Your ATTN Please || Friday, 17 October

October 17, 2025

AHHH I’m so overstimulated right now!

If I had a dollar for every time I cast my eyes over my kitchen and said this, I’d be on a private jet instead of writing this newsletter. And I don’t think I’m alone. Because not only do we have social media constantly in our faces (ok, maybe this is our own fault), but we’re bombarded with up to 10,000 ads PER DAY. So yeah, the last thing we need is 1 million product labels screaming at us from our pantry, our bathroom cupboard, our fridge shelves. It’s no wonder we’re in an era of visual decluttering. So, as brands, how do we stand out without being part of the problem?

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

Come hang out with us next Thursday 🍷

Forget small talk. We prefer big ideas, with a drink in hand of course. 

Lectures After Dark is part classroom, part post-work hangout for marketers who like their insights served with wine, from some of the best academics in Auckland city. If you’re down for a thought provoking talk, bring your questions, ideas, and mid-week existential dread to 43 Ponsonby Road. We’ll bring the good vibes.

23 Oct | 6-7:30pm | $25 (includes your first drink!)

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

NSFW AI content ruins US govt. worker’s day, Malls make a comeback & Meta puts the algo in your hands

The man who oversees America's nuclear stockpile just lost his security clearance. You’ll never guess why.

Unless you guessed robot p*rn. Then yeah, you got it right. 187,000 p*rnographic images, to be exact, uploaded to the Department of Energy (DOE) network, mind you. His goal was to use the 187,000 images collected over the past 30 years as training data for an AI-image generator. In his appeal to get back his security clearance, the man said he was feeling "extremely isolated and lonely," during a depressive episode. So he started "playing" with tools that made generative images as a coping strategy, including "robot p*rnography." Because yeah, everyone knows that’s the best cure to a menty b.

While trying to back up his collection and create a base for training AI to make “better robot p*rnography” he accidentally uploaded it to the government server, not even realising what he’d done until the DOE investigators called 6 months later. You may be having a bad day, but I can guarantee it's not as bad as the day he got that call.

Malls are so back.

Get in loser, we’re going shopping (finally!). According to eMarketer, foot traffic to indoor malls surged 6.3% YoY in May, outpacing outlet malls (3.5%) and open-air shopping centres (4.7%). So, if you’re a retail marketer, you need to be concentrating on promotions during high-traffic months to maximise ROI.

You can also look into reinvigorating outlet mall appeal with exclusive events or discounts to reverse the traffic declines brought upon us by the pandemic. Basically, gear up for holiday season, because you may end up with more traffic than expected.

Want to control the algorithm? Instagram just might let you.

Instagram will soon allow people to manually guide the Reels content they’re served with a new algorithm overview. This feature will highlight topics it thinks you want to see. Then, you’ll be able to add or remove these topics based on your interests.

This is currently only being rolled out to some users. As you can see in this example shared by Roberto P. Nickson, the “Reels algorithm overview” will be available in a new “Your Algorithm” section within your Reels settings.

This is great for Meta. I think with the state of social media platforms these days, and concerns around algorithmic manipulation and political content, giving the power back to the user couldn’t be a better move. 

Hey, do you like YAP?

If so, why not share it with a friend? The more we grow this thing, the more resources we can put into making it awesome for you. Even if every subscriber invites just 1 person to YAP, we’ll meet our growth goal for 2025. So, you in?

DEEP DIVE

Why everyone's doing visual decluttering (and where it leaves brands)

Does anyone remember being in high school (pre-frontal lobe development, having absolutely no sense of maturity whatsoever), and there was like this joke that anyone who peeled off the label on their water bottle or book was “s*xually frustrated” and would get relentlessly mocked?

Maybe that’s too niche.

Well, today, if you do this, you’re a different kind of frustrated – frustrated with the bombardment of visual marketing cues that flood our daily lives.

So much so, that it’s actually become a whole trend. As “brand fatigue” becomes common vernacular, people are starting to push back on the way every waking moment, even the most mundane – washing our face, brushing our teeth, taking a sh*t – is used as an opportunity to sell us something.

That’s why a growing number of people are suddenly visually decluttering. They're stripping labels off products, decanting shampoo into unbranded glass bottles, even turning pantry goods into a minimalist aesthetic statement.

According to Allure, this “label-free” movement is gaining traction among consumers who are simply sick of being shouted at by design.

The home, once a place of respite, has become the last frontier of marketing saturation. Every cupboard and countertop now comes with a logo, a slogan, or a promise of some kind of transformation. And people are fighting back the only way they can: by reclaiming their visual space.

At first glance, this might look like just another TikTok decor trend. But visual decluttering isn’t about aesthetic minimalism—it’s about psychological survival.

We’ve reached peak sensory overload.

The average person sees between 4,000 and 10,000 ads a day, from pre-rolls to packaging to influencer placements. And even when we think we’re “off duty,” marketing follows us home, into our most intimate spaces. The brand world doesn’t clock out; it lives in our bathrooms, our pantries, our laundry cupboards.

When people rip labels off, they’re not chasing some clean girl aesthetic; they’re muting the marketing machine. It’s a small, satisfying act of rebellion that says: “I’ll buy your product, but I won’t buy your disruptions.”

This trend isn’t driven by apathy—it’s driven by agency.

It’s a way for consumers to reassert control in a system that monetises every inch of their attention.

