Reading · Accidental Insights

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. I couldn't help but wonder if darkness is the new black? At least after writing this newsletter, exploring topics such as the AI doomsday, profitable sadness, divorces, bots from the other side, and all the bad boys and girls of the Winter Olympics. I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the zeitgeist, or just serendipity.

Two weeks ago, I held a talk at Kid Collective’s Friday beers on the topic “the dark side of insights”. It was really fun, so don’t hesitate to drop a DM if you want me to crash your Friday beers to (one agency has already done so).

One of the last things I did before I left my very fun job as Head of Strategy at NORD DDB to pursue an independent life was to work on Lantmännen’s “Länge Leve Jorden” creative platform. Therefore, I was really happy that it, now, four years later, won the “long term” category at 100 Wattaren (Sweden’s Effie equivalent).

The most interesting things I’ve read, seen, thought about, or debated the last two weeks. High and low.

SAD SELLS. I have written about the goth resurgence before, but it seems to have no end. Wuthering Heights just had its global premiere. Kulturhuset in Stockholm is hosting an exhibition by Nick Cave featuring figurines exploring the Devil’s life. Khaite brought vampiric vibes to the catwalk. The Economist points out that music is getting sadder. But is it good business? A study has examined the commercial power of addressing (two different) negative emotions. They concluded that while disgust failed to drive sales, sadness didn’t. The idea that advertising is about one thing, happiness, might finally be over. At least if you are interested in stuff that drives revenue.

FASHION IS FUN. If sad sells, fashion is going broke since it decided to bring back the joy. At least according to Vogue, which claims we shall all “feel the joy” this spring, and How To Spend It, which is pushing “Fashion’s new joy”. Fun times ahead.

ARTIFICIAL EXHAUSTION. There are multiple reports on AI fatigue right now. Harvard Business Review summarizes it as “AI doesn’t reduce work, it intensifies it”. How come? As AI makes developers shift from writing code to judging code, it also makes work much more intense. A developer expresses it as “a typical day is no longer devoted to deep focus on a single design problem, but rather to context switching between as many as six different problems.” This is apparently “brutally expensive for the human brain”. Vibes-coding is also so intense that developers doing it can only work for three hours a day without burning out.

SPANISH SONGS. The Latin music scene has long been incredibly popular among listeners (due to the large number of Spanish speakers worldwide), but has not gained major ground (due to the relatively few people who have Spanish as their second language compared to English). This might have changed now. Catalan singer Rosalía is owning cool culture, and the critics’ hearts right now, and Bad Bunny took mainstream culture’s biggest stage – The Super Bowl Halftime Show – this year. In April this year, Peso Pluma, an artist combining trap with traditional Mexican corridos, is performing at Madison Square Garden. Queer Puerto Rican artist Young Miko is joining Billie Eilish as an opening artist for some of the shows on her tour. The Guardian claims it’s clearly the world’s coolest language. But it might not be time to jump on Duolingo yet. The Economist claims the US might have reached peak-Spanish.

CREATIVE MARGINS. The outlook for the agency world is gloomy. UK ad agencies are experiencing their biggest staff exodus due to AI. Simon Bäckelin writes in Resumé that the industry still grows faster than the GDP, but more people need to share the revenue, which basically kills margins. However, AI might be here to save us. Y Combinator recently added “AI Native Agencies” to their “Request for Startups” list. Their rationale? “Agencies have always been crazy hard to scale. Low margins, slow manual work, and the only way to grow is to add more people.” However, they believe that, due to AI, instead of selling software to clients, you can develop the software for yourself and sell the execution. The result? “Agencies of the future will look more like software companies, with software margins. And they’ll scale far bigger than any agencies that exist in these fragmented markets today.”

ACTING REAL. I finally watched Marty Supreme last weekend. One really exciting thing was the number of non-actors participating, especially Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, in one of the lead roles. But also New Yorker staff writer Naomi Fry and Tyler The Creator. Goth queen and fashion journalist Tish Weinstock is making her acting debut in Charli XCX’s The Moment (and Kylie Jenner is playing a fictionalized version of herself). Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another has Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro playing alongside real Secret Service agent James Raterman and Yale humanities professor Paul Grimstad. Even if you didn’t go to acting school and are entering middle age, you might still have a shot at Hollywood.

HANGING OUT, DISRUPTED. Business Insider reports that going for beers after work is out as a way to bond with your corporate peers. Instead, people head to the cold plunge together. But there might be even more intriguing places to meet new people. Dazed reports on perfume clubs that can cure urban loneliness. Cold Magazine has a list of the hottest readings to find a lover who writes. Stockholmers seem to have traded after-work beers for knitting. Kulturhuset recently hosted a knitting screening for Wuthering Heights, and outdoor brand Klättermusen hosted a knitting workshop. Are you still not ready to abandon your beer for knitting? No problem, Riche has been hosting “Stick & Drick” evenings for the last six months.

