MAY 10 | What Stole My Attention This Week
What Stole My Attention This Week. A distillation of the most interesting things that happened in creativity, culture & commerce.
May 10, 2024
Hidden fees hurting brands, naked fashion, TikTok bans, people are getting it wrong on Apple Crush!
April showers bring May flowers
The Connection Between “Junk Service Fees” And The Customer Experience
Our consumers are already worried about cash. And inflation. And interest rates. Now, the WSJ reports that the price we initially see versus what we eventually pay, is getting more egregious. I knew this started to become a problem when a haircut no longer included the complementary blowdrying, thanks to Dry Bar and all of the blow-dry salons that followed.
“It diminishes the relationship a company has with its customers,” says Alexander Chernev, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
The fees tacked on to event tickets, paying with credit over cash, and the tourist taxes have started to bleed into almost every product and service imaginable, and people are pissed off. President Biden’s Administration estimates that American’s pay over $90 billion (that’s a ‘B’) in “junk fees” every year.
Read more on the WSJ
A Rare Misstep For Apple?
HOT TAKE - Is the controversy surrounding the Apple iPad Pro new release spot another example of the creative industry taking themselves too seriously?
Maybe my years in CPG makes me a sucker for a great product demo and benefit metaphor, which is all this is at the end of the day. The iPad Pro is a powerful tablet with pretty incredible tools that support creativity. The spot was created by the company that has always celebrated creativity. It was created in-house with Tor Myrhen at the helm, a respected creative leader.
Are the same people reacting negatively to this spot the ones who are rejecting AI as a tool? If this spot came from IBM it would be a different story, but it didn’t. Context is key.
The Naked Fashion Trend Is, Unfortunately, Still Here
This week marked the first Monday in May and for some of us, that means Met Gala. Haters will say it’s out of touch and frivolous, and they’re not wrong. I’d say, I welcome frivolity to balance everything else happening in the world at the moment.
This year’s theme was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and the dress code was "The Garden of Time", referring to the short story by J.G. Ballard. The story's protagonist, Count Axel, slows an angry mob nearing his castle by cutting flowers from his garden until none remain.
All very ironic considering one of the most famous lines from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’; “Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking”.
Anyway, the large majority missed the mark on the dress code, either being too literal or just too…naked? More than two attendees allowed their fashion choices to take priority over their ability to walk.
My top picks: Gigi Hadid, Tyla in a sand dress, Demi Moore
Will They Or Won’t They?
TikTok Sues the U.S. Over Potential Ban
Would it be a marketing newsletter without a TikTok reference? In the ongoing of saga of whether or not TikTok will be banned in the U.S., TikTok is fighting back. Their claim is that the 270-day timeline for ByteDance to divest is not possible and unrealistic.
They are also trying to take a stance for the people, saying it will “silence” the many millions of Americans who use the app to communicate and connect. But let’s be real - the level of data that TikTok collects (and censors) that has made connection to people and topics each user finds so relevant is exactly one of the reasons a ban is being suggested. I say this as someone who has thoroughly enjoyed consuming TikToks.
Wouldn’t another platform emerge as a place for those many of millions of Americans?