“THE BRIEFING”
Last week we reported that GameStop made a $56B unsolicited offer for eBay. The board at the marketplace are having none of it, and have rejected GameStop’s bid. Attacking Cohen’s credibility and financial standing by stating the offer is “neither credible nor attractive”.
Etsy launched a ChatGPT shopping app letting users search its marketplace and complete purchases via the chatbot, ask it something like "find me a Mother's Day gift under $200 for a mom who loves writing" and it surfaces relevant listings instantly. The company is also beta testing an OpenAI-powered Gifting Assistant on its own site for guided product discovery.
In the second weirdest brand turnaround this year. Beyond meat are now hoping to save the company by pivoting to be a protein drinks brand. Because the first thing when you think of a refreshing lime canned soda is ground faux beef and hamburgers.
“THE SPOTLIGHT”
MonAI or Monet?
In what turns out to be a fascinating social experiment into human brilliance this week, X user @Shl0ms posted an authentic Monet artwork—Water Lillies, 1915—calling it AI and asking users to comment on why the piece wasn’t as good as an authentic Monet. The piece received 814 comments and 2.2 Million views. With responses flooding in criticising the piece.
“I’m disappointed I even have to point this out, there is no depth…”
“The fact that this is shit and looks like shit. Slop”
“Looks like a high school 101 artwork.”
The whole experiment just reinforced the belief that critical thinking, being able to discern taste and culture, and human brilliance, are skills that are needed more and more in our AI era.
A story of Human Brilliance: How Salvador Dali designed the Chupa Chups logo.
In 1969, Enric Bernat met his friend Salvador Dalí at a café in Barcelona. He needed a new logo for Chupa Chups. Dalí finished it in under an hour, the daisy shape, the bold colors, the wordmark. But the actual insight wasn't the drawing. Dalí insisted the logo sit on top of the lollipop, not the side, so it was always visible. Marking a point of true human brilliance, as a surrealist painter with zero FMCG experience, immediately understood something most would still miss: visibility is a design decision, not a production detail. Since then the logo hasn't meaningfully changed in 55 years.
As we build out our new learn and intelligence side of The Starters, dont miss content and news like this, and go follow us on social media.
“THE OPS”
Each week we feature recent hires, showcasing top brands partnering with human brilliance to build their brand. This week’s hires include:
AI Expert
A CPG health food brand have hired an AI expert to help the company expand its innovation and brand.
$10,000 flat fee.Retention Marketer
A vitamins brand have hired a meta marketing and retention expert to help scale and reduce churn on their audience.
$1,500 per week.Graphic Design
A wellness brand have hired a graphic designer to upgrade their marketing, packaging and brand.
$1,500 per week