Cowboy boots. Denim cut-offs. Red, white and blue bikini tops. It all screams Americana. Except none of these people work on a ranch and half of them probably didn’t even vote in the last election. But, no matter! Because this look has nothing to do with political support or national pride. It’s just a vibe. A costume. One that lives right alongside any other persona they’ll put on to look cool on IG. And the thing is, brands know this (and are capitalising on it, big time). [Keep reading]

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

In the tech trial of the year, Musk v. Altman, Elon Musk argued that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shouldn’t direct the future of AI, Altman arguing the same about Musk. The Jury came to a decision this week and ultimately dismissed Musk’s claims. But there are wider implications: what was ultimately on trial was the AI industry itself.

As public support for the technology dwindles, the takeaway here is that nobody can really be trusted. If the men with some of the most powerful technology currently existing on the planet can’t even deal with each other without getting emotional, should they really be in charge of said tech and potentially the future of humanity?

I’ll leave that thought with you.

Ok next, something a little lighter, for my Wordle nerds; you’re getting a TV show. AND my fave Jimmy Fallon is producing it. Can I get a Hallelujah? The New York Times is co-producing the half hour game show, where contestants compete for cash (duh). It'll be filmed in Manchester, England, and is expected to replicate the Wordle typeface and colour scheme.

It will be hosted by NBC News' "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, with NBC declining to say how much it would pay The Times for using Wordle's branding. The move also reflects the diversification of The Times as a company in recent years, with its Games app (where Wordle lives) being among its most popular products.

OK lastly, The Economist is testing two new ways of structuring content – one to be read solely by AI agents, and one to be read by humans. As AI engines increasingly surface and summarise news, it makes sense that some content is allocated to them (them? It? Idk anymore man). How does it work? Well, the publisher is experimenting with "agent‑readable versions of content that already sits outside its paywall, chiefly marketing copy and B2B sales material” and restructuring those surfaces for AI answer engines.

The Economnist group told Digiday it will be “a world with two versions of the web”, one optimised for rich, human reading experiences, and another where “agents want clear structure, questions and answers, ideally text", not carousels and feature art.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

And yet, if you scroll through TikTok, you’d think the country has never been more united (hear me out). I don’t mean with the constant hammering of difference in opinion, red v blue, man v woman, trans or no trans, abortions or no abortions (y’all are exhausting, I’m sorry).

I’m talking about everybody all of a sudden flaunting chunky American flag sweaters. Styling gingham skirts and pigtails and Levis. And sound-tracking their GRWM videos with Lana Del Rey or tracks from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter era.

This is a highly calculated, character-driven digital costume. At a time when taking pride in the nation feels more than complicated for young consumers, Americana aesthetics are absolutely everywhere.

And as a marketer, I think it’s imperative we to understand why. Because imo, this phenomenon is a masterclass in identity decoupling and empty-vessel branding. And it showcases the new rules of the creator economy.

It no longer represents a state of the union and now simply represents a vibe. The cohort treats historic cultural codes like a cinematic wardrobe. This is a shift away from traditional patriotism, which is historically tied to ideology, nation, and policy. Instead, it's moving toward a post-pathetic Americana rooted entirely in irony, cosplay, and character archetypes.

It’s definitely not about buying into the American political system; but instead, into a sort of "IYKYK" lifestyle club.

By stripping the red-white-and-blue of its nationalist weight, they’ve transformed it into a blank canvas for personal branding. To put it plainly, Americana is now just another "core" to cycle through, sitting on the digital wardrobe shelf, right next to "brat" and "coquette." It is an aesthetic playground.

One where consumers can wear the flag completely ironically, or purely because the silhouette looks good on camera. They are playing a character in a digital movie, and Americana is the ultimate costume design.

Smart brands are actively engineering the tools for this national cosplay, acting as the ultimate costume designers. Take a look at mass-market retail strategy. Heritage labels are thriving by leaning into universal messaging. They're deliberately avoiding explicit political ties and polarising narratives.

Instead, they focus entirely on selling raw, tactile heritage, cinematic nostalgia, and adaptable silhouettes like heavy-weight denim, weathered leather, and workwear jackets.

A Carhartt jacket can be worn by a rural construction worker or a hyper-urban TikTok stylist in New York. Neither consumer feels alienated. Because the brand sells the physical asset while letting the consumer inject their own irony or sincerity. Brands are selling the raw materials for a digital fit check, devoid of the “American Dream” messaging they once came with.

We can see this empty-vessel strategy firing on all cylinders with the massive success of recent heritage brand campaigns.

Levi's has always been synonymous with Americana. But here, the brand completely reinvented their historic 1980s ads to craft a new cultural narrative centred around The Denim Cowboy.

By framing their legacy denim as a modern, empowering uniform, the campaign pulled in over 4.3 billion impressions. And it generated over $65 million in estimated earned media value, driving double-digit growth in their women's business.

The brand recently partnered with pop star and MOTHER Addison Rae for a y2k inspired capsule collection. Lucky released pieces like the ultra-low-rise Addison Short specifically targeted at festival season (of course, to be worn with cowboy boots). In doing so, they turned traditional Americana denim into a viral, accessible costume for the digital age.

The speed at which this costume spreads comes down to trend loop acceleration. We know this.

A user sees an icon styled in Americana, replicates the look using a vintage flag sweater, and formats it as an aesthetic carousel on Instagram. This loop moves seamlessly from subcultural spark to algorithmic ripple, ending in instant commerce via social checkout. For digital marketers, this is the ultimate playbook.

If your product or brand narrative feels like a movie set, the modern consumer will buy the product just to play the character in their own feed. They want to participate in the cultural moment. And buying the clothes is the easiest form of ticket entry.

And aesthetic flexibility will alwayyyys beat rigid corporate messaging. Consumers do not want brands to tell them who to be or what to vote for. They want brands to give them the wardrobe to express who they want to seem to be online.

If you can turn your product into a piece of a larger cultural costume, the algorithm will do the rest of the selling for you.

I could put money on that.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Yes, she really is all of the above. The trending audio is a remixed snippet of her singing "The Winner Takes It All", and it’s full of heartbreak and emotion, which is why TikTok is obsessed with it right now.

This trend is giving sadcore vibes. Creators are pairing the audio with captions about moments that left them heartbroken, emotional, or stuck reminiscing. It’s become a trend for people to show a more vulnerable side and open up about the struggles they’ve experienced. For example, when the sensitive topic of wasted potential gets brought up in conversation or when you have to leave a toxic relationship.

Using the audio, turn the camera on yourself and add OST describing your moment of struggle or reflection on wholesome or sad thoughts, ideally beginning with "when". You can go as deep as you want, whatever you're comfortable with. This is a trend where you can show a little bit of humanness to you.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Fiona Badiana, Intern

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: "GRUUU"
❤How wholesome: "Dad proud moment"
😊Soooo satisfying: "Satisfying"
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Chili Oil Garlic Ramen

Hey Wendy!

This is such a common thing that holds so many people back from posting content. It’s helpful to remember that no one is thinking about you the way you’re thinking about you. Everyone is paying more attention to themselves. Or as we talk about in our team, there's not a stadium of people waiting for you to put content out.

Once you realise no one cares that much, it's liberating. You can be ok posting content that's good enough. Because you can't improve on something that doesn't exist yet. I hate to say it, but you just have to get over yourself and do it scared. It will get easier once you just start.

- 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.