Even Your Swiffer is Defying Gravity
Welcome to Wednesday, futurists.
Itâs been a mere five days since we dropped our analysis of the Wicked collabosphere, and the ecosystem of brands trying to cash in on the major box-office moment has already expanded. In many cases, the brands co-creating in this space are⌠less than obvious.
Remember âshrink it and pink it?â Weâre venturing into the âtheme it and green itâ phase of the economy.
A quick walk down a big-box or grocery aisle can visually express what I mean:
If it feels very low-effort, beyond the âthemedâ scent, thatâs because it is.
But it clearly follows âLammers Law,â which holds that everything will eventually become a surface for advertising.
Speaking with Michelle Goad (CDO of Athleta, Founder of Greatest of All Digital), she called the Wicked âgreenwashingâ into question: âWhat constitutes the volume drivers/real revenue and what are purely marketing?â Weâre all fans of well-executed collaborations, especially in a world where shared context is growing scarce. âWhere is the line between logo slapping and brand-building?â Goad asked us.
âLogo slapping? Or logo slopping?
Weâre so worried about AI slop (that same sort of half-hearted, lazy output that is filling our feeds) when we have real-world slop all around us right now.
ââ Phillip
âP.S. Have a hot take? Hit reply, and if itâs spicy enough, weâll share it with the audience.
âP.P.S. Are you an overachiever? Hereâs some deeper reading (4,500 words, yikes) on our take on real-world slop thatâs as old as streaming media itself.
Workforce Wipeout. Major public organizations are making aggressive workforce cuts as they venture into their most critical season of the year. Amazon said in a memo yesterday that it would immediately eliminate 14,000 employees from its corporate workforce, but likely more. During its quarterly earnings call on the same day, UPS also revealed that it cut its operational workforce by a staggering 34,000 positions so far this year and eliminated an additional 14,000 employees, largely in management roles. Target is cutting 1,800 corporate roles, as well. Â
âZelda Gets the âErasâ Treatment. Nintendo is releasing a double-LP and eight-LP vinyl box set for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack in the summer of 2026. The box set includes 130 tracks, sequenced around a theme that mirrors the game's progression. Meanwhile, the double LP set includes 34 select tracks, including fan favorites like âGreat Fairy Mountain.â Non-crate diggers can also stream the songs on Nintendo Music, the exclusive smart-device app for Nintendo Switch Online members.
âCultural Relevance Hits the Supply Chain. American parents have a new enemy to slay: retail supply chains. Faced with pricey licensed costumes for Netflixâs KPop Demon Hunters, many parents are digging through dupes and, in even more desperate cases, designing their own costumes.
đ§ In a September 30th episode of the Future Commerce pod, Phillip and Brian shared their top Halloween predictions, and they called out the film as a major costume moment. Listen to their conversation here.Â
Olympic Outfitting. Brands are going hard on their team collaborations to tap into the hefty licensed sports fan merch market, which is worth more than $36 billion. Lululemon is thinking especially big by launching merch lines for all 32 NFL teams, which are now available at the NFL Shop, Fanatics, and individual team retail locations. Is it a major market move or a sign of desperation? Weâll have to wait and seeâŚ
Speaking of team collabs, healthcare apparel brand FIGS is continuing its partnership with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the official brand of the Team USA Medical Team for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. FIGS will outfit more than 150 medical professionals with specially designed scrubwear, outerwear, knitwear, and accessories featuring the Team USA Medical Team emblems. FIGS has been embedding itself more deeply in consumer culture lately. In September, the brand made headlines when it made a custom tuxedo for âThe Pittâ star Noah Wyle to wear to the 2025 Emmys.
âGarlic Breath is Sexy. Social media âit girlâ Nara Smith has launched a roasted garlic oil with Algae Cooking Club. Known for her high-fashion cooking videos, Smith is capitalizing on her extensive social followingâ4.8 million on Instagram and 12.2 million on TikTokâto introduce an entirely new culinary product: algae oil. This innovative oil boasts a high smoke point, contains beneficial Omega-9 fatty acids, and has a reduced environmental footprint. Priced at $24.99 per bottle, the roasted garlic oil is also available in sets of two for $44.98, or four for $84, with options that include the oil and a gold precision spout in a special gift box (starting at $38).Â
Retailers Step Up Amid SNAP Stalls. The November 1 SNAP cutoff is looming, and some retailers are ramping up their aid to support nationwide food banks that will undoubtedly feel the strain. H-E-B will donate $5 million to support food banks in the Feeding Texas network and $1 million to Meals on Wheels; DoorDash will deliver one million meals to 300+ Project DASH food bank partners; and BJâs will give more than $1.2 million to local organizations in 17 states, which will be recommended by their associates.Â
âFinally, Someone to Play Hackysack With. The robot future we were promised with the Jetsons is finally coming with the $500/month (or $20,000 flat fee) NEO in-home autonomous assistant. The totally-not-for-sex-stuff robot has been reviewed by tech journals already and is being remotely piloted by humans (donât tell Shoshana Zuboff).
PayPal Joins the Agentic Commerce Chat. Seems like this is a new weekly update, fam. PayPal is adopting the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) to bring payments into ChatGPT. That means the tens of millions of small businesses and marquee retail brands that use PayPal will be able to bring their product catalogs to the platform. PayPal will manage merchant routing, payment, validation, and orchestration behind the scenes.
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