THIS WEEK’S FORECAST
FOR YOUR INFO
This week’s dates & microtrends
TikTok trends
The continued appeal of the mystery scoop videos.
Getting the hardest pictures with the unpatched method trend.
ICYMI
Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in the NBA. This is as surprising as if John Stones managed to net himself a double hat-trick (6 goals).
Baby Batemans. The viral meet the finest boys in finance article and the incredible amount of backlash it received.
Phrase of the week
“Lipase and Spa days” r/laundry is going crazy for Lipase enzymes, which are being touted as the best ingredient for the cleanest clothes washes.
Digi updates
Apple ups its social media game with brainrot videos for its new affordable laptop.
The “viral” Red V Blue trend wasn’t a problem until parents made it a problem.
On our radar
Project Hail Mary – 20 March
Forbidden Fruits – 20 March
The Oscars – 15 March
Invincible S4 – 18 March
Steel Ball Run JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure –
19 March
BTS: Arirang – 20 March
Luke Combs: The Way I Am – 20 March
Beefs of the week
The Magic City event controversary and Timothée Chalamet V ballet and opera.
What we’re loving
The Matières Fécales’ fall/winter collection, The One Percent’.
For the new season of One Piece, the live action actors and the original voice actors recreate the barrel promise scene Literally us
Established trends
Tenants are opting for micro-apartments. Living in a shoe doesn’t seem too crazy anymore.
Shopping has become too reliant on scarcity and drops. Please no more 16 o’clock drops on Thursdays.
Insights of the week
A visual report of the varying salaries in New York.
The Forbes’ Billionaire facts and figures Elon Musk is $54 billion richer than Bezos, Zuck, Ellison and Buffet combined…
Weekly doses of cute
Bruin the winner of Crufts, chimpanzees and crystals dog-sledding and RAYE’s pub plaque.
Rising trends
Video games are becoming a new medium for product placement. Does the Porche come with Leon?
Actors are taking on the role of a lifetime: fake patients for training doctors
The future
The machine learning gig economy being trained by laid-off lawyers and scientists.
Stats of the week
The worrying stats in the King’s College London survey. 31% of Gen Z men agree that a wife should always obey her husband.
Ones to watch
The future of horror is on YouTube rise of niche social-first talk shows, the next line-up of Pixar films and a live-action Samurai Champloo is OTW.
Image: @netflixjp Image: @crufts
Image: @aliciayurtt
TREND TRACKING
How some of the trends we’ve identified have evolved in recent months
Build-a-Boyfriend
There’s a huge subset of romantasy fan communities dedicated to recreating the scent and aura of popular characters in real life, from dedicated Reddit threads to TikTokers who painstakingly hunt down the perfect aroma using real fragrances. The latest trend takes this step further – the ‘boyfriend book box’, a subscription service that allows readers to imagine fictitious characters as their own boyfriends. Each $500 box contains (among other things), a special edition book, t-shirt and scented candle – but the pièce de résistance is an adult toy modelled on the character’s own private parts. There’s currently 20,000 people on the waiting list, proving the demand for experiences that expand fantasy universes and bring them into real life.
The soft day off Yakult Ladies
The latest ‘trend’ throwing shade on flexible work has been dubbed ‘the soft day off – using AI tech and hacks to appear like you’re working, while at the same time catching up on life admin, relaxation or other personal tasks. It follows similar trends, like working harder Mon-Thurs to ‘earn’ a soft Friday, and comes at a time when midweek beauty and golf bookings are on the rise as people take advantage of flexible schedules. With record levels of stress being reported in UK workplaces, perhaps companies should own the trend and add a soft day off to official benefits packages.
Yakult, the probiotic drink company, has employed Yakult Ladies since 1963. Adorned in a blue uniform and red plaid, they sell Yakult door to door with a smile. Nearly 80,000 Yakult Ladies exist in 14 countries and regions across the globe. In Japan specifically they have taken on an additional role, a friendly face for the increasingly aging population A weekly visit has been described by one elderly woman as “I genuinely look forward to her visits. When the doorbell rings and I hear her cheerful voice, it lifts my spirits instantly.“ As our world increasingly becomes more digital, the human-tohuman connection is being lost. Especially for the increasingly aging demographic who lack the skills or desire to keep up. For them looking forward to a weekly visit can have a bigger impact than a once-in-ayear visit from their grandkids. A bonus is having great gut health!
