Latest news with #GenZ-coded
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The Agency of the Future: Humanised Cyborgs
By Harikrishnan Pillai Advertising will be run by cyborgs Now that you have your click-baity opening, let's shift gears from panic to perspective. For the last few months, every forum, boardroom, chai break eventually leads to that question. Wide-eyed, slightly conspiratorial, as if discussing alien sightings: 'So… what's your AI game plan?' 'Are you replacing creatives with robots?' 'Is this... the end of agencies?' Calm down, Rakesh. Every new tech wave is greeted with toddler-like enthusiasm. Everyone wants to toss out the old toy grab the new shiny object. But if you've babysat kids—or ad professionals—you know this: eventually, they go back to what's useful, not just what's new. That said, you can't be an Advertising Ostrich, neck-deep in CorelDraw and hoping the AI storm passes. So, here's my version of the origin story of the utopian ad agency of the future: The Big Bang Theory was when the AI comet crashed into creative humans in a caffeine-fuelled ecosystem—and boom—one prompt engineer started replacing every two designers. Thus emerged the Neanderthal Androids (N-androids, if you're cool): part creative genius, part prompt-whisperer, fully evolved for the algorithm age. Evolution skipped apposable thumbs and gave us opposable prompts. So Why did Prompt Engineers succeed to take over the Agency? 1. They ask better questions- They are Paresh Rawal in a cult comedy of advertising They didn't just ask, 'What's the one big idea?' Prompt engineers asked, 'Should it be funny, Gen Z-coded, emotional, meme-able, or feature a cat on a scooter?' And they don't do it cos they are naturally curious, it makes their job of chat-bot whispering easy, very very easy. Prompts are an art form. You don't get gold unless you ask the right questions. Sure, asking questions makes you look like Paresh Rawal in a cult comedy, but that's exactly the level of curiosity needed to get great AI output. 2. They are curious... and they are not cats! Those who adopted AI first didn't do it in search of a new identity. They did it because they wanted to know what happens when you 'hit this button'. Because people could say, 'Hey GPT', they're already experimenting with voice-based prompting, video inpainting, and brand-trained GPTs. Then they become the nerds we all mocked—until our phone crashed. 3. They Have Creative Brains with Process Wiring I am not against creative freedom and need for mental bandwidth to be truly creative, but that added to units that lift than tell, don't help anyone. It's 'mood' vs structure, and that's where the world will move. , build systems, because that is the only way to work with AI-tools. They build reusable design frameworks while you're still choosing between Aptos and Calibri. Traditional creatives deliver. Prompt engineers scale with process. 4. They are lazy… good lazy They realise that AI tools are slaves on subscription, who can do things at speed that one can't imagine. They push most of their work to AI, build models once they see patterns, create blocks for auto generation, all of it for that extra chai break. Lazy people make the best inventors, they want things to be done better. Prompt engineers are Edison-lite. So hence the took over. A story straight out of a Spielberg script - AI-wired humans zipping across the agency floor, churning out quantum-level campaigns at lightning speed and laughably low cost. But amidst the silicon chaos, a rare breed emerges: the select few who didn't just survive the AI carnage-but joined hands with it. The ones smart enough to bend AI to their creative will, yet irreplaceably human in their instinct. Not outpaced by machines, but amplified by them. A super-brain collective of the future—part artist, part cyborg, full genius. Hire your today! Don't wait for the big bang. (The author is the CEO and Co-Founder of TheSmallBigIdea. Views expressed are personal.)
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Does the Rhode deal actually make Hailey Bieber a billionaire? Finance influencer says 'not quite'
Earlier this week, beauty conglomerate E.l.f announced their decision to acquire Hailey Bieber's entrepreneurial it-baby, Rhode for a sweeping $1 billion — emphasis on the 'B'. As shared by Hailey in her deeply gratitude-proofed announcement, "this is only the beginning" and she will be continuing to "grow the brand" as Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation. A post shared by Hailey Rhode Bieber (@haileybieber) Now while the internet was largely resounding with awe and applause around the model becoming the 'billionaire spouse' between her and hubby Justin Bieber, finance influencers have swiftly rushed to decode the deal and what the billion-feat actually represents, IRL. Haley Sacks, better known as Mrs. Dow Jones, one among the trailblazers for the aforementioned influencer-niche, has got your back even if the world of top-tier finance is as good as gibberish to you. Well for starters, one thing's for sure — Hailey is indeed the "richer Bieber" now. Now on to the specifics, the billion-dollar deal is no misnomer. But as per Jones it breaks down to $800 million in cash and stock with up to $200 million in bonuses. The catch with the $200 million but, is it only materialises if the brand meets its sales targets. Not just this, the bonuses will be fairly split three-ways, between Hailey and her co-founders Lauren and Michael D. Ratner. Another little detail which slims the fat stack pickings? Hailey has to pay 38% capital gains tax in California. Now considering all goes well and Rhode continues its smooth as butter run in sales — which seemingly shouldn't be much of a stretch despite the milestone move — at BEST Hailey's 'pay day' as Jones puts it, will be somewhere around $435 million. This may not be a billion with a 'B' but that or anything in its vicinity, is still a fat pay cheque to be taking home. This is also a great time to point out all the unnecessary swimming-against-the-current narratives being pushed by some of the self-proclaimed intelligentsia of the internet. While it may be easy to dismiss Rhode's skyrocketing success as a juicy by-product of Hailey's pop culture street cred, there have been one too many live examples of celebrities launching entrepreneurial ventures only for them to crash and burn. Being a cultural asset undoubtedly helps push a brand — and aggressively at that — to the front of ever-rolling feeds. At the time of Rhode's launch, it felt nearly impossible to go a minute without having to see puckered lips and the Gen Z-coded, Glossier-esque-throwback that still are, the 'lip treatment' tubes. But some naysayers have been a little too vocal in pointing out how Rhode's virality has nearly everything to do with Hailey's 'aesthetic' and very little to do with actual performance marketing strategy. But at a time when internet-virality is quite literally the kingpin when it comes to forecasting and actualising a brand's success, pegging the Rhode success story as simply a stroke of nepo-baby luck seems daft. So is E.l.f's Rhode-takeover simply some genius cultural trend forecasting, or is Hailey truly an entrepreneurial and marketing genius? Only time will tell.