There’s a psychological concept called “stimulus saturation”, which says when the brain is bombarded by too many inputs, it starts filtering them out entirely. That’s basically the modern marketplace in a nutshell.

Branding used to signal trust. A clean logo meant quality. A bold design meant innovation. Now, those same signals have become nothing but noise.

Even minimalist branding has become a brand in itself.

Think of the endless sea of beige packaging, soft sans-serif fonts, and “quiet luxury” vibes. Blegh. We’re stuck in what one designer dubbed “the era of blanding.” Everything looks clean, neutral, digestible, and therefore forgettable. Visual decluttering is what happens when consumers decide to skip the performative part altogether.

Because no one’s out here seeking another packaging design style. They’re seeking mental whitespace.

Culturally, this movement mirrors broader shifts:

  • From performance to peace. Post-pandemic, there’s been a collective craving for calm. Digital detoxes, “silent retreats,” soft living, and slow mornings, visual decluttering fits right in.

  • From consumption to curation. Instead of flaunting brands, people want to curate meaning. Removing labels turns consumption into a personal, almost private act.

  • From ownership to authorship. Consumers are no longer passive participants in branding. They remix, restyle, and literally edit the visual world around them.

This is part of a larger aesthetic swing. We’ve cycled through the chaos of maximalism - bright, bold, messy - and we’re now seeing a recoil. Like any pendulum swing, it’s cultural self-regulation.

What it means for brands (and why “less” isn’t the easy fix)

Marketers will, of course, need to adapt. Cue the rebrands: fewer colours, cleaner type, more whitespace. But slapping a minimalist label on a noisy brand is like whispering with a megaphone.

This isn’t a design challenge—it’s a trust challenge. Consumers aren’t asking for prettier packaging; they’re asking for space!!! Physical, emotional, visual space, from constant persuasion.

And what does that mean in practice?

  • Design for calm, not attention. Attention-grabbing design feels outdated in a world where everyone’s overwhelmed. Consider tactility, neutral tones, and materials that feel serene rather than scream for notice.

  • Invest in invisible branding. The next luxury signal might be silence. Brands like Aesop or Muji have built empires on quiet confidence with products that blend into your space rather than dominate it.

  • Let the experience carry the equity. If your logo disappeared tomorrow, would people still recognise your tone, your service, your texture, your values? That’s brand resilience.

  • Offer de-branded options. Think refillable systems or label-free packaging for people who want discretion. The same way some prefer “stealth wealth” in fashion, this is “stealth consumption.”

  • Rethink digital clutter too. Visual decluttering doesn’t stop at packaging. Simplify your website, reduce pop-ups, slow the scroll. Calm is becoming a conversion tactic.

Here’s the tricky part: brands still need recognition.

The danger of all this minimalism is homogeny, when everyone looks quiet, no one stands out. So then, you must redefine presence. That might mean doubling down on sensory branding (scent, sound, texture), or leaning into narrative identity, the why instead of the wow.

We’re entering an era where distinctiveness won’t come from louder visuals, but from deeper emotional resonance. The goal isn’t to disappear, but to simply belong.

Visual decluttering is one symptom of a larger cultural exhaustion with attention economies, algorithmic aesthetics, and the relentless commercialisation of self-expression.

People are not rejecting beauty, design, or even brands. They’re rejecting the volume. They want to consume quietly. Live softly. Buy things without being told what those things say about them.

Maybe (hopefully), the next era of marketing won’t be about who can shout the loudest, but who can respect the silence and even facilitate it. 

TREND PLUG

Sources confirm your vibe was weird

BREAKING NEWS: This trend’s all about calling out those odd, off, or downright cursed situations where the vibe just wasn’t... vibing.

The sound comes from @unhingedreporter, who uses genAI to make uncanny (but hilarious) fake news clips where anchors say things you’d never actually hear on live TV. In this one, the anchor delivers the now-iconic line:

It’s dramatic. It’s dry. It’s painfully specific. Perfect for moments that weren’t bad, just… energetically questionable. Some great examples include: 

How you can jump on this trend:

Record yourself staring blankly into the distance. Bonus points for slo-mo (around 0.75x speed). Then, add on-screen text describing a situation where the vibe was just off. The more recognisable (and slightly self-draggy), the better.

A few ideas to get you started:

  • How it feels to work in content knowing I looked chopped that day

  • Me at a networking event surrounded by introverts (including myself)

  • When I said “let’s circle back” and accidentally turned into corporate incarnate

- Nico Mendoza, Intern

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: Imagine pretending not to know who your sister is
✨Daily inspo: 8 minutes and a good friend
🎧Soooo tingly: iPhone 17 Pro Max ASMR
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Pork Siu Mai!!!

ASK THE EDITOR

I've got a few Reels that have done really well. Can I repost them? -Alison

Hey Alison,

You can and should reuse content that performs well. Trial Reels is the perfect place to test different variations of the same piece of content. For example, you can try changing just the OST or the background audio and see if you can make a successful piece of content even better.

You can also just repost the same content periodically. The algorithm won't penalise you for posting a piece of content more than once, and each time you do, you have the opportunity to reach new audiences. People don't tend to remember content they saw several weeks ago, so even if it does reach the same people, I wouldn't worry. So if you have content that's been successful, definitely keep sharing it.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

PSST…PASS IT ON

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