Image: @jessawfh
Image: @Yakult
Image: @boyfriendbookbox
This week’s long read
Weber Forecast Insight
Single consumers are no longer niche. They’re a rising identity group with real cultural momentum and serious spending power. Brands should meet this moment by treating uncoupling as a lifestyle segment, not an afterthought by building targeted experiences – from solo-friendly travel packages to “newly single” loyalty perks. Not only will that validate this demographic as aspirational and stylish but will also be worthy of their ‘new chapter era’.
DIVORCE CHIC
Why ‘uncoupled’ is the new power move
Divorce has officially entered its ‘chic’ era. What used to conjure up connotations of shame has become a full-blown cultural rebrand complete with merch and accessories – yes, even divorce rings are now a thing, courtesy of Emily Ratajkowski
Image: @reformation
And it is unconventional influencers leading the charge. Take Hollywood super-lawyer Laura Wasser – known for handling high-profile divorce cases such as Kimye and Brangelina – who has teamed up with Reformation on The Divorce Collection, a range of power-dressing looks that put the confidence back into being a divorcée. Think sharp tailoring, “DUMP HIM” sweatshirts and the general vibe of “I’m not crying, I’m thriving.”
The term “grey divorce” is on the rise. People over 50 are ditching marriages that have run their course as longer, healthier lives make compromise feel optional What once was framed as a pursuit of the young, the search for love is now something those later in their life are reigniting. Single is no longer judged. It has become romanticised and being newly single has never looked more like stepping into your power.
But the glow-up of divorce fits neatly into a bigger cultural plot twist: the rise of the solo economy. One-person households are now the fastest-growing globally, and young people are romanticising everything from solo holidays to living in golden-girls-style friend collectives. Even more so as millennial and Gen Z women often value female friendships more than romantic relationships. The message is clear: alone doesn’t mean lonely – it might actually be aspirational and a time for needed personal growth.
Despite the shift, brands are still stuck selling to the ‘nuclear family’. This logic is becoming outdated as marriage and birth rates fall and younger (and now older) people choosing to live, date and travel solo. The opportunity? A dual strategy: help people forge IRL community and design with the proudly single in mind. Because whether you’re divorced, delaying commitment, or happily doing life solo, independence isn’t a failure – it’s now a flex. And now, even comes with chic accessories.
Image: @oprah
Image: @lenalifts
Image: The Guardian
Image: The Standard
BRANDWATCH
Inspiring creative from around the world
Nike ACG Lidl McDonalds X NHL A24 Chupa Chups
Who needs a stadium? Nike’s ACG has launched a 1,677-piece portable football pitch that can pop up literally anywhere; on snowy mountains, sandy beaches, rocky trails. Designed by Amsterdam Berlin, the “All Conditions Cup System” packs goals, floodlights, seating, field lines and even whistles into lightweight components that fit in a small van. ACG = “All Conditions Gear,” and this activation literally proves it. It’s not just a product; it’s an embodied brand promise.
Lidl have done it again! The retailer is stepping into super shoe territory with its new Crivit Carbon-Plated Trainers, landing in all 234 Irish stores this week. With carbon plate running shoes reaching €400, the €49.99 price tag is a steal! And the timing? Chef’s kiss. Spring race season is about to go full throttle, and first-timers are staring down the barrel of marathon shoe shopping. Taking elite running tech and making it supermarket accessible, this mass-appeal media story is going viral!
McDonald’s Canada is kicking off a mini but mighty face-off with its new NHL Star Sticks Meal. Tapping into the collectible trend, seven of hockey’s biggest names are joining the menu as mini hockey sticks. This nostalgia meet game-day hype power collab is perfect to kick off the season. Even major hockey stars Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are in on it calling the collectibles a “mini hockey experience” and “a cool way to own a piece of the game.” It’s a mini hockey experience… with a side of fries!
Movie studio A24 are not backing down with The Drama promotion. Instead, they are all in opening a Vegas wedding chapel for one day only this Saturday for real couples to get married in the spirit of the film. Even the online nomination form to accept couple submissions completely encompasses the overall aesthetic of a Vegas chapel and we are obsessed with the level of detail. By inviting fans into their own mini-movie moment, A24 has officially retained the crown of story-world experiential marketing gurus.
May we present, the final boss of Chupa Chups. Leaning straight into the longrunning internet meme about their wrappers being impossible to open, the brand said, “You thought this was hard?” and created an over-the-top impenetrable “Chupa Chups Impossible” lollipop wrapped in liquid rubber better suited to space travel than sweet. What’s inside? The brand-new easy-open wrapper. This viral-ready content is the perfect playground for UGC. With the #ChupaChupsImpossible tapping right into quick, silly TikTok culture, it’s playful, self-aware and absurd in the best way.
Image: Inter.it
Image: McDonald’s Image:
Image: Lidl NI
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