STRANGER THAN FRICTION

Two weeks into 2026, and everyone is cashing their circle-back dues. Going from 0 to 100 has some people experiencing functional freeze and sleepwalking their way through daily activities. But the new year gives us a chance to reset, and to decide on what type of energy to face new opportunities with.

Might we suggest friction-maxxing? This approach is the polar opposite of seeking out another algorithm or subscription service to nominally ease the load. Instead of reducing friction, you increase it. This could mean instead of going to ChatGPT, you look up recipes in the cookbooks you’ve perpetually used as coffee table books. Or instead of adding shows to your Netflix queue (which just turn into backlog), you catch a movie at the local cinema. The key is to embrace doing these small tasks “the old way”, and to build a tolerance for the analog.

OUR TAKE

We recognize the irony of the term. The suffix -maxxing implies ruthless optimization at all costs, with its roots in game theory and plenty of misuse by incels (see “looksmaxxing”). Friction is usually not appreciated–isn’t the purpose of all these superapps and tools to free up time for us to do something more meaningful?

And that’s precisely the goal – the search for meaning. Being timepoor and resource-stretched drove us to these apps and services in the first place. But the more we got swept up in an aggressively digital landscape, the easier it was to lose sight of what feels important and meaningful. The instant gratification of having all types of content available online at your fingertips is one thing, but it can now feel fleeting. For a while, “IRL” was considered too much work (e.g. the point of using a delivery app is so you don’t have to speak to a human being), but IRL can bring more tangible, longer-lasting significance, especially in the form of community. Previously dismissed as quaint, community gatherings in the form of knitting clubs and reading groups are back in trend – even “bookmaxxing” is a thing.

Brands have a special opportunity here. People strive to create meaning for themselves, to be inspired and have something spark within them, and brands can do just that through IRL experiences. This is especially successful in more analog, more in-person activations. The opening of The Library by BookXcess (the ‘X’ is no coincidence?) in Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia’s largest 24-hour bookstore (that also functions as a library), aims to be a beloved community space. On the other end of the spectrum, as a counter to the trends of people drinking and clubbing less, an establishment inspired by the Japanese host club has opened in Singapore. Male staff sing and engage in conversation with the clientele, who are demographically varied but are all seeking attention and the human touch.

Maybe 2026 is the year of big feelings? Trend predictions already spotlight playful creative swings. As brands build out their strategies, just be mindful not to make your consumers feel like they’re just another thing to be -maxxed.

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’

Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!

 STAYING ALIVE

“Create epic s–t.” This is Nike’s new battle cry and employee mandate, courtesy of Phil McCartney, the sportswear giant’s new Chief Innovation, Design, and Product Officer.

In the face of revenue decline, share price obliteration, and accusations of an innovation drought, Nike has taken former Adidas partner Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) hit song “Stronger” to heart: “Harder, better, faster, stronger.” This includes a C-suite overhaul and internal reshuffling of more than 8,000 employees, product launches brought forward by 12 months, moonshot projects (remember when tech companies did those?), and robotics-forward footwear like Project Amplify.

OUR TAKE

In the attention economy, it’s more complicated than ever for brands to stay relevant and compete for thinning wallets. Nike now has to fend off classic rival Adidas (whose strategy is to be even “more American” than Nike) alongside rising challengers like On and Hoka.

With new product innovation, brands must consider relevance to their target demographics. In the age of woke keyboard warriors and pilates princesses, we’re seeing a strategic shift as brands aim squarely at Gen Z and their robust, multi-hypenate lifestyles. Starbucks, for example, now lets customers add protein to almost any beverage, tapping into health and wellness trends. Gym brand Amino has rebranded itself as a “super-boutique,” combining classes, retail, F&B, and coworking spaces to give Gen Z a new kind of hybrid experience, as every location is now a destination and a lifestyle.

