Mars buys Pringles, Google legend Susan Wojcicki dies and the rising of Simone Biles
Issue#20
Rise Up has the can’t-miss headlines on brands, marketing, start-ups and happiness.
Weekly Exhale | Always Be Rising
Shame on me; I'd never heard of Simone Biles. Half the global population tunes into the Olympics, but most of the time, people watch football or lie on their sides in a video coma. The money and sponsorship fees are different, too, so you don't get to hear about the world's best athletes as much.
The Netflix docuseries Simone Biles Rising title appeals to me—I'm co-founder of And Rising. But you could call it anything; this woman defies expectations and gravity. As a celebrity sports host observes: "It's hard commentating for Simone Biles. There are no words."
Coincidentally, the plot twist comes from the "twisties." Her brain started saying, "Not today." Enough to halt the greatest gymnast of all time. The world gave her trauma and perfectionism. She replaced these with love and laughter and lit the new paths to greatness from the old. The mind is a fascinating, if not infuriating, piece of machinery. Fill your hearts with her story instead.
And if that doesn't do it for you, check out Dirty Pop, which is how Lou Perlman spun up boy bands, built an empire of lies, defrauded billions and ate himself to death.
Let’s rise together with every issue. 🧡
Market Movements
UK recorded 0.6% growth in Q2 | BBC
Retail optimism looks past ‘choiceful’ consumer | Yahoo! Finance
Brand Beat
Mars pays $36 billion for Kellanova, makers of Pringles and Cheez-It | Reuters
Starbucks’s CEO is out, Chipotle’s CEO is taking over | CNN
Oreo and Coke team up for limited edition cookies and drinks | USA Today
Huel and Zoe ads banned over Stephen Bartlett’s endorsement | Sky
Pharrell Williams designs tennis wear for Evian | Dezeen
Carlsberg sales hit by fake Spanish lager, Madri | Yahoo! Finance
Primark launches its first US ad campaign | Drapers
Britain in mourning following Mollie-Mae, Tommy break up | Dazed
New BARB data, 68% of UK homes have a streaming service | Marketing Beat
TikTok’s latest trend wants us to consume less | Marketwatch
It’s the ‘year of the cowgirl’ ads | Muse by Clios
Hellmans debuts fragrance with NFL star | Brand Innovators
YouTube trumps McDonald’s, Nintendo and Nike as Gen Alpha’s favourite brand | Marketing Beat
Disney uses “I agree” streaming terms to avoid allergy death lawsuit | The Guardian
Startup Spotlight
AI surgery start-up raises $180m | Sifted
A new zero-emissions delivery service is helping ASOS and Nespresso | City A.M.
Beauty brand Indu raises $5m+ seed round from Unilever Ventures | Beauty Independent
Meet “tem” changing how we buy renewable energy | Maddyness
Tech Tidbits
Match and Bumble results show dating apps have lost appeal | Kyla Scanlon
Former CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, dies at 56 | Variety
Apple is developing a tabletop robot for the home, and it’s serious | Bloomberg
How effective are new branded DIY fertility kits? | Fast Company
How deep fake Elon became the internet’s biggest scammer | New York Times
Venture Vibes
Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire, will we see World War 3 shortly | 20VC
Jeff Bezos brother launches $100m fund called HIPstr | Crain Currency
Starbucks gets second activist investor at a critical juncture | Wall Street Journal
Revolut backer Balderton Capital raises $1.3bn for European tech startups | Financial Times
WeRide, autonomous vehicles, files for IPO at $5bn valuation | TechCrunch
Design Driven
Mary Banas on designing album covers | It’s Nice That
The meme-ification of political merch | Vogue Business
New font for Fortnum & Mason | Yahoo
Hello, Happiness
Are you a “transcender”? The place where happiness and cosmic sadness meet | Susan Cain