If every single idea is a “breakthrough”, nothing is. Butttt (and I hate to say it), marketers did the same exact thing to “authenticity”. It used to be a real thing that brands either were or weren’t. Now, we’ve reached total saturation, where influencers are crying just for likes, and “unhinged” brand tweets seem so calculated, no one even cares. Add in the fact that we can train AI to create “messy” content now, and suddenly the word “real” has lost all meaning. So, where to from here? [Read more]

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

I’m still tired and disillusioned, but some things we can only laugh about (imperative for survival.) Take Amazon, for example. Everything the company does feels like Evil Incorporated.

The New York Times recently ran the kind of story that only the year 2026 could produce: Amazon’s studio putting out a movie about Melania Trump’s life as seen by Hollywood critics. Think about that for a moment. A trillion-dollar tech monopoly producing biographical entertainment about one of the most polarising figures of the last decade, then inviting a critical apparatus to weigh in like it’s a new Wes Anderson.

And then there’s Sydney Sweeney, who continues to make it remarkably difficult to root for her. However, it’s clear Bezos has no problem backing controversial women. I’m sure we all saw Sweeney launched her lingerie brand Syrn by trespassing and hanging bras off the Hollywood “H.” Not a metaphor. Not a stunt approved by the city. Actual underwear draped over one of the most recognisable cultural landmarks in the world. As if that’s what empowerment looks like in 2026. The move was framed as rebellious, boundary-pushing, iconic even. But it mostly landed as tone-deaf spectacle dressed up as feminism.

Which is before you even get to the name. Unfortunately, “Syrn” was also the name of a Confederate blockade runner during the American Civil War… a historical association we would probably want to avoid at all costs. Especially if you’re Sydney Sweeney. Especially after the American Eagle controversy.

Andddd finally we’ll sprinkle some more absurdism, just because nothing makes any f*cking sense anymore.

Absurd as in ridiculous, as in Buzzballz, yeah, the cocktail brand with the spherical bottles, is now selling a $35,000 engagement ring in the shape of its own drink. A diamond ring that looks like a Buzzballz container. They quote-tweeted it like an earnest product innovation. This is where absurdism no longer functions as satire because it has become competitive strategy. We don’t even look sideways at this sort of thing anymore. We just shrug and scroll.

It seems the only coherent thing left is the shared bewilderment at it all.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

And it’s safe to say that right now, the biggest buzzword of the last few years is lying flat on the table. Cause of death: overuse. Time of death: sometime in 2025, probably. Autopsy results: CHRONIC fatigue. Terminal.

It’s a shame. Authenticity was once genuinely revolutionary. Brands dropped the polished, corporate nonsense, influencers posted makeup-free selfies and crying vids. Everyone started "keeping it real" and for a hot minute, it actually felt real. It was refreshing. Different.

And when everyone is doing it, it stops being authentic and starts being a strategy. A very obvious, very overused strategy that every man and his dog is reading from the same playbook.

"Authenticity" has kind of become like a participation trophy. Everyone's got one. Nobody's impressed.

In 2024, authenticity fatigue was just settling in. Today, it's a full-blown crisis. And we've got a new villain to blame: AI.

Because AI-generated content is everywhere now. And it's good. Like, suspiciously good. Which means audiences are more sceptical than ever about whether what they're seeing is actually real.

On top of that, we're watching a full rebellion against performative wellness and curated perfection – something I wrote about recently was “wellness anarchists." People who are actively, deliberately rejecting the polished, optimised, green-smoothie version of life in favour of something messier and more human.

The pendulum hasn't just swung away from fake perfection. It's swung so far in the other direction that now the "authentic" brands are starting to look fake too. Confusing? You’re telling me.

Manufactured realness. When every influencer is crying on cue and every brand is posting scripted "relatable" tweets full of brain rot and typos, the whole thing stops feeling genuine and starts feeling like a content template everyone downloaded from the same place. Which, I mean, they kind of did.

Audiences aren't stupid. They never were. They can always tell the difference between a brand that's actually being real and one that's performing realness for engagement. And nowadays, with AI in the mix, that radar is sharper than ever.

Hyper-specificity over broad relatability.

The age of generic "we're just like you!" content is so, so over. Audiences want brands that understand their specific world - their niche, their quirks, their values. Go deep, not wide.

Transparency, not perfection.

Actually being honest - even when it's uncomfortable. Own your mistakes. Show the mess. People can handle it. What they can't handle is another brand pretending everything is fine when it's clearly not.

Purpose over performance.

Stop trying to look authentic with funny tweets and banter. Focus on doing work that is authentic. Build around something that actually matters to you and your audience.

Be unpredictable.

Sometimes the most genuine thing you can do is break the mould entirely. In a sea of brands all doing the same "authentic" thing, being genuinely surprising is the new authentic.

Stop being the one trying hardest to look real. Just be actually, genuinely, uncomfortably honest - in ways that feel specific, fresh, and true to who you actually are.

Drop the relatable memes. Drop the canned apologies. And for the love of everything, stop saying "authenticity." Just be real. There's a difference.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

(Did I just rhyme day with... day?) Record labels you know where to find me.

Today's trend actually stems from Willow Smith's classic 2015 hit "Wait a Minute!" The line that stuck out to the internet was "And I cried at the curb when you first said..." 

And it has people highlighting times where they read or heard something that shattered their hearts. Like finding out your bestie is going to a different school, realising your friend's moving, or even getting pranked.

Using the sound, you're going to create a 3-slide carousel, with the first slide titled "And I cried at the curb", second slide titled " When you first said", and the third slide being the quote or text you received that just broke you.

A few third slide ideas to get you started:

-abdel khalil, brand & marketing exec

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: THIS is the only right way to eat spag
✨Daily inspo: do it.
😊Soooo satisfying: Lava ball vs…
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Garlic crispy chicken noodles

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.