And I’m not talking about a dramatic press tour that makes us wonder whether the cast is being held hostage (looking at you, Wicked: For Good). No, the promo for The Devil Wears Prada 2 was all building a world that leaked off the screen. Creators flooded TikTok showing how their audience could re-create looks from the movie. Old Navy dropped a collab line, including cerulean sweaters (of course) and t-shirts with Miranda’s iconic “That’s all.” Meryl Streep even appeared on the cover of Vogue. See? You can promote a movie without cheap stunts. 10/10. No notes.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

Exactly. Be so fr. But alas, the latest AI-powered scam doing the rounds is literally that; online grifters using AI deepfakes of Hollywood faves, including Taylor Swift and Rihanna, to bait TikTok users into signing up for fake rewards programs.

According to a new report by Copyleaks, there’s been a huge rise in the scams, using the likeness of celebs like Rihanna, Kim K and Taylor Swift. And it’s working, despite them looking like uncanny fkn valley. It’s working so well actually, that Swift filed to trademark her voice and likeness this week. Concerning. Strange. But what more can you say about our current timeline.

More concerning news that I pray, PRAY is just a marketing stunt; these shoes, by Chanel. Can you even call them shoes??? Maybe like, heel covers? Idk. Whatever. Social media obviously has exploded with memes, calling the style a recession indicator. "What in the Pharaoh Let My People Go is happening here," another joked.

Finally, according to a major new study published in Science, advanced artificial intelligence programs have been outperforming literal human doctors when diagnosing people seeking emergency medical care. Which is awesome and helpful but like, we still need human doctors. Obviously.

AI is extremely valuable in the medical field. But the current concern is that with all the AI hype, people will use it as a justification for ChatGPT-ing their symptoms or worse, wanting to cut humans out of the workforce completely. Making a diagnosis is only part of treating someone. It also includes figuring out a treatment plan and monitoring for developments, as well as, you know, the human to human element. Duh. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

But when Miranda Priestly delivered THE monologue on the trickle-down economics of a cerulean sweater, not only did she give Andy the schooling of her entire life, but she also gave a generation of viewers a vocabulary for cultural relevance.

Twenty years later, the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 has proven that the film’s cultural cachet is both intact, and a whole weapon of its own.

Other summer blockbusters rely on exhausting, rumour-fuelled press tours or leak culture to stay afloat. But the marketing for the sequel has felt like a seamless extension of the Runway universe. It is, truly, a masterclass in how to navigate a marketing landscape that has shifted from print-and-television dominance to a digital-first, immersive reality.

To understand why the sequel has landed so effectively, we have to look at the bones of the original. For zillennials, the 2006 film was more than a fashion movie because it served as the ultimate workplace cautionary tale.

It romanticised the burnout as brilliance ethos of the mid-2000s, where suffering for your career was the only status symbol you strived for.

Re-entering this world in 2026 feels like a homecoming, but with a modern edge. The sequel’s narrative - pitting a legacy-defending Miranda against a high-powered Emily Charlton - hits home because the audience has grown up.

We are no longer the wide-eyed Andys; we are the Emilys who finally got the promotion and realised the view from the top is complicated. The film taps into a deep-seated nostalgia for an era of monoculture, where a single magazine cover could shift the global economy, while simultaneously acknowledging that the world has long moved on.

The most striking thing about the sequel’s rollout is what was missing. There were no manufactured feuds between cast members. No method acting horror stories. And no tacky publicity stunts. Instead, the marketers treated the film as the high-fashion relaunch that it was, with Meryl Streep even gracing the cover of Vogue – a nod to the reference.

In 2006, marketing was a one-way street: you saw a trailer on TV or a poster on a bus. In 2026, the film’s marketing team understood that the audience doesn’t want to be sold a movie; they want to live in its aesthetic.

So they leaned into organic integration. By the time the film hit cinemas, we had already seen Miranda-approved Starbucks orders on TikTok and Google AI try-on tools that let fans step into the Runway closet.

This method marketing saw the stars appearing in Vogue not as actors promoting a project, but as icons inhabiting a world. It blurred the lines between fiction and reality so effectively that when the Diet Coke ads dropped, focusing on the silent, panicked respite assistants feel the moment their boss leaves the room, it felt like a shared cultural joke rather than a commercial.

Brands have moved from simple product placement to narrative participation. Twenty years ago, a brand might pay to have their logo on a shopping bag in a scene. Today, brands like Samsung and Old Navy are creating entire sub-campaigns that exist within the film’s logic.

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra campaign showed how a modern-day Emily would use AI to manage the chaotic schedule of a fashion mogul. Old Navy sold Miranda-approved Cerulean, a direct nod to the fans who have spent two decades quoting the original.

This is the Cerulean Effect in action: taking a niche piece of film history and turning it into a retail event.

The strategy was split into two tiers: the aspiration (partnerships with Dior and Valentino) and the accessibility (Walmart and Starbucks). This ensured the film felt elite yet inescapable. It respected the film’s high-fashion roots while acknowledging that the people who grew up watching it are now the primary drivers of the consumer economy.

Perhaps the biggest shift between 2006 and 2026 is the democratisation of The Look.

In the original film, Miranda Priestly was the ultimate gatekeeper. She was the person who decided what was in.

Today, that power has fractured and is diffused across millions of creators.

The sequel’s marketing leaned into this by allowing the audience to be the insiders. Instead of keeping the fashion a secret, they released style evolution breakdowns on social media weeks before the premiere. They understood that in 2026, gatekeeping is dead and engagement is the new currency. By giving fans the tools to recreate the Runway look, they turned every viewer into a walking billboard for the film.

It trades the loud marketing of the 2020s for a sophisticated, quiet luxury approach that allowed the film's inherent style to do the talking.

It reminds us that while the tools of the trade have changed, the core of the Prada appeal remains the same. We all want to be part of the room where the decisions are made.

And as long as there is cerulean to be debated, we’ll be watching.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The clip shows Rigsby on an exercise bike whilst reassuring viewers "relax, we got it, we're good. We're too cute to be stressed, you know? Too cute, you're too cute to me stressed like that, alright?" Creators are pairing the audio with moments of chaos or pressure, where they try to downplay the situation with exaggerated calm confidence. The captions creators use highlight scenarios where people are clearly out of their depth or under stress. Think being left in charge during a busy shift or telling your dog not to micromanage the house.

Using the audio, set the scene and turn the camera on yourself or get someone to record you whilst mouthing the words. Insert an on-screen text describing your "I'm too cute to be stressed" moment. 

A few ideas to get you started:

-Fiona Badiana, Intern

Hey Lee,

Photos you've taken on your phone are absolutely fine for LinkedIn! Depending on what side of LI you're on, you might see a lot of posts with posed, professional photos. And there's nothing wrong with getting some professional photos done eventually (although I'd suggest having those show your personality, not just have you doing stiff poses)!

But don't let not having photos be a barrier for posting. Instead, start thinking of whatever you do as an opportunity to capture photos for your content. Have a colleague take some candids of you at your desk or chatting with clients. When you go to networking events or conferences, ask whoever you’re with to snap a few. Once you adopt the mindset of always thinking about creating content, you'll find it much easier to take photos in your daily life.

- 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.