Need to Know
22 : 10 : 20

US – Internet collective MSCHF's Anti-Advertising Advertising Club has been encouraging TikTok users to share hate videos about firms like Amazon and Facebook, while paying them to do so.

The social experiment paid users anything from £8 ($10, €8) to £15,000 ($20,000, €17,000) to use the collective’s sonic branding in their videos, offering higher rates for the most-viewed videos. Creating their own parody songs on TikTok, MSCHF hopes to ‘take down nine evil brands’, including TikTok itself.

Explaining the reasons for forming the Anti-Advertising Advertising Club, Daniel Greenberg, creative strategist at MSCHF, says the brands ‘had some form of dirt we didn’t like and wanted to bring to light more’. He adds: ‘Of course, MSCHF has to do that in a creative, almost destructive way.’

Companies that fail to prioritise their younger consumers’ values may foster an anti-establishment mindset. For more on the consumers of tomorrow, book tickets for our Media & Youth Futures online event.

US – Universal Music Group (UMG) and entertainment investment group Dakia U-Ventures are launching UMusic Hotels – a series of global music-focused experiential hotels.

The first locations are due to open in the US states of Georgia, Mississippi and Florida, with each designed to reflect the music scene and creative culture of the region. Featuring immersive experiences for fans, guests and musicians, each hotel will complement the local architectural landscape. The UMusic Broadwater Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, will unite a performance venue and luxury hotel, while the Atlanta, Georgia, site will be a multi-faceted entertainment venue.

Bruce Resnikoff, president and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises, notes: ‘Through music’s unique power to inspire and unite – especially given UMG’s unparalleled roster of artists and labels – Music Hotels will both highlight these cities’ rich music heritage and provide new opportunities for artists to reach fans in immersive, innovative and authentic ways.’

The combination of music and a luxury hotel experience appeals to the idea that extreme escapism has moved into hospitality.

Generation Z in the US are feeling positive about their future, with many believing they will be better off than previous generations.

According to new research by Echelon Insights for Walton Family Foundation, some 85% of young Americans expect to experience a life quality the same as or better than their parents. Interestingly, only 8% believe it will be worse than their parents' experience. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z believe the concept of opportunity has less to do with financial means and more to do with autonomy.

‘Despite the stereotypes, these findings show these generations are engaged and passionate about building a better future,’ says Kristen Soltis Anderson, co-founder of Echelon Insights. ‘That is the new American dream.’

While younger generations are feeling hopeful about reworking the traditional American dream, we’ve recently explored alternative US Gen Z Perspectives – focusing on the rise of Cottagecore.