In our opinion, PR is sort of like God. Intangible, yet omniscient. Everything boils down to public relations. You could call it magic and your favorite PR pros magicians. Despite any and all topics being up for PR debate, a few have caught our attention recently. And we’re so happy that you, our lovely captive audience, are joining us for these hot takes.
Overconsumption is Having a Moment
If you feel like you’re seeing Stanley cups everywhere these days, it’s because you are. The Stanley brand, founded more than 100 years ago and used mainly by workers at worksites, is now a must-have on many Christmas and birthday lists. People were literally running over each other to get limited edition models of the now-popular cup. How did it happen? Well, that’s the power of influencers and some good PR.
But, is there such a thing as too much popularity? The same groups that helped Stanley cups fly off store shelves may now also be contributing to the end of the trend. Now that suburban women and teens have made the Stanley cup their thing, some say it’s starting to fall out of popularity. It’s become the butt of a lot of jokes, including a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live.
It’s part of a larger and ongoing conversation about consumerism and overconsumption. People only want something if it’s new, and only a few (cool) people have it. Trends live and die quicker than you can refresh your TikTok feed. And it’s not just Stanley; brands have been struggling with how to stay relevant since ‘going viral’ became a thing. If you need any help, let us know.
Did TSwift Just Force AI Regulations?
It can help you with research, create a new headshot, or ruin lives. AI has quite the range. The latest example of the dark side of AI is when nude deepfake images of Taylor Swift went viral on X. The account that posted them was suspended after it was mass-reported by Swifties, but not before the images were seen millions of times.
The good news is, now that Taylor is involved, the government might actually do something about these deep fakes. Several U.S. lawmakers have called for new laws to penalize those who create the images, some calling it a bipartisan issue. It’s also forced tech companies to take a look at how they can help fight the problem of deep fakes. We’ll see what happens next, but we’re hopeful that something might change.
P.S. We hate Elon Musk.
A$AP and Rihanna
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have recently teamed up in more than just parenthood. Their recent collaboration on Ri’s makeup brand, Fenty Beauty, has men storming Sephora locations and sales spiking. A$AP featured the ultra-hydrating lip-balm in Fenty’s ad on the product. Which, by the way, is a somewhat iconic 8 seconds. The target audience responded. For the first time in history, men are pissing themselves over the release of a cosmetic product. These two know how well their appearances together do in the press. Since they choose their moments of public exposure as a couple very carefully, this collaboration resonated exceptionally well since both of their audiences know this is a rare occasion.
Julia Fox
We’d be lying if we said Julia Fox wasn’t working on a name for herself before her brief relationship with Kanye West in 2022. She worked as a model for several notable brands, was a lead supporting role in Uncut Gems, and did some directing. But the way that she leveraged the refreshed notoriety from said relationship is pretty impressive.
She got renewed buzz after being Kanye’s first love interest after his public divorce from Kim Kardashian. Women are too often made to be the object of ridicule in a storyline like this, and she totally reclaimed it. She took to TikTok, responding bluntly to anyone who tried to make her smaller. Her memoir, Down the Drain, was praised as “practice in radical transparency” and quickly earned her some of the most coveted interview spots, including Vanity Fair, Good Morning America, The View, The Drew Barrymore Show (which, yes, did seem to recover from that one cancellation), and more. We applaud any woman who has successfully turned around an unfair and antiquated narrative.
Welcome to the brain of a PR pro. It’s not always a sane place to be, but the constant analysis keeps things interesting. As always, stay tuned; you know we love to comment on what’s happening in the world.
