Your ATTN Please || Monday, 5 May

Ever wondered why Google & Meta are so invested in AI photo & video generation?

Well, it could have something to do with the fact that they know the first adopters of this tech will be advertisers on their platforms. But soon, Zuck plans to eliminate the need for brands to provide any ad creative at all. Soon, advertisers will just tell Meta their product, toss them a bunch of money, and the platform’s AI tools do the rest.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Zuck wants to take over ad industry, Heineken wants you off socials & Shoppable ChatGPT is in the works

Mark Zuckerberg just declared war on the entire advertising industry.

Zuck sat down with Stratechery’s Ben Thompson to talk about how AI has improved ad targeting, but he now has his sights set on the ads themselves.

“We’re going to get to a point where you’re a business, you come to us, you tell us what your objective is, you connect to your bank account, you don’t need any creative, you don’t need any targeting demographic, you don’t need any measurement, except to be able to read the results that we spit out.” Brother. What. And… how?

Basically, a client would come to Meta saying, “I want customers for my product." That’s it. From there, Meta uses AI to generate photos and videos of the product, write copy, and assemble that into an infinite number of ads. It will then use AI to target people on its platforms, measure which ads perform best, and iterate on those. Then, it will have those customers buy the actual products on its platforms using its systems. UM sir CAN YOU NOT. It’s already hard enough out here for creatives, thank you.

Heineken uses creators to imagine a world without social media.

The new campaign spans TV, social media, out-of-home, and of course… social media… Anyway. The brand has pulled on American musician and OG hottie Joe Jonas to help consumers combat digital overload. “Social off Socials also includes creators like Dude with Sign, Lil Cherry and Paul Olimalike for a video spot that showcases a world where nobody uses social media at all." In an apocalyptic-esque montage, Joe Jonas searches for connection through apps, only to find everyone is at the bar, drinking Heineken and connecting irl.

Nabil Nasser, Global Head of Heineken, acknowledges the irony. “Working with creators — who are by their nature always online — to highlight the solution may seem ironic, but they too realize it’s about balance and were as eager as us to encourage IRL socializing,” he said. I fear we’re a little far gone, but love the sentiment.

A shoppable ChatGPT is rumoured to be in the works.

Jesus take the wheel, it’s getting meta out here. And I don’t mean the Zuck kind. A rumoured partnership between ChatGPT owner OpenAI and Shopify could forever change the e-commerce funnel. Suzanna Chaplin of The Drum speaks on what she thinks that could look like: “An OpenAI x Shopify integration will transform online shopping and soon the internet will be a very different place. It might also spell an era in which other technologies, such as VR and Web3, finally explode. Think QR codes in 2020 - remember how they went from dusty museum labels to part of everyday life overnight?”

Ok, but picture this. You are greeted at the most gorgini curated storefront, tailored just for your taste by your digital personal shopper. It knows your style, your size, what colour pallettes you prefer and what suits you best. Doesn’t sound half bad tbh. Better than hearing my mother yell, “Are you sure you want it that short!?” across the store. 

Anyway, that’s all folks!

-Sophie, Writer

DEEP DIVE

Why you want to be a "slow brand" right about now

As the internet gets faster, smart brands get slower.

For years, brands have treated the internet like a slot machine. Pull the lever, Kronk (aka launch a campaign) and hope for the flashing lights of virality. A million views, a billion likes, a moment on the trending page. Jackpot. But here’s the thing about jackpots: they’re addictive, they’re unpredictable, and they don’t ever build anything lasting.

Lately, you can feel the shift. The internet just doesn’t hit like it used to. Algorithms chew through viral moments faster than ever. Culture moves at the most insane of speeds. Memes, trends, even controversies have a 24-hour half-life. Gone are the days where these things defined decades. Now we’re lucky if they define anything. 

We’re reaching the burnout stage of constant content churn. And brands chasing quick hits are finding themselves with a lot of empty calories and very little actual loyalty. This is why smart brands (omg, that’s you!) are starting to quietly, steadily bet on something else: the slow, sexy, steady power of earned media, storytelling, and actual community building.

Virality was never the endgame; it just felt like it.