SUPERBLAND. Spotted: everyone being much more silent about Super Bowl ads than usual. That was at least my initial feel. There might be an explanation. Andrew Tindall of System1 has dug into the topic using the research company’s proprietary data. The verdict? The creative dividend between Super Bowl and regular ads has disappeared: Super Bowl ads are no longer more emotional or distinct than the regular ads you see on TV.

EAT IN ENGLISH. Swedish restaurateurs are cosplaying London, New York (and maybe Yorkshire) right now. A few years ago, Duvan opened on Ringvägen, and everyone north of Gamla Stan decided to have “Sunday roast”. The people behind Tennstopet recently opened Kapten Jack, “a neighbourhood pub with Swedish-British soul”, Bull and Bear Inn recently reopened in a new venue, and The Old Brewer expanded their empire to Hornstull. Now Chef of the Year winner Desirée Jaks is opening a pub at Slussen. But the latest thing among restaurateurs is to cross the pond to find inspiration in Keith McNally’s New York. At Stureplan, Sperlings Steakhouse has become a go-to spot for finance people, and across the street, Björn Franzén is soon opening Emberlin. At the urban renewal project on Gustav Adolfs Torg, the people behind Tjoget opened NYC-style bistro G.A.T. Not far away, inside the newly renovated Sheraton Stockholm American bistro Bronck’s will open. Named after Jonas Bronck, a Swede who moved to the United States in the 17th century, founding what would later be famous as The Bronx. Let’s pray we are not regressing to the anxious times when a real estate broker tried to rebrand the Klarna office and three surrounding streets as “Midtown Stockholm”.

DEATH BY AI. If tomorrow is Judgment Day, and I’m standing on the front line, and the Lord asks me what I did with my life. I will say, I spent it leveraging autonomous AI agents. Multiple people are talking about something big happening with AI and the world right now. Hyperwrite CEO Matt Shumer said AI can now do all of his technical work and claims the change is bigger than Covid. The godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, has warned that the technology could trigger mass unemployment, and Salman Khan claims that a 10% workforce reduction would be severe. Microsoft’s AI CEO claims that all white-collar work will be replaced by AI in 18 months. Simultaneously, an AI safety researcher left Anthropic, citing “the world is in peril”. His new gig? Writing poetry. What are the AI companies doing? Since the US population has turned against AI, they are hiring comms people to change the opinion. OpenAI is hiring consultants to accelerate enterprise adoption. However, not everyone is negative. Harmony Korine believes AI is the art form that holds the most promise.

BOTS FROM THE OTHER SIDE. Griefbots are digital twins of people who have passed, usually built by their relatives as part of grieving. L.A. startup 2wai offers “holoavatars” of dead relatives. Meta has patented an AI that lets you keep posting from the other side of the grave.

THE DIVORCE ECONOMY. According to this video, divorces are trending in 2026. Divorce parties have been a thing for a long time (can someone please invite me to one?), and it was apparently at an all-time high in 2023. However, people have also started to have divorce registries, online lists that help people rebuild their lives with support from their communities. Divorce rings, made famous by Emily Ratajkowski, are now a thing where people reset the stones in their old wedding rings for a new chapter of newfound freedom. Reformation just launched a “Divorce Collection” with divorce attorney Laura Wasser.

OLYMPIANS WITH ATTITUDE. The Winter Olympics have a slight wholesome feel to it. Rosy cheeks and fresh air. Apparently, that’s just the surface. The Norwegian ski team has gone completely rogue. Sturla Holm Lægreid admitted in a post-race interview that he cheated on the love of his life. Skier Martin Udal went public in his criticism of the Norwegian Ski Team’s management. His head coach decided to swing back in public as well. The French biathlon gold medalist, Julia Simon, was convicted of theft from her teammate, just four months before the Olympics. This is not limited to skiing. A Norwegian married couple competing together in curling had a public fight during a match. The real bad boys of curling seem to be Canada, who were called out for cheating by the Swedish team. One of the Canadians responded that he could “f**k off”. They are now accusing the Swedish team of conspiracy. Another Swedish curling player is apparently the “new Turkish sharpshooter”. Ski jumpers are being investigated for injecting acid into their penises in order to fly further. The Olympic Village has already run out of condoms, and Alysa Liu’s alt style is apparently “the edge figure skating needed”.

OFFBEAT COLABS. Weird collab season is officially here again. Crocs has made a shoe together with Lego. Liquid Death has made a “paranormal camera” with Polaroid. Jacquemus made a campaign with Duolingo to ensure people pronounce their product names correctly. A24 just extended the Marty Supreme merch line in collaboration with table tennis brand JOOLA.