Axios
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Meet the D.C. women shaking up right-wing media
The Conservateur — a D.C.-based lifestyle site that positions itself as the Vogue for conservatives — is part of a new wave of young women carving out their own lanes in right-wing media. Why it matters: The conservative media world has traditionally been dominated by the Roger Aileses and Rush Limbaughs of the world — or, simply put, older dudes. And now that's changing. The big picture: Young people are veering further right, a trend that helped get President Trump back into the Executive Manse and is being fueled in part by Gen Z-coded, conservative-leaning influencers and platforms. Yes, there are the " manosphere" bros, but there's also a growing cohort of young women making their names in right-wing media. Some like Turning Point USA figure and wellness podcaster Alex Clark — whose followers are dubbed " cuteservatives" — are tapping into the " Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) subculture. The media roster also includes Brett Cooper, who was formerly with The Daily Wire and now has her own YouTube channel, and Evie Magazine, which Rolling Stone describes as "a girlboss-ified Breitbart." Meanwhile, Trump performed slightly better with women in this election than he did in 2020. State of play: The Conserveatur gained over 40,000 Instagram followers in the three days following Trump's election, says Jayme Franklin, a Fox News and Trump White House alum who co-founded the site and runs it alongside three other women. It's also recently received interest from new potential investors, says Franklin, although she declined to spill deets. The site bills itself as a lifestyle platform, not a news outlet: Articles include tips on how to decorate for Christmas like a First Lady, a piece on Lara Trump's new fitness line, profiles of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt, and a behind-the-scenes look at Cooper's Nashville wedding. "A lot of these right wing-adjacent women trust us to cover them," says editor-in-chief Caroline Downey, who's also a staff writer at the National Review. By the numbers: The Conservateur saw 1.7 million page views last year, says Franklin, and the women fund it themselves, bringing in revenue from subscriptions and by selling merch. You can buy swag like bright pink "Make America Hot Again" trucker hats ($45), rhinestone cross earrings ($55), and sweatshirts featuring a black-and-white photo of Ronald Reagan with a horse ($60). And, of course, there's a little lib-owning: One meme shared on the platform's Instagram shows Barron Trump holding his hand up to his ear with overlaid text reading, "When I refresh ICE's live deportation tracker." How it started: Franklin and her co-founder, Isabelle Redfield, launched the Conservateur in 2020 as an antidote to what they saw as the overt wokeism within traditional mags like Marie Claire or Cosmopolitan. "I'd be like, 'What the heck is going on in these magazines?,'" says Franklin. "It's a very toxic culture, with casual sex, telling you to hate men, telling you to hate white people." What they're saying: After Trump claimed the popular vote last year, it's now no longer "taboo" to be considered a conservative, says Downey: "You couldn't really question the fact that more than half the country is now on board with this, and you can't say they're all crazy." "It's cooler now to be conservative," Franklin tells Axios. "People kind of think you're not really that cool, or you're kind of weird, if you're this uber-progressive person now." The intrigue: Franklin tells Axios several things have led to this vibe shift. First, libs lost cachet with former President Biden: "The left had an opportunity in 2020 to really take advantage of culture, because [there] was a lot of energy there, especially with BLM and all that stuff," Franklin tells Axios. "And then they put in this, to be quite frank, old man who just didn't inspire anyone." Second, young people started to chafe against "the progressive culture of policing everything," says Franklin. "You're not allowed to say this, you can't make a joke, you'll be canceled." Third, some women got fed up with feminism. "Growing up, you were sold this [narrative of] 'men are bad. Don't get married. Be your own woman. Be a career woman,''" says Franklin. This comes as some conservatives increasingly push for a shift toward traditional gender roles and family structures. Fourth, many wellness-loving women have found a gateway to the right through the MAHA movement, particularly moms concerned with their kids' food ingredients or vaccines. "The Washington beltway really underestimated [Health Secretary Robert F. Kenndy Jr.'s] message, especially towards women," says Franklin. Between the lines: The Conservateur's audience tends to be women ages 20-40 in left-ish metro areas who lean Christian and conservative, Franklin tells Axios. Sororities love them, too. The site's largest markets: New York, D.C., Dallas, and Orange County, California. Many of the women following them aren't even overtly political, says Franklin — they just feel alienated by the messages they see in mainstream media. Zoom in: Things are already changing in largely liberal D.C. since Trump came back to town, says Franklin. Cafe Milano is a big right-wing hangout right now, she says, as is the Capitol Hill restaurant Butterworth's. (The Conservateur is hosting an " America Is Hot Again" event there next month.) And Franklin is excited for Trump's plans to clean up D.C. — she and her family used to live in Georgetown, where she says their home was broken into. They've since moved to Northern Virginia. "[D.C. is] becoming the new California." What we're watching: A Conservateur podcast is in the works, say Downey and Franklin, and they'd love to feature women of the Trump administration who they believe won't get their due in mainstream media: Names floated include Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and Linda McMahon. Also on their list as an up-and-comer: Kai Trump. "She does give 'role model' for young girls," says Downey.
