TikTok’s Uncertainty, Instagram’s AI, and the Race for the Greatest Christmas Ad: 2024’s End-of-Year Brand Stories
Issue #37
Weekly Exhale
Reflecting on this year’s headlines, it’s clear that each week brings exciting new things to think about, a cascade of news, and, hopefully, a touch of imagination. Yet three truths remain constant:
Trends burn out, only to repeat themselves.
The pressure to do more with less is unrelenting.
Technology dominates, as it always will.
If you’re building, investing in, or marketing brands, these are the game’s rules—ongoing and unchanging.
The next two weeks hold something special. A break is upon us—not just any break, but the one time of year when the world collectively presses pause. So whether or not you celebrate the holidays or follow a different calendar, the days ahead are not business as usual.
And that’s the gift.
This week, I found myself at evening drinks in a private members’ club in W1, marking the birthday of a friend I’ve mentioned in this column before. We lost her quickly and aggressively to cancer this time last year—a young, brilliant soul taken too soon. The gathering felt like a scene from a quintessentially British film: vibrant, full of characterful people, steeped in warmth and connection, yet tinged with grief and reflection.
As coincidence would have it, our attention turned to Christmas movies—a lighter topic to carry us through. For me, It’s a Wonderful Life is untouchable. Others dismissed it as sappy and depressing. Even Frank Capra reportedly thought it was the worst film he’d ever made. Instead, I was steered toward the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street.
When you boil it down, it’s not much of a debate. One film wrestles with the haunting idea of a wasted life, only to reveal its profound worth. The other celebrates authenticity and mental health, wrapped in the magic of believing.
And when you think about it, this time of year is the only chance we all get to step back and reflect beyond the rules. Beyond where we are. And, if you can, like George Bailey, re-connect with a spirit of wonder. A reminder that there’s something out there—something magical beyond the noise. For we are all in our own Christmas movie for the next two weeks.
Maybe it's a place where our lost friend is now, raising a glass. Maybe it’s the idea that dreams can come true. Maybe it’s just a little bacon on an unbearably dull brussel sprout.
Thank you for being part of this community and allowing me to write for you. Wherever you are this season, congratulations on making it this far—life is more than a bumpy sleigh ride, to say the least. And as your movie continues into next year, I hope you find the chance to be even more uniquely, beautifully yourself.
Let’s rise together with every issue. ♡
Market Movements
Retail sales in UK offer little Christmas cheer | The Guardian
UK government borrowing lower than expected in November | BBC
Markets lower after fresh US tariff threats and spending plan fails | CNBC
Brand Beat
The race to make the greatest Christmas ad | Financial Times
A Christmas movie about Christmas movies by Sky | System1
Uncertainty over TikTok's US future splinters creators and agencies | Digiday
Instagram's new AI video tools: A boon for brands and creators? | The Drum
Why cutting advertising has deep, long-lasting costs to brands | Forbes
Canal+ listing is 'vote of confidence' for UK stock market | The Guardian
Alid faces unprecedented High Court action from supplier | The Grocer
Diageo and Bacardi win Royal Warrants | Morning Advertiser
Adidas kicks off campaign ahead of 2025 UEFA Women's Euros | Marketing Beat
Nike's new CEO plans to take brand back to basics | Investing.com
Rebels not robots for creative excellence | Little Black Book
Tom Ford bets wellness will sell better than sex | Vogue Business
Influencers to beauty brands: Stop sending us so much stuff! | Business of Fashion
"Buy Now" — a world with too many consumer brands | 2pm
2025 marketing trends: Effectiveness, AI and the need for connected brands | Raconteur
How brands navigated 2024 according to WPP | WPP
Imperial Brands chief earns over £9m | The Times
Squid Games: The brands involved in the most watched Netflix series | Merca2.0
Here are the Creator Brands you need to know about in 2025 | Adweek
Trending: Stakt is a multi-use, foldable fitness mat | Thingtesting
Starting Up
Prompts and predictions: Founders share their insights for 2025 | Maddyness
Europe's fastest growing startups (by headcount) in 2024 | Sifted
Smart ring start-up Ōura raises $200m at $5.2bn valuation | Financial Times
The startup studio behind Aircall and Swan, unveils its next batch of startups | TechCrunch
Tech Tidbits
Nvidia's booming AI business collides with Chinese tensions | The New York Times
Matt Garmon rose from intern to CEO of Amazon's $100 billion AWS machine | Fortune
Generative AI still needs to prove its usefulness | Wired
As Bible sales boom, so does Christian tech | Fast Company
Venture Vibes
Kazakhstan targets $1bn venture fund to attract startups | Bloomberg
Matt Miller exits Sequoia capital after making headlines earlier this year | Tech Crunch
Vera Wang sells brand to WHP Global in new era for dealmaking | Retail Dive
Unilever selling 100-year-old brands to sharpen its portfolio | Proactive Investors
Design Driven
Every AI copyright lawsuit in the US, visualised | Wired
The story behind this year's best book cover | Fast Company
2024's most-read design stories | It's Nice That
Hello, Happiness
Celebrating the holidays Brady Bunch style | Forbes
Seven things to add or subtract for happiness according to science | The Washington Post
Is eudaimonic happiness the best kind? | Big Think
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Stay gold 🙏🏻
Wishing you all wonderful holidays, and see you again the first week of January. 🎄