Together with
Hey Fam. Happy Hump Day! Is it just us, or do 4 day work weeks make Wednesday feel like it should be Friday? Maybe it’s just us. Anywho, stay vigilant out there and good luck the rest of the week.
In other news…People think the pandemic is over, AI gives advertising a makeover, and Call of Duty holds up Microsoft.
Top Trends
YouTube → Problemista
Twitter → Ted Lasso
Google → I Think You Should Leave
Reddit → Bruce Willis
TikTok → “Bad Habit” - Lissa
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
WPP is going all in on AI
The Future. WPP, the largest ad agency in the world, is partnering with Nvidia on a full AI makeover with the hope of making a lot more content for much cheaper. Quality questions aside, the push for AI-generated ads could set a precedent of cutting humans out of commercial production and putting far more work in the hands of fewer creatives.
Advertising assembly-line
Apparently, AI is the new ad man.
WPP is tapping Nvidia, which just hit a $1 trillion market cap due to AI bullishness, to give creative teams access to generative AI tools and infrastructure.
The tools would be able to source images from databases like Adobe and Getty Images.
With AI, WPP’s hope is that it can create full ad campaigns “more efficiently and at scale” — i.e., quicker, cheaper, and much more of it.
So, what does that actually look like? A demo from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed an AI generation of a car driving through a desert and noted how that car could be put in different cities or terrains with a few clicks. To WPP and Nvidia, that means a suite of commercials are created that service different regions — the car is simply a template.
And if you want to customize that content for different socials, the AI will apparently be able to do that too.
GAMING
Call of Duty is the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger battleground
The Future. Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard may not go through for one simple reason: Call of Duty. The franchise is so big, popular, and successful that Microsoft’s ownership of it may be a monopoly in and of itself… especially if it’s used as an exclusive title in the fledgling cloud-gaming ecosystem.
One game to rule them all
How could one video game franchise, Call of Duty, be responsible for holding up a blockbuster merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard?
The video game is one of the most successful entertainment IPs ever, nabbing $30 billion in overall revenue.
Each of its installments — a new one every year, which is a rare feat — has been the top-selling game in the US annually for the past 14 years.
For many people, it’s the only game that all of their friends play — whether that’s through a console, mobile, or a PC.
That popularity and longevity led Call of Duty to be the most valuable video game title in the world… and whoever controls it essentially controls the market.
That fact has been mentioned numerous times in complaints by the regulatory bodies in the US (18 times), UK (41 times), and EU (we think WSJ lost count) to block or curtail the merger.
TOGETHER WITH UPWAY
E-bike revolution
Some think e-bikes cheat you of an afternoon cardio sesh. We think they're revolutionary.
You with us? Join the e-bike revolution via Upway and breeze to your destination without breaking a sweat. (And yes, that's a good thing!) Suitable for commuting, city rides, or beach escapades, take Upway's 3-question quiz to find the perfect e-bike for you.
All Upway e-bikes are master mechanic certified, have a 1-year warranty, and are up to 60% off retail. Plus, they'll drop them off at your door in 2-5 days!
If you’re ahead of the curve and already have an e-bike (lucky) but are looking to upgrade, you can also trade-in and trade up with Upway through their trade-in tool.
For Future Partiers, an extra $150 off a $500+ purchase with code TFP.
CULTURE
Fast COVID fashion // Illustration by Kate Walker
Americans shrug off COVID
The Future. According to a new country-wide poll, COVID — or, at least, the all-consuming COVID epidemic — may be in the rearview mirror. A majority of Americans are now comfortable in public the way they were in 2019. It could be that people are just tired after three years of being on edge, but it may be more likely that the slowing rate of infections, the efficacy of vaccines, and a handful of virus-fighting medications have finally let us catch our breath.
Seasons endings
Is COVID officially over?
The Axios-Ipsos American Health Index found that 62% of people think the pandemic is over — up from 46% in February.
56% say they no longer mask in public anymore, and less than a quarter of Americans think COVID is a “large or moderate risk to their health.
COVID is now seen in the same light as reckless driving or smoking and alcohol abuse — what Axios dubs as “commonplace risks.”
And it’s not hard to see those mindsets in action. Attendance at everywhere from gyms to movie theaters to restaurants is surging back to pre-pandemic levels. Heck, COVID is likely the last thing on anyone’s mind at a Taylor Swift concert.
That doesn’t mean COVID is gone for good, but infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are way down… so it looks like we can leave the word “epidemic” in the past.
TOGETHER WITH WILD
Experiential art community Wild reveals it’s next drop
DJ and musician Aluna is celebrating her new EP, Mycelium, with an immersive NFT drop called Death Before the Bloom.
Aluna joined the Wild residency last year and began working on Death Before the Bloom. The collection is a series of 111 snapshots and a 3D immersive experience that follows the degradation of a Victorian manor which will slowly become overgrown with plants, flowers and, you guessed it, mycelium, until the album release. Each piece also features an AR-enabled object collectors can place in their space.
Death Before the Bloom drops today at 10 am PT! Don’t miss it. Mint price is 0.04 ETH.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Disney is getting future-focused, pitching a 30-year development plan to Anaheim, California leaders called “DisneylandForward,” which could create over 2,200 jobs. Read more → deadline
The success of Netflix’s password crackdown will likely lead every other streamer to monetize all the people borrowing their parents’ accounts. Read more → theverge
AI startup Flawless, which was a creative force behind the re-dubbing of Lionsgate movie Fall to score a PG-13 rating, has teamed up with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions to acquire foreign-language films and use AI to dub them for English-speaking countries. Read more → deadline
Fashion & E-Commerce
adidas’ final sale of its remaining Yeezy product — with part of its revenue going to charity — may demonstrate that the shoe line has outgrown its controversial creator. Read more → highsnobiety
British beauty retailer Space NK is taking advantage of a sales boom by experimenting with opening larger stores and stocking celebrity-backed brands. Read more → businessoffashion
Celebrities are getting deeper into the fabric by shrugging off ‘creative director” labels and trying on “fashion designer” — a lot more work and responsibility if they are doing what the job demands. Read more → highsnobiety
Tech, Web3, & AI
A very short open letter from the Center of AI Safety, signed by nearly all the top CEOs in the industry, says that AI potentially poses a threat to human existence on the scale of pandemics and nuclear war. Read more → nyt
Because Twitter backed out of a “voluntary rulebook” for curbing disinformation on its platform, the platform runs the risk of being banned in Europe. Read more → deadline
If you don’t have time to read a whole book, a platform called Shortform can distill them (mostly in genres like business, tech, and personal development) into 15-minute long summaries — all human-written. Read more → fastcompany
Creator Economy
Players in the North American League of Legends esports league voted to walk out because of Riot Games’ new rule that allows franchises to no longer need an amateur team — the main incubator of new gaming talent. Read more → theverge
Matt Klein, Reddit’s head of global foresight, believes that social media trends are now meaningless because brands have confused bonafide “trends” with simply “what’s trending” on a day-to-day basis. Read more → fastcompany
Restaurants are catering their menus for TikTok virality by making their food more cheesy, saucy, and all-around extra. Read more → grubstreet
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Editing by Melody Song. Publishing by Sara Kitni