Hello, and happy Friday! Last night, when I took my dog out before bed, an aspiring Gen Z influencer ā pardon me, creator ā was staging a photo shoot on top of a car hood in front of my apartment. It was 10 pm and raining. She had bleached eyebrows and fake lashes. Her photographer had a ladder and professional lighting.
There are a lot of upsides to the emerging creator economy, but, as I realized last night, there are some obvious downsides, too. Or maybe Iām just too old to live in Williamsburg.
Iāve been thinking a lot about the word ācreatorā this week. Whatās the distinction between a journalist and a creator, or an editor and a creator, or a human merely existing in 2021 (by that I mean a human on Twitter and Instagram and TikTok, because isnāt that how it goes these days?) and a creator? Are Substackers, by default, creators? Am I a creator? (Iām not a creator, but Iāve spiraled a bit this week ruminating on that.) Am I really any different than the aspiring influencer with bleached brows and fake lashes posing on a car that she doesnāt own in the rain at 10 'oāclock at night?
I donāt have any answers, but I do have some more content (ācreationsā if you will) for you ahead.
Todayās letter is brought to you by Day One Agency
Reading a daily newsletter about youth cultureĀ š¤ creating award-winning campaigns that connect with Gen Z. My friends atĀ Day One AgencyĀ are looking for creative thinkers and problem solvers to help leading brands earn Gen Zās attention (see: the recent Chipotle X Roblox launch). If that sounds like you, drop a line atĀ afterschool@d1a.comĀ and be sure to check out their recently relaunched youth insights armĀ Ask Gen Z.Ā
This week, weāre going to dig deeper into:
š What we bought in 2021 (and what weāll be buying in 2022)
š Young consumers plan to go all out on holiday shopping ā but theyāre going to be spending differently
š¤³ The genius of Revolveās new ambassador program and why all brands should adopt a similar strategy