In today’s Sociology of Business: why are we obsessed with marketing gimmicks? They are clever novelties designed to create hype for a short period of time. But they equally quickly disappear, together with the hefty budgets that spurred them into existence. Gimmicks lack any long-term substance or brand-building value, and I offer alternative scenarios. On the topic, Charli xcx speaks about the rise of anti-marketing, twenty year-olds join old-school private clubs, and Gen Z is amping up their resistance to tech. I am reading “Waiting for Brittney Spears.” Dinosaurs skeletons are the latest flex, you can get yourself one over on Joopiter. Ken Griffin already has one, and it’s on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Rumor is that Yoko Ono has a mummy of a Greek princess that she and John obtained on the black market. I miss the days when rich people were actually interesting. European Commission’s preliminary findings deem Instagram and Facebook’s design addictive and in breach of the Digital Services Act (you go, Euros!); and Maurizio Cattelan is sorry not sorry for annoying you with his taped banana. Norwegians were singing “Don’t Stop Believing” here in South Beach on Friday, and a few bars up, at the Clevelander, the English were singing who knows what. A day later, after they won, they sang Oasis. Speaking of England, in London’s Fat Badger, there is live music, bundant crowd, no phones, and cooks preparing food with their bare hands. Old-fashioned fun is very much back this Summer.
I am kicking off Classroom series, monthly talks free for annual paid subscribers of the Sociology of Business. This upcoming Thursday, July 23rd at 11am ET, the topic is “Culture is the New Balance Sheet” and I will talk about how to make and measure cultural capital.
Paid annual subscribers can register here. Not a paid annual subscriber? Become one and join us on July 23rd!
Behind the paywall is the rest of this analysis, along with what to replace gimmicks with, plus examples <3
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