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I was at a conference on, of all things, male allyship when the notice popped up on my phone. Taylor Swift had successfully purchased back all her early masters and related material. For an alleged cost of around $360 million, the artist now fully owned everything she had ever created including her first six albums, their videos, and all their related art and album covers. Her community of friends and fans, the Swifties, erupted with elated joy and messages of encouragement online. News outlets rushed to cover the story. Within 24 hours, her early albums hit the top ten on streaming charts with Reputation, the album most anticipated as a rerelease, coming in at No. 1 as fans exercised their economic might. It seemed the universe was celebrating. Even savvy businesses got on the celebratory train. Delta Airlines posted, Fly like a jet stream, high above the whole scene. Keep Climbing Taylor . Starbucks said, and in a cafe on a Friday, we watched it begin again . . . congrats Taylor . And, to no surprise to anyone, the crafty social media gurus at the Empire State Building sent out a message, We love you Taylor, above a picture of Taylor from the top overlooking New York. Mesmerizing Taylor has mesmerized us. Antagonists might argue she has aligned all her hex cruces. It reminded me of the Hulu series The Handmaids Tale. I had recently watched seasons four and five to catch up for the season six release. These later seasons have been criticized. The audience seemed bored of the mistreatment of fertile women and then confused when these same women sought plots for angry hot revenge. Is this what Taylor has metaphorically done, used the allies around her and her anger to fuel a strategic masterminding of a long game just like June, the protagonist of The Handmaids Tale? As if sending a signal, Taylors song, Look What You Made Me Do (Taylors Version), became the anthem for season six days before she announced buying back her early art. Piles of money Taylor has acquired piles of money, enhanced by the success of the Eras Tour. She had become financially powerful enough to buy back her name and reputation, leaving those who crossed her in some metaphorical no-mans-land. She didn’t do it alone, and she isn’t the first. For decades, centuries, and, perhaps, even since the beginning of time, underdogs have fought to be seen, heard, accurately estimated, and risen from the ashes to reclaim that which was theirs. For example, half a century ago, Dolly Parton moved past he entertainment industry dominance that minimized womens empowerment and claimed her own space driven by her talents. In 1974, Parton walked into Porter Wagoners office and told him she was leaving the show bearing his namesake that had given her a rise to stardom. She sang him a goodbye song titled, I Will Always Love You, as a sign of respect to Porter for being her mentor. Dolly had outgrown her sidekick role alongside Porter, but it took effort, strategy, and bravery for her to break free. Porter sued her, a tactic commonly employed by those in power, but through discussions, compassion, and a large sum of money (reportedly around $1 million), Dolly settled the case. Independence How have a select set of women throughout history acquired enough resources to buy their independence? Some look all the way back to the early 20th century and the suffrage movement. Even that, however, involved womens collaboration with men. In August 1920, a conservative Tennessee legislator, Harry T. Burn, cast the deciding vote for the suffrage movements proposed 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. In his pocket, Harry carried a letter from his mother, Febb E. Burn, in which she asked him to be a good boy and vote for the amendment. This legislation, decided by Harry’s unexpected vote, has driven women’s economic agency and freedom over the past century. Throughout history, women and underdogs have been harnessing their positions to mastermind their way into influence, power, and self-determination. At a moment in time where human rights are being challenged, whether through challenges to the right to due process, reproductive freedoms, or just the right of children to not be separated from their parents, Taylor has once again shown us a way, that by harnessing our best talents deep within our souls, we can move mountains. We can speak deep into the souls of others, nudging them into a movementa desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Something with meaning and grit and soul. And, just as I learned from the conference I was attending at John Hopkins University, working with unexpected partners forging allyships has real and meaningful benefits. Hope and power We root for Taylor Swift because we see ourselves in her. And, just like underdogs in any fight, through her, we see hope, and that hope is seeded in harnessing our talents and masterminding it into economic powera power that can move mountains and, apparently, also shamrocks.
Category:
E-Commerce
A fresh glimpse at our AI-filled future arrived this week, in the form of an unmemorable ad by a company most people have never heard of. The ad is kind of flat and will probably scan as goofy to everyone outside its target demo, but don’t write it off just yet: It could signal the beginning of some very big (and scary) changes. The upstart fintech company Coign claims to be a “conservative credit card company,” a distinction that boils down to the founders pledge to never donate to liberal causes and candidates. And while that self-definition raises some questions, it pales in comparison to the actual ad. The 30-second clip is a patriotic parade of red-blooded, red-voting Americans boasting about recent Coign-fueled purchases such as deer-hunting gear, a stack of cartoonish gold bars, and the “biggest American flag” available. But here’s the most striking thing about the ad: All of those situations, and all of the actors, were created by AI. There’s something a little off about Coigns ad, to be clear. The pacing of the phony satisfied customers movements feels too jittery at times, and theres an eagle at the end that is not exactly natural looking. While the ad is spiritually the same AI slop as Shrimp Jesus, it doesnt carry the same overtly synthetic visuals. In that regard, its a lot more casually AI-generated than many of its predecessor ads. When Coca-Cola released an AI-generated holiday spot last fall, it sparked an uproar. Creatives were livid about such a monumentally successful company neglecting to splash out on an all-human production, and even casual observers noticed the glaring flaws in the video: The trucks tires glided over the ground without spinning, Santas hand was bizarrely out of proportion with the Coke bottle it gripped, and the entire ad sat squarely in the “uncanny valley.” The same goes for the ad Toys R Us released last year using OpenAIs text-to-video tool Sora: The kindest thing one could say is that its human characters looked marginally more lifelike than the unsettling, motion-captured Tom Hanks from The Polar Express two decades earlier. So far, AI-generated ads have been rare enough and mostly the domain of heavy-hitter companies, making them lightning rods for attention and backlash just about every time a new one is released. The simple fact that they were AI-made has been enough to generate headlines, even before factoring in the slop. But maybe not for much longer. If the Coign ad is any indication, there may be an entire class of AI ads coming that will be subject to far less attentionand far less scrutiny. Were at a precarious moment with AI, collectively feeling out its least objectionable uses through trial and error. So far, uncanny ads from massive companies have triggered backlash, but when lesser-known brands dabbleespecially without obvious visual glitchesthey often escape notice. Advertising legend David Droga once noted the existence of a “mediocre middle” in marketing and entertainment, and that may be exactly where AI quietly thrives: in ads from companies too small to spark outrage. Advertising, after all, is already the most disposable and least emotionally protected form of mediaexpensive to make, widely avoided, and largely unloved. That makes it the perfect Trojan horse for AIslipping past scrutiny not because its good, but because few people care enough to notice. On a moral and economic level, the advertising industry should not be diving headlong into a technology that makes large swaths of professional workers expendable. And on an aesthetic level, just because AI technically can create an ad doesnt mean it can create a good one. Once a seemingly harmless use case eases peoples minds about a given technological breakthrough, its only a matter of time before the more flagrantly objectionable use cases take hold. The facial recognition tech that first allowed Facebook users to tag their friends in photos was eventually used to strengthen the surveillance state and threaten privacy everywhere. Todays drones that make aerial photography easier become tomorrows drones that mistakenly blow up weddings in other countries and threaten to displace delivery workers. Obviously, AI is going to play some role in humanitys future. The size of that role, however, is not yet set in stone. As machine learning creeps into all creative fields, workers need regulations to ensure the technology doesnt spread too far too fast. The good news is that a majority of Americans seem to want AI regulation. Although the House of Representatives recently passed a major tax and spending bill with a provision forbidding state governments to