Ralphcore, the biggest AI firm is hiring brand people, shout out Parisians always, and a bunch of links
Hi friends!
your semi-weekly installment of random links, visuals, and marketing/branding nerdery below.
Ralphcore: An absolute masterclass on styling Ralph Lauren pieces in 2024
This editorial in Town & Country is absolutely chefs kiss, one for the moodboards for sure. The styling (by Marcus Allen) brings ralph/polo squarely into reality or at least a more fun interpretation of the ralph lifestyle than we are used to seeing from the brand. I just love it and wanted to share. :) If i worked at ralph, I’d be using this as inspiration to guide how to bring this brand even more into the now vs. staying in perma-nostalgia-mode.
“As with everything in fashion,” Brisker says, “when things become uncool enough, they become cool again.”
Gems from LinkedIn so that u dont have to log onto that cursed site
From the desk of Mickey Drexler:
Nice post from a London strategist on Uniqlo’s foray into running.
Possibly the only balanced/calm pov on brand vs. performance from an actual C Suite exec
OpenAI are hiring a Brand Creative Director and Social Lead.
great opportunities for someone who is interested in San Francisco and potentially getting rich off stock options… I also want you all to feel comforted and safe within your jobs if these are roles that even the people who MAKE AI are hiring for.
- Creative Director
- Social Lead
Also, they just dropped a new video generated by Sora (their video platform), seemingly directed by Toronto collective Shy Kids. Apparently OpenAI have been shopping the platform/tool around to Directors and Studios more directly in recent weeks.
Keeping Paris Parisian
There was a compelling piece in NYT last week about Paris’ public housing policy. Here’s a gifted link. Essentially, the Paris local govt is playing an active role in keeping people housed in the city, with a 625 million council budget for housing; “the city has the legal right to pre-empt the sale of a building, buy the property and convert it to public housing.” They’ve invested a significant amount in properties geared towards families and students.
They also take an interest in local business - “For City Hall, [this] also means protecting the petits commerces, the small shops that contribute to the city’s sense of timelessness. When visitors here meander through what seems like a series of small villages, with boulangeries, cheese shops, cobblers and mom-and-pop hardware stores, it is not entirely organic.”
The piece highlights a violin restoration shop that pays a city-owned real estate management co “a modest amount” for rent, where the owner states: “I have no knowledge of marketing and I’ve never asked myself how to become rich. I just want to do my job. I like my profession more than money.”
Love her.
Wish NYC could explore policies like this.
I knew that branded vans worked!
I love a branded road trip/van concept, never been able to actually make it happen.. yet. This piece from Inc had some really good insight around how it worked for zeitgeisty/podcasty DTC mushroom chocolate brand, Alice - good fodder for your pitches:
Throughout the month they were on the road, Alice Mushrooms' sales shot up 48 percent compared to March, orders increased 57 percent, web traffic grew by 33 percent, and conversion rate increased 14 percent. Its return on ad spend more than tripled and the brand went viral on TikTok twice, resulting in roughly $100,000 in organic sales--all of which validated the brand in its early days and the founders' audience approach.
INC Article here.
Other Things worth clicking/looking at:
Here’s a fun list from the Perfectly Imperfect site - “Favorite Questions to Ask People”. Great alts for ‘what do you do’ or ‘hows work’ *Subtweeting nyc and LA*
A woman wrote a doc about how she manages her burnout despite having adhd etc and it’s going semi viral. It’s a good doc w. some good reminders if you are experiencing burnout.
I am obsessed with the Martha Stewart gardening visuals via
at .Spanky for J Crew is elder millennial bliss:
This examination of the state of Entertainment is sobering. to me, its kind of a unifying theory of how Tech looks at many industries and how it all converges into one goal:
Love this example of AI-for-good with a new Brian Eno Documentary that will be different every time you watch it.
Great round up of sick UK-based campaigns from Hypebeast:
It definitely feels like brands in smaller markets are making quicker and better moves right now way more closely aligned with culture vs. the play-it-safe big celeb stuff driven by USA-centered brands. I also loved this lil film from Aust footlocker, way grittier than i’d expect to see from the brands presence in USA.
“Feel The Unreal” seems to be their localized campaign for Air Max DN which looks to be getting an absolutely unimaginable amount of brand investment from Nike.
👟FEETS👟 section
Alo Yoga are renaming/relaunching their first sneaker. I didn’t know they’d made a foray into footwear - they are well poised to be competitive from a brand/distribution standpoint, but the design leaves a lot to be desired. the logo placement.. yikes
Nike MMW TRD RUN 6 is bringing health goth back
By the time you read this, it will be Air Max Day, which used to be a lot of fun and has kinda lost its steam maybe? I admittedly caved and copped the air max 1 ‘86 royal blue last week (!!!) but alas will not be copping the aforementioned DN.
Cam Hicks is collabing with Reebok, launching tomorrow.
Im loving the t-bar clarks. salute to one of my fav IG follows noel bronson for always posting these or i wouldve missed them entirely.
Thx for reading !! Will try and write again on Friday if this AI time management app i’m trying is actually as effective as it promises to be. xx
P.s in the spirit of not gatekeeping - if you get severe allergies and live in NYC, try andrews honey, select a varietal close to your neighborhood, and have a teaspoon a day. It’s a natural remedy but it works for me. The East Village one is delicious. i’m on my 2nd re-up.