Trims n Tings.

Fresh trim, anyone?

Soca music is playing, waists are whining, drinks are flowing. You’ve got that right, Notting Hill Carnival is approaching us *screams in patois*. And as a seasoned carnival goer, I am privy to the personal prep that goes into attending London’s biggest event of the year. Costumes, outfits, nails and of course, fresh trims.

Wray and Nephew, Carnival’s unofficial drink, have tapped into this, hosting a takeover at iconic Ladbroke Grove barbershop, Mo Better Cutz. Here, guys can get their pre-carnival shape ups and the girlies can get their nails did (or vice versa, you can do what you want). All with the legendary Saxon Sound System on the beats and a side of Wray Rum punch. And to top it off, it’s free!

If you’re reading this, it’s your sign to get yourself down to Notting Hill this bank holiday weekend and bruk it down.

GAY-I.

AI knows you’re gay. Well not you, per se, but the participants of a recent study into machine learning and sexuality. Swiss researchers have published research revealing that they have developed an AI gaydar with the ability to tell whether a man is gay or straight with 83% accuracy.

While this isn’t the first time scientists have explored this, the last attempt was met with outrage, as you can imagine a non-consensual study predicting sexuality from dating app profile pictures would be. This time, researchers have studied participants’ electrical brain activity, as opposed to their physiognomy.

That’s not to say this research is controversy-free. It has also been met with its own helping of backlash, with many saying it’s a misuse of new technologies and potentially dangerous. The researchers have acknowledged these concerns and believe it is still of scientific interest to explore.

I mean, a binary-based “who’s the gay?” machine… what could go wrong?

Oh Balls.

UFC star Derrick Lewis and his sizzling sack have made headlines with his latest, and what some are calling genius, collab with male grooming brand, Manscaped.

After his iconic celebration at UFC 291, Derrick coined the phrase “my balls was hot” which quickly became one of the most memorable moments in UFC history. Manscaped saw the opportunity and jumped, claiming to cool Lewis’ sweaty balls in their latest ad, which hundreds deem to be the Best. Ad. Ever.

Picture the legend himself in a bowling alley, relishing clean, cool, sweat-free balls – the people loved it.

Pretty nuts marketing if you ask me.

Whiskey of Wall Street.

I’ve been to many a bar in my time. Some might consider me something of a bar connoisseur. So, when I say I think I have discovered the coolest bar in the world, you might want to pay attention…

Just a quick hop skip and jump to Barcelona and you can go to Dow Jones Drink Exchange – a stock market themed bar. I can feel your faith in me wavering but hear me out. At this unique bar, the prices fluctuate like the stock market. If loads of people are buying mojitos, the price of it will go up. If not a lot of people are buying it, the price will go down. This simple yet effective concept causes absolute frenzy at the bar. Sounds fun, right? I hope your faith in me has been restored somewhat.

Safe to say this is the only trading I will ever be interested in…

Pixels to Pitches.

In a match made in innovation heaven, EA Sports and Uncommon Creative Studio unveiled EA Sports FC 24 at the first-ever FC Clubhouse in Amsterdam.

Incorporating tech and design, this immersive brand experience really kicked things off (pardon the pun). Blurring the lines between the physical and digital, guests got to interact with a pixilated Erling Haaland while he mimicked their moves. They could also live their best footballer lives by walking through a tunnel with atmospheric sounds, leading to a grass turfed stage.

To top it off, guests had the opportunity to play the new EA sports FC 24 at dedicated games stations.

From eccentric encounters to future-forward design, EA SPORTS really scored with this one (okay I’m done, I promise).

You Go girl.

Hold onto your cleats, folks – Nike have teamed up with Football Victoria to launch a kick-ass program to help drive equality in sports, while inspiring the next generation of athletes.

As the women continue to tear it up on the pitch this World cup, Nike’s timely ‘Accelerator program’ aims to grow the game’s future players. Focusing on increasing female leadership by funding new certified coaching programs will lead to almost 600 accredited female coaches!

This four-year plan also shows commitment to Nike’s existing grassroots community, with a promise to give the Nike football community – which includes thousands of young women – access to world class facilities and the dedicated Nike FC pitch.

This investment in women and girls is exactly what the sporting industry needs, and it doesn’t surprise me that it’s Nike leading the change.

The Next Agenda: Next Gen on Luxury.

Do luxury brands want Gen Z consumers? Yes. Or at least they think they do. But do they want all kinds of Gen Z consumers? Maybe…

Come join us and experience first-hand the cultural decoding by our senior strategic and creative teams, with commentary from our network of worldwide industry leaders and sector pioneers.

Date & Location: Wednesday 13th September 2023 @ Soho Works White City.

Don’t miss out and reserve your place today: rsvp@zakagency.com

The Coolsh*t Podcast - Episode 58.

We’re joined by ZAK alumni, talking about balls, AI, and the question on everyones lips…who the f*ck are Zoom?!