thinking about your brand values when you decide what trends to jump on.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

For the group chat

😲WTF: Trump effect is crazy 🤦 
😂Yap’s funniest home videos: Uncle was in disbelief 🤣 
❤How wholesome: life is about moments
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Hot Honey Butter Chicken!?

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