10 years ago, wealth was easy to spot. And yeah, there’s still plenty of people wearing their money. But now, living a life of material luxury feels more and more out of reach. So a new wave of people is emerging. One that wants everyone to know they’re just, like, better than you. Not because they’re dripping in gold jewellery, but because they’re intelligent. Cultured. Their obscure literary and music references roll off the tongue (it’s *almost* like they’ve rehearsed them?). This performative intelligence is the new flex. But if “knowledge” has to be performed, it is real? Or is it just marketing?

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

And it’s clear you haven’t just lost them. You’ve lost the deal.

Well, that doesn't have to be you anymore. Because in this 90-minute session taught by Nathan James, Executive Creative Director at The Attention Seeker, you’ll learn the real art of selling subjective ideas (from someone who’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands).

If you want to know how to:

✅ Keep the room hooked from your first sentence to the final slide
✅ Nail the 3-nod method that gets instant buy-in, every time
✅ Use their objections to strengthen your pitch

...this workshop is for you.

Forget “we’ll think about it.” You’ll leave this session knowing how to make every client say, “please take my money.”

Thursday, 4 Dec | 8:30 - 10am NZT | $49

I don’t want to hear any more negative “unmotivated” or “useless” allegations toward Gen Z again. The cohort literally ousted a government accused of corruption. Then, they gathered in a heated debate to choose the nation's next leader. That is literally the most badass thing I have ever heard.

After a brutal crackdown on protesters that ended up killing 72 people, their trust in the country's political system shattered. (Keep in mind this is off the back of years of political unrest.) Gen Z wanted a leader who would steer the country out of chaos. And they wanted to choose who, collectively. So, they did, through a virtual poll on Discord. 

Organised by Hami Nepal, a Gen Z group behind the protest, they ran a channel on the platform called Youth Against Corruption, holding a debate on the country’s future with over 10,000 people.

After hours of debate that included difficult questions for protest leaders and attempts at reaching out to potential prime minister candidates in real time, the participants chose former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead Nepal. He took oath in office on Friday.

For all the good that the platform can provide, it’s also landed itself in hot water as of late surrounding the safety of children who use it. A lawsuit filed this year against Discord and Roblox alleged that, together, the platforms created a "breeding ground for predators." The allegations came after an 11 year old girl was groomed, exploited and eventually assaulted by a perp who used both platforms to communicate with her.

Now, Discord's Family Center will give parents and guardians the ability to view the top five users a teen has messaged and called. They will also be able to see the servers they frequent, the total call minutes they’ve made, and their purchases.

Analysts at Bank of America said that consumers have covered about 50 – 70% of the cost of levies to date. And the tariffs will continue to put upward pressure on inflation. "We think there's no debate tariffs have pushed consumer prices higher” they wrote on October 31st.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic, a bear sh*ts in the woods, and the sky is blue.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

I had to literally repeat in my head “it’s just a TikTok, it’s just a TikTok, it’s just a TikTok” before dry retching in the toilet and reminding myself I’m free of that world.

This goes beyond the performative male; this is something f*cking else entirely. A whole new beast, and it’s definitely not limited to gender (Plath girls, we’ll get to you shortly.)

Basically, being smart is the new social flex, or appearing to be smart is.

Because being genuinely smart would require time, patience, and probably an academic citation (or at least a certification). This is more smart-coded: articulate enough to sound like you read theory, aesthetically aligned with curiosity and “big thinking brands”, and fluent in cultural references that say, I am not like the other dopamine scrollers.

As property and wealth grow increasingly out of reach for the average person, knowledge has become the new luxury. It's something you can own, wear, and use to separate yourself from the masses, but can’t buy.

In the 2010s it was designer this, property that, enough avocados to make a large bowl of guac for your guests while entertaining in your high-rise apartment. Veuve Clicquot, the latest iPhone, the Saddle bag (you get the gist.)

In the 2020s, it’s about taste. Your niche, your playlists, your book recs, whether you’ve heard Frank Ocean's ultra super underground unreleased stuff from when he was in the womb.

Now, as AI flattens the information hierarchy and algorithms spit out endless content, knowledge itself becomes the final frontier of distinction. You can’t own property, but you can own a hot take on post-capitalist identity formation.

So, let’s start with the most obvious archetype: the performative male intellectual.

You’ve seen him. You’ve probably dated him (for your sake I hope not, but if you have, how’s therapy treating you?)

This is The Guy Brian Park parodies so perfectly on TikTok: the creative director who spends the entire date talking at you about semiotics, referencing Deleuze between bites of sushi, and offering unsolicited critiques of the way you hold your chopsticks.

It’s intellectual negging, wielding theory as a power move. He collects niche references the way finance bros collect crypto, always on the hunt for the next “low-cap cultural insight.”

And the worst part is, for the majority, he’s not really learning. He’s signalling. He’s not really a thinker, more a curator of second-hand intelligence.

And this archetype, for all its arrogance, is just one side of the coin. Because women do it too. Just with better lighting and a stronger sense of irony.

It’s intellect as aesthetic: intelligence softened, styled, and filtered through vibes.

Think: the literary girl reading The Bell Jar on a park bench in golden-hour light, annotated within an inch of its life, who cares more about being seen loving Sylvia Plath that actually caring about what she says.

For now, the prompt gap is that widening divide between people who direct AI and those who get directed by it. AI has made information free, abundant, and contextless. Which means the new measure of intelligence isn’t what you know, it’s how you synthesise it.

So, people overcompensate. They curate references like outfits. They use intellectualism as a shield against being perceived as generic or automated. Because if ChatGPT can write the essay, how do you prove you’re still original?

And brands are already catching on. Anthropic’s “Keep Thinking” campaign for Claude opened cafés and gave away “Thinking” embroidered caps. Literally turning cognition into merch.

Intellect has officially become an aesthetic. And brands, sensing our collective need to feel “above the algorithm,” are now selling thoughtfulness the same way they used to sell youth. The problem being that when everything is branding, even intelligence loses its edge.

Performative intelligence panics at silence, and has to fill the gap. It needs to be seen thinking to prove it exists.

So, dear reader, if you do happen to find yourself across the table from someone dissecting Demna’s debut for Gucci while you’re just trying to enjoy your tuna roll, take it as a sign, and RUN. And if you ever catch yourself annotating Nietzsche in public for the camera, maybe ask who you’re trying to convince.

Because intellect that has to be performed isn’t intellect at all. It’s marketing, sweetie. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The audio comes from TikTok user @xobesola and her thirst trap featuring Zayn Malik (...are we back in 2015?). Creators are using the sound over a selfie or mirror video with on-screen text that says “Yes, I would break up with my boyfriend if…” followed by their reason. It can be anything, from totally valid to completely delusional. This one's a really fresh trend, so hop on it while it's blowing up!

Some of my favourite examples:

It works because it’s universal! You can spin literally any frustration (i.e. work, client, coworker, or creative-related) into a breakup-level offence. Be that diva, yknow?

With the sound, film a mirror or selfie video looking confident as all hell. Add text saying “Yes, I would break up with my boyfriend if…” plus your punchline. The more oddly specific or niche, the funnier it lands.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Nico Mendoza, Intern

😲WTF: Tattoo shivers
✨Daily inspo: The real goal
😊Soooo satisfying: Rug Deep Clean
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Beef and Cheese Empanadas

Hey Cian,

It's tough working with clients that have a hard time letting go and trusting you to do your thing! Honestly, this is one of those tensions that will never truly go away. But my advice is to focus on building a relationship first. Entrusting their brand to you is obviously scary for them. And before they are willing to trust you as the expert that you are, they need to feel that you know what you’re doing.

So really listen to what's important to them and show that you “get” them. As you build that trust, begin to make more suggestions about how you can bring your expertise to their project. If they truly feel you care about their success, they will (hopefully) be more willing to accept that you know what you're doing!

Some clients will never get there. Unfortunately, they usually don't get the results they're looking for because they aren't willing to let the experts work their magic. But do everything in your power to win them over by listening, understanding them, and showing that you care about getting a good outcome for them.

- 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.