Your ATTN Please || Thursday, 20 March

The more tea you spill, the more the algorithm rewards you.

So the dirty laundry that used to be reserved for your therapist is now monologue inspo for your next “get ready with me” video. But when every piece of content is perfectly curated for maximum likes, where does that leave the truth? And can we come back from this boundary-less way of over-sharing?

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

WE’VE GOTTA KNOW…

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Corona Island is open, Pedro Pascal stars in new Apple ad & Cash App is stealing from banks

Want to stay on Corona Island? As of this week, you can.

Yes, you heard right. There is an entire island dedicated to and owned by the iconic beer brand. 12 miles off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, sits this tiny little slice of paradise. Bungalows for two adorn the waterfront, each with its own jacuzzi and, of course, well-stocked supplies of Corona. Visitors can also check out the local food and experiences like paddle boarding and yoga.

I am writing this with tears streaming down my face, just for the record. The last time I wanted to go to an island this bad was Spooky Island from the Scooby-Doo movie. What makes Corona Island even cooler is everything is done with ecotourism in mind. The island earned marine conservation charity Oceanic Global’s three-star plastic-free Blue Seal for eliminating single-use plastics. In fact, it’s first and only island to ever do so. So, do they have, like, permanent accommodation?

Pedro Pascal features in Apple's new ad.

The internet's favourite daddy is down in the dumps in this ad, having literally gotten dumped in a café. He takes one last look at this former love before walking through the cold, wintry streets, grieving. That is, until he puts his AirPods in and suddenly, a new world opens. A technicolor world, where he is going to be okay. Then he starts dancing, which is kind of jarring. But, as always with Apple ads, the production is off the chain, and we watch as Pascal reconnects with his happier self.

Now, I know first hand that recovering from a sh*tty breakup is not as easy as walking down the street with your headphones in. But also, lowkey, it kind of is. Just going for a stroll with your fave songs and getting lost in your own little world is one way to call on some optimism. Trust.

Cash app plans to steal customers from banks in new campaign.

“Cash In” is the latest marketing effort from the brand, and its largest to date. The campaign is designed to show users how to take control of their future by making smarter banking and investing decisions. “Cash In” comes at perfect timing, as trust in financial institutions “has never been lower” in the US, dropping from 28 percent in 2021 to 20 percent in 2023. I can imagine that number is only set to decline further with the state of the economy as of late.

And what does Cash App want those with dwindling faith in major institutions to do? Check out their suite of banking and investment tools, which provides users more opportunities to capitalise on daily. Seems like a no-brainer.

Anyway, that’s all folks!

DEEP DIVE

What used to be TMI is now content gold—but have we gone too far?

Do you ever see something online and think… literally wtf did I just read?

People dropping absolutely insane “lore” for the sake of attention is not new. But it’s become a common phenomenon on my FYP, and I’ve decided it means one thing: we all need to know less about each other!

Social media has always encouraged self-mythologising. What started as curating an aesthetic Instagram grid evolved into TikTok confessionals where influencers turn their life struggles into serialised content. The more compelling your lore, the more engagement you get.

Wound-baring has long been a surefire way to rack up likes.

But today, oversharing comes with a new layer: a performative detachment that makes personal trauma feel like a damn franchise. (And if that was the case, I’d be stinking rich. Only I’m not selling my soul to the algorithm.)

In the world of "get ready with me" videos, influencers pair their makeup routines with painful personal stories, making trauma consumption as casual as bronzer application. Now, many of these videos come with “lore drops.” These are not just personal anecdotes. They're gossip, hearsay, and revelations about friends, exes, and celebrities. The more shocking the drop, the better the engagement. But am I the only one thinking… it’s gone too far?

The erosion of personal boundaries online is nothing new, but the way it’s bleeding into real life is.

The internet has trained us to engage with each other’s deepest secrets as if they’re part of an ongoing TV series. It makes sense, then, that the etiquette of the online world doesn’t always translate well to the physical realm.

Asking, “Where is your shirt from?” under a TikTok where someone exposes an abuser might feel normal online. But that same lack of spatial awareness doesn’t play well in real life. We are living in an age of context collapse. Strangers have access to each other’s most intimate details at any given moment.

The result is a collective inability to distinguish between what should be shared publicly and what should remain private.

We’ve reached a point where people aren’t just sharing their experiences. They’re also constructing whole ass narratives. And when your life is a story for public consumption, the temptation to dramatise, exaggerate, or fictionalise becomes inevitable.

The pressure to turn personal pain into engagement is dangerous—not just for the person sharing but for audiences who become emotionally invested in the trauma of strangers. And let’s not forget that the internet literally rewards this.

Platforms amplify emotionally charged content because it keeps users engaged. The more shocking the revelation, the more viral potential it has. But what happens when this culture of oversharing turns into a kind of social competition? When someone’s “lore” is deemed unremarkable, do they feel pressured to up the stakes? Does this lead to reckless and dangerous behaviour?

So, where do we go from here?

The internet thrives on extremes. If we can turn our lives into folklore, why wouldn’t we? But at some point, we have to ask: Are we losing something in the process? Chronic oversharing is a disease, and we’re all infected to some degree.

The ease of sharing everything online has fundamentally changed how we understand boundaries, both on and off screen. There’s an urgent need to reclaim some level of privacy—to recognise that not everything needs to be immortalised as part of our “canon.” Because, honestly? Some things are better left unsaid. Especially how your mom slept with your boyfriend. Thanks, Becky.

-Sophie, Writer

TREND PLUG

The rapid-fire dessert trend

Some trends are slow burns. Others hit like a sugar rush at 3 AM. This is the latter.

Today's sound comes from Fox's series The Floor. In the show, contestants name different desserts in a high-speed battle. Now, creators are syncing this frantic dessert-naming to moments where their brain is running on fumes. The best takes so far:

• Your inner monologue while you're working out

• The list of things you want to eat the moment your calorie count resets at midnight 

• The mouth-opening challenge – TikTokers open their mouths based on how much they like each thing being said (perfect for ranking anything, like slide deck fonts or marketing trends)

How you can jump on this trend:

Think of a situation where you have way too many things to choose from. Film yourself lipsyncing to the audio. If relevant, have OST pop up with each dessert name, describing the things that are going through your head all at once.

A few ideas to get you started:

• The client listing 15 different priorities and calling them all "top priority"

• Me trying to name every marketing trend I should be keeping up with in 2025

• My brain choosing a brand colour palette (navy blue, different navy blue, slightly different navy blue)

-Abdel, Social Media Coordinator

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: OUCH!
❤How wholesome: my heart can’t handle all this cuteness
🎧Soooo tingly: Beatbox ASMR!
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Creamy cheesy beef shells

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

ASK THE EDITOR

Q - I have a new business idea but it’s for an industry I haven't worked in before. Where do I start? -Safa

Hey Safa!

The biggest piece of advice I have for you is to test your ideas as you go. So many people have what they think is a great idea and they put all kinds of processes into place to deliver that product. Then, they're surprised when it doesn't sell! This is easily avoidable if you just talk to the people you hope will become your customers.

Throw out what you're thinking about and see what sticks. Ask them what positioning appeals to them. Ask them how much they would pay for what you're offering (if they'd pay for it at all!). Then you can make sure you're creating a product your audience wants. This will give you confidence that the work you're putting in now will turn into a viable business rather than a waste of time.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

Not going viral yet?

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.

PSST…PASS IT ON