When the internet was newer and we were all a little naiver, virality felt like validation. If people were talking about you, you were winning. The problem is, most viral moments are just that. Moments. They don’t leave roots. They don’t build memory. They don’t foster real relationships between a brand and its audience. (And the ones that do usually weren’t designed in a boardroom.)

Today’s audiences are savvier and more fragmented. They can spot a "made-for-viral" campaign from a mile away. And they know when a brand is just trying to trend instead of trying to connect.

The future isn’t going to belong to whoever can shout the loudest for a second. It’s going to belong to whoever can matter for a long time. Now, earned media and storytelling matter more than ever.

Here’s why the pendulum is swinging:

• Trust is the new currency. People trust what their friends recommend, what their favourite creators genuinely love, what feels earned (not what shows up in an ad carousel).

• The algorithm is too chaotic to rely on. Your reach today means nothing tomorrow. You need relationships, not just reach.

• Memory compounds. A good story told well sticks around. It gets passed on. It grows. That’s long-term brand equity, not a blip on the trending page.

Earned media, like organic mentions, genuine PR, word-of-mouth, creator love that wasn’t bought, builds the kind of brand reputation that doesn’t dissolve when the algorithm changes. Storytelling—real storytelling, not just “here’s our founder’s struggle in a LinkedIn post”—is how you make people care.

What smart brands (yes, you) are doing right now:

• Investing in creator relationships, not just influencer ads. (I.e. ongoing partnerships, not just one-and-done #spon.)

• Building content ecosystems. (Owned media, like podcasts, newsletters, video series, that nurture audiences over time.)

• Prioritising depth over breadth. (Better to matter deeply to 10,000 people than be a passing thought to 10 million.)

• Telling better stories, not just posting more stuff. (Stories that tap into emotions, community, aspiration, not just product features.)

So, we should stop trying to go viral, right?

Not necessarily. There’s still power in having moments. Duh. But the brands that will thrive are the ones who treat virality as a bonus, not the whole damn business model.

So build the slow burn. Tell the better story. Win the marathon, not the sprint. The internet isn’t slowing down anytime soon. But your brand should. The way I look at it, you can either trend for a month or matter for a decade. Which way do you think icons are built?

-Sophie, Writer

TREND PLUG

100 men vs. 1 gorilla

The internet’s latest delusion? 100 men vs. 1 gorilla.

And it’s the fight of the century, apparently. A TikTok-fuelled fever dream where one man (or sometimes 100) confidently declares victory in a battle with a fully-grown, 400lb silverback. Why? Because the algorithm rewards unhinged confidence and delulu is the new normal.

The trend seems to have evolved from classic barstool hypotheticals and Reddit threads about “who would win in a fight.” It properly exploded thanks to dramatic AI voiceovers, intense backing music, and footage from games like Minecraft. Think Joe Rogan meets Planet of the Apes, and sprinkle in some Call of Duty soundtrack energy. Even MrBeast has jumped in on it!

At its core, it's not really about gorillas, is it? You just need to say something worth hearing. And what better way to do than to jump in on a trend to let your audience know that YOU are in the KNOW?

A few ways you can use this trend:

• Fitness brands: How about a workout routine as 1 of the 100 men training to take on the gorilla? 

• Girlie pop influencers: “100 men fought the gorilla. I booked the spa package.” Let everyone else have the fight.

• Food/beverage brands: Do we really need 100 men to win? No, one sip/bite of [your product] and 1 man can take them on.

• Or maybe you just have a rational answer to who would win? Be the voice of reason in the chaos like Flossybaby.

-Caitline, Account Manager

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: Dad or speedbump
❤How wholesome: “my baby brudder”
😊Soooo satisfying: the perfect gym chalk doesn’t ex-
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Cheesy spicy steak pasta

ASK THE EDITOR

I’m the marketing manager for a mortgage company. What kind of video content should I be making? - Blake

Hi Blake!

There are so many ways you can create content around a service like this. One of the easiest content styles you can use is just answering FAQs you get. You can create a list of questions clients ask or have ChatGPT to help you come up with some. Or you can find others in your industry who already have a following and see what people ask them in the comments.

Once you have a list of questions you can answer, record your team answering them. At the end of each video, ask the audience to put more questions for you to answer in the comments. You can always branch out and try other content styles over time. But this is an easily repeatable, low production content style that allows you to show off your expertise.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

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