Or even theatre? Sweat, ego, bad metaphors, free snacks, and one brutal yes or no. In the algorithmic era, originality starts from the same machine-generated centre of gravity, and the real duel moved from the boardroom to the space between human instinct and automation. AI has officially replaced the standoff with an efficient pipeline, and the question isn’t who wins the room, it’s whether human taste still has teeth.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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The man no longer drops bars, I guess. Now his investment outfit, MarcyPen Capital Partners, is dropping serious capital on South Korea’s cultural boom instead via Hanwha Asset Management. The firm is reportedly targeting a $500 million fund focused on Korean lifestyle and pop-culture companies, tapping into everything from K-pop to K-drama and broader global demand.

It’s a strategic hedge on the Korean wave, which is what I’d call an economic freaking tsunami that’s already reshaped music, TV, fashion, gaming and more. By backing that momentum with private equity muscle, Hov is signalling that cultural influence has real financial legs, not just viral clips and chart climbs.

In a new marketing stunt that blurred the line between fiction and tabloid, the notorious marketing GOATs placed a mock engagement in the actual Boston Globe featuring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya.

The announcement was actually part of the marketing for the upcoming film The Drama, cheekily teasing the story of their characters’ romantic chaos ahead of the movie’s April release. The whole thing went viral, with fans scratching their heads before realising they’d been brilliantly punked. It’s the kind of off-kilter promotional move only a brand with confidence (and a wink) could pull off.

Hollywood has turned into a PG powerhouse apparently??? The current biggest box office drivers are 10-year-olds and their parents. Zootopia 2 just blasted past an eyewatering $1 billion worldwide, becoming the fastest PG-rated film ever to do it, and Wicked: For Good is also crushing it (no surprises there) with massive ticket sales and record-setting pre-release buzz. Together they’re proof that studios are leaning hard into family movies that actually get people back into theaters, which is a rare win in an era where adult tentpoles often stumble, and hard.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

“This client ain't big enough for the both of us” type beat. A dusty main street at high noon. Everyone pretending they’re relaxed (but actually wanting to puke behind the nearest cactus.)

The showdowns were dramatic, expensive, and somehow the purest expression of the industry’s competitive spirit. You’d walk into the room with a deck sharp enough to cut steel and hope your rival agency’s idea tripped on its own boots.

It was theatre. And the closest most creatives got to a blood sport without violating HR policy.

Now, the tumbleweeds have AI logos on them and the guns have been replaced with prompt templates. Womp wooooomp.

No standoffs. No sweaty palms. No fragile egos preparing to be shattered by a client who doesn’t actually understand metaphor but still feels comfortable rejecting your entire existence in one swift "no."

Just a polite, unnervingly efficient pipeline where AI generates strategic territories, creative platforms, even first-draft scripts before you’ve even sipped your morning coffee.

Everyone is armed with the same tools, the same starting points, the same vibe. It’s kind of like showing up to a duel and realising both of you were issued identical pistols by corporate.

Where do you push when “originality” increasingly looks like a glitch?

Because at the end of the day, the pitch isn’t always just about winning business. It’s proving yourself. Your soul. That your ideas had heat and your brain could outrun the other guy’s brain when the stakes were ridiculous and the snacks were free.

The pitch was a cultural ritual that kept agencies feral, creatives caffeinated and strategists convinced their 90-slide narrative arc was actually a public service.

The client can generate their own ideas before you even show up. Leadership teams quietly ask if a pitch is necessary at all.

Why pit two humans against each other when the AI can spit out five options in seconds? Why rehearse a big reveal when the client already ran your concept through an image generator out of “curiosity” and somehow thinks it’s the same?

Not because people are less talented, but because the machine pushes everything toward the median. And when everything is median, nothing feels like a duel. Nothing feels at risk. Nothing feels fun.

THAT’S WHAT I’M GRIEVING. Ok. It’s not just the pitch deck, but the performance of it. The camp pageantry. The cowboy energy. The knowledge that you were about to swing big, bomb hard, charm aggressively, and pray the client’s CFO didn’t ruin everything.

Is the new "duel" proving you can still think with teeth? That you can twist, subvert, provoke, seduce, or delight in ways no model can automate?

Because the pitch isn’t dead, obviously.

But it has moved. It’s no longer happening in the boardroom. It’s happening internally, every day, in the borderland between human taste and machine efficiency.

And in that showdown, you’re still the cowboy.

But you’ll need to draw faster. And aim weirder.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The trend first blew up with parents filming their babies being adorable little masterminds; Cuddling, crying, or manipulating their parents with pure cute evil energy. But creators quickly realised the audio works for any moment where you’re doing something mischievous, impulsive, or seriously unbothered.

Beauty creators are using the audio to show off their “wig of the month.” Other creators are showing how they sew a new outfit every time they leave the house. And some are using it to defend their personality flaws like Irish goodbyes, overspending, or going back to their sneaky little habits.

Film yourself lip syncing to the audio, or even film yourself doing something you know is a bit chaotic, a bit unserious, or slightly “villain coded”. Add text over the clip explaining the “plan” you refuse to stop following.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Bella Vlasich, Intern

😲WTF So that’s a weird fish
❤How wholesome Oh, to be a dachshund puppy in a bag
😊Soooo satisfying Colour mixing
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight Cheesy maple bacon and broccoli spaghetti

Hey Rhea,

I totally get how it can seem like what goes viral and what doesn't is totally random. But, when you look closer, the platforms are actually pretty predictable. The reason what goes viral seems random is that most of us don't understand what makes a video go off. But if a piece of content has gone viral, there will be a deeper human truth that people are connecting with. This is what sparks the engagement.

Platforms are looking to push content that is getting a lot of commentary. So the ones that are getting a lot of engagement will continue to be shown to more people. This is why it's so important to scroll with intention. When you see something go viral, question why that is. Once you start figuring out what makes those pieces of content go viral, you will start to see patterns. And you can use what you learn to inform your own content!

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.