👋HOOLEY DOOLEY! It’s been a minute👋 Reviving the Widget, as there just aren’t enough newsletters, podcast to follow... In the news this week; Apple facing more heat, Trump loses a lotta money after Truth Social isn’t thriving(who woulda thought), and Collingwood remembers how to play Footy.

👀Things you may have missed👀

• WAIT. So Incognito could see what we were doing? BURN IT😅

• AI mimics voice perfectly, just what we need💀

• The best & worst of April Fools 2024 👀

• Spotify ad inspo 🫡

🤯The BIG stories🤯

God, it’s tough out there. Chocolate prices going cray, PHI increasing by 3% and flight prices rising too. This has meant the Aussie ad industry is tightening their RM belts…. Feb spend was down 6% in Australia, with US, Canada & China seeing the opposite.

Can someone pay for Mark Ritson to spruik investment in Radio again? Even that silver bullet is down 5.9% - with TV down 12.9%. Is this the Kyle & Jackie-o effect that we’ve long been promised?

😎Cool & Creative😎

Maybe, JUST maybe it’s time to remove ‘Digital Ninja | AI Expert | Leader’ from your Linkedin, as bro, you’re so CRINGE. Take this fun test to see how insufferable you are

To prove I am a man of the people, I have included my cringe score which is better than what I expected to be honest. What’s yours? Kidding, don’t care.

🧪Nerd Corner🧪

The metaverse is well & truly dead, but the lessons we learnt (& virtual friends we made) along the way are still present in Gaming. It turns out gamers LIKE brands in-game, although we elder millennials still aren’t too keen.

A top study from the Livewire team, looking at Gen Z, Alpha & Millenial gaming habits & consumption. Who would’ve thought that NFT outfits weren’t the right idea, but skins…now we’re talking.

🤓Technology & Tracking🤓

With cookies well and truly exiting stage right, what happens to its mysterious, tech-savvy buddy - DCO? Will it be curtains for personalised ad tech or will it thrive under our over lords, the Walled Gardens? 

Google is already at it…“As a brand or advertiser, if you are delving into DCO, you need to ask yourself: Is it for the insights or the short-term performance?”. If you want to understand the long-term performance, maybe, jusssst maybe you should consider MMM. I know a guy…

📱Best of the Net📱

• For the emo kids 🎵

• Insanely good 👔

• Airport shops 😅