The Burger King fallout, Nike's new brand moves and why OpenAI wants investors to avoid Elon Musk
Issue #27
Rise Up is a round-up of the week’s stories on brands, startups, marketing, tech, and happiness.
Weekly Exhale
Is there anywhere brands won’t go? Enter Burger King’s new breastfeeding ads. Some call it empowering; others wonder why we're cool pumping 980 mg of sodium into a newborn’s food stream. I wouldn't worry too much—at the time of writing, no one outside marketing cares: 1.2k views on Instagram, 2.6k on YouTube, and ghosted on TikTok. When someone brings up the "BK controversy," tell them it's a nothing burger.
But junk food does have a way of showing up in life's big moments. My mother died in the morning, at home, surrounded by the people who loved her. I held her hand as her breaths slowed until they stopped. In the strange quiet that followed, we ended up back in her kitchen—with, of all things, McDonald's.
Amidst the Big Macs and Happy Meals, I kept glancing up, half-expecting Mom to walk in and steal a fry. The calories didn't matter that day. The memories did. Sometimes comfort food is just that—comfort. This week marks four years since Mom passed. And if I'd made the Burger King ads, she'd have loved them. I'll take a cheeseburger with extra pickles, please.
Let’s rise together with every issue. 🧡
Market Movements
Interest rates could fall more quickly, hints Bank | BBC
Reeves raises hopes of investment surge | FT
S&P 500 winning streak best for 27 years | Forbes
Brand Beat
The Burger King fallout—fast food, childbirth and mansplaining | Marketing Beat
Beyoncé recreates Levi's 1980s laundromat ad | Creative Review
Nike's move to brand thinking shows boardrooms are relearning patience | Digiday
YouTubers like MrBeast are coming for Hollywood | The Economist
PepsiCo agrees to buy Tortilla chip brand for $1.2 billion | The Wall Street Journal
Behind Sweetgreen's new campaign starring Aki and Koichi | People Brand And Things
Unilever appoints all six holding groups in global media review | AdAge
Mondelez takes minority stake in non-HFSS doughnut brand Urban Legend | The Grocer
Amazon's Prime Video ad tier reaches monthly UK audience of 19 million | MarketingWeek
The 'green business' paradox and fashion's potential to fix it | Vogue Business
The meteoric rise of Temu and Pinduoduo—and what might slow them down | Wired
McDonald's is experimenting with a chicken Big Mac to lure back customers | Fast Company
Beauty brands move in on Amazon's dupes and fakes | Business of Fashion
What brands should know about adopting outlandish behaviour | Kira Klaas
Victoria's Secret's marketing exec on reimagining a 'cancelled' brand | The Drum
Trending: Rosemarine Textiles, natural clothing dyed using plants | Thingstesting
Starting Up
Big tech firms urged to do more to support European start-ups | The Times
Marna, a bold new iced tea brand crafted in London | Maddyness
Toyota to invest $500m in flying car maker Joby | Forbes
How to create a co-founder agreement | The VC Corner
Tech Tidbits
OpenAI asks investors not to rivals such as Elon Musk | FT
As Elon Musk moves xAI into OpenAI's old HQ | TechCrunch
Tesla stock slips after EV maker misses delivery targets | CNBC
AI startup Poolside raises $500m as AI coding market booms | The Next Web
Venture Vibes
"I still think it's the best time to be a founder in Europe" | Day One Sifted Summit
Everyone is scrambling to invest in ElevenLabs, AI voices | TechCrunch
Nvidia's venture capital arm is silently investing millions into healthcare | Forbes
Design Driven
Manchester's innovation district, Sister, gets new brand | Creative Bloom
A peek inside the New York Times app redesign | Fast Company
Is more always better? Interrogating social media and skincare routines | It's Nice That
How the internet killed design | Creative Bloq
Hello, Happiness
Berklee releases its happiness calendar for October | Greater Good Magazine
Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being | Big Think
Whatever you're stressed about—it's not that important | The Banana Stand
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