Baggu Girlies and Sleeper Hits
Discover more from After School by Casey Lewis
Baggu Girlies and Sleeper Hits
mid-century irony
May Rio is making heartfelt DIY pop for New York’s cool kids; Twitch gamer xQc signs streaming contract worth $70 million; Netflix renews popular TATBILB spin-off XO, Kitty; and Apple Martin is the luckiest girl in the world.
Today’s letter is brought to you by Day One Agency: Gen Z’s got a love-hate relationship with the rabbit hole of their social feeds. And is “prime time” even relevant anymore? My friends at Day One Agency just released a new study with USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations on the next gen’s media diets and scroll habits. Check out their findings here.
HOW A 4-YEAR-OLD TRACK BECAME TAYLOR SWIFT'S SONG OF THE MOMENT, time
Could the song of the summer be a four-year-old Taylor track? “Cruel Summer,” a song off Lover (which is two full albums ago!) is finally being released as a radio single, “much to the delight of Swifties everywhere.” The fan-favorite track got a boost in mainstream exposure after being featured prominently in the 2022 Amazon Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty, and it has also been the subject of a grassroots campaign run by fans who want to see the track released as a single, with discussion forums, Reddit threads, and countless social media posts devoted to the topic.
BAGGING A NEW GENERATION, nyt
Baggu — the brand best known for their colorful reusuable bags — is enjoying a boom among Gen Z and courtesy of TikTok, “which is teeming with self-described “Baggu girlies,” bound together by their appreciation for the brand. Search “Baggu,” and the hundreds of TikToks posted have collected over 130 million views.” (As a Baggu girlie myself, the brand’s packing cubes are a revelation.)
LIQUID DEATH IS A MIND-SET. AND ALSO JUST CANNED WATER., wapo
”I didn’t want it to be hipster water. We are a comedy entertainment platform that lives on the internet,” says Cessario, 40, in his office, which is kicked out with a skateboard ramp. The headquarters’ style might be best described as Mid-Century Irony: a “grandma’s living room,” ersatz barber shop and mock fusty boardroom that’s inspired by the movie “Caddyshack” and the physical manifestation of the Liquid Death Country Club, where a member is required to “sell your soul.” (Which more than 235,000 fans have done.)
TWITCH HAS LAUNCHED SHOPPABLE STREAMS. NOW THIRD-PARTY BRANDS LIKE REFINERY29 ARE JOINING THE FUN., tubefilter
Twitch is now letting third parties sell their favorite products live on stream. The first company to get the opportunity is Refinery29, who went live on June 15 on the Refinery29 Twitch hub with a shoppable version of their Most Wanted shopping series. Interestingly, Twitch will be the main focus of Refinery29’s live shopping efforts, according to the company…
AMEX TRENDEX REVEALS HOW YOUNG CONSUMERS ARE SPENDING THIS SUMMER, wwd
69% of millennial and Gen Z consumers plan to travel this summer; top reasons are to spend time with family and friends (67%), explore new places (45%) and to recharge and reset (39% ). More than 70% of respondents believe that summer 2023 is “the time to check things off their bucket list” and 87% said they would be willing to spend more money on once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Further, 65% of millennial and Gen Z consumers have saved up for the season over the last six months.
THE NEW FINANCIAL RITE OF PASSAGE FOR TEENS—AND THEIR PARENTS, wsj
No so long ago, teens would ask parents for the car keys or some cash; today, they’re more likely to want Uber, Venmo, and Amazon accounts. Access to payment apps is now a rite of passage. In May, Uber and Venmo launched accounts for children ages 13-17. Cash App, Fidelity, and Amazon also offer similar services.
One last thought:
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