Marketing playbooks continue to evolve as brands turn to culture in search of the consumer sweet spot. Hobbies once seen as niche—like writing and collecting—now command scale and dollars. In China, bubble tea brand Mixue harnessed the power of juicy plotlines by printing fanfiction about its mascot, Snow King, on customer receipts. Other beverage brands are tapping into microdrama tropes like “CEO romances” or inviting fans to write their own endings through social media activations.

Experimentation with IP and collaborations has become a marketing staple, with cross-cultural partnerships helping brands amplify their message and move fast. South Korean entertainment giant HYBE recently partnered with the Los Angeles Football Club (new home of South Korean soccer star Son Heung-min), starting with sponsorship of the Audi 2025 Major League Soccer Cup Playoff and K-pop activations during games.

From sports to arts, brands are also getting their feet wet in controversial cultural moments that shape public opinion. One great example is the Louvre robbery, which dominated the public consciousness—sparking pro-heist sentiment and appreciation for the well-dressed “detectives” on the scene (who, caveat, were probably neither detectives nor AI-generated). The company behind the freight lift allegedly used by the thieves launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign in response, which drew mixed reactions. Netflix subtly joined the conversation, heroing heist-related content and quietly tweaking its algorithm to push anime like Lupin and Detective Conan all over your homepage.

And since everyone now has fine jewelry on their minds, when better for Tiffany & Co. to collaborate with Netflix on Frankenstein? The partnership includes a reskin of Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue flagship store and a London exhibit dedicated to the lore and craftsmanship behind both the jewelry and the original novel.

With this growing appetite for cultural experiences, brands are seeking out new touchpoints and moments to connect with shoppers. Whether you’re a legacy brand or new to the game, you need to be firmly embedded in culture to tell your story.

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’

Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!

 LAST CAPE STANDING

Regular readers know superhero fatigue has been a running joke for the last few years, so when Superman surpassed US$ 400 M globally this week, you’d be forgiven for assuming capes are cool again. Strong reviews and audience praise for the movie’s hopecore message (one moviegoer said: “I haven’t felt depressed even once” since watching it) helped drive up ticket sales, alongside a relatively unknown but ultimately likeable lead actor and a viral press tour. But before we declare that superhero fatigue is over, there’s a more complex story here…

OUR TAKE

On paper, Superman wasn’t an easy sell. Yet another superhero film in a saturated and stagnant genre, combined with the challenge of marketing a quintessentially American character in an anti-American moment. Ahead of the launch, director James Gunn talked up Superman’s universal appeal: “I’m telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now because there is a meanness that has emerged due to cultural figures being mean online”.

You can draw a direct line between that comment and the audience’s embrace of Superman’s hopecore message. The film deliberately leans into positive masculinity – and that resonated with the core young male audience who’ve been served nothing but brooding antiheroes for years. The love is spilling into real life too: Krypto the superdog helped drive up searches for dog adoption, with Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” jumping up 513% after the opening weekend (the more specific “rescue dog adoption near me” rose by 163%) .

But rather than signaling a franchise renaissance, Superman’s triumph tells us something about the current state of culture. With studios remaining committed to ‘cultural backsliding‘ (did you see the identikit Harry Potter stills?), the broader entertainment landscape feels stagnant.

That’s reinforced by our collective inability to agree on a ‘song of the summer’ and an onslaught of AI-generated content (the AI band Velvet Sundown racked up 1 M Spotify plays). Signs of pushback are emerging: YouTube’s recent pledge to crackdown on AI-generated video content highlights that platforms recognize audiences can tell the difference between genuine creativity and manufactured culture.

Against that backdrop, Superman’s success shouldn’t be read as a permission slip to keep recycling IP . Instead, it shows what franchise films now need to do to break through cultural noise. Gunn didn’t just make another superhero film; he had to reinvent what the character could mean against 2025’s political and cultural climate.

The lesson for marketers? Leveraging familiar or nostalgic brand equity now requires genuine reinvention. Whether you’re reviving a product line or tapping brand recognition, audiences expect you to answer ‘why now?’. Rather than falling back on familiarity, justify why a story matters today.

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’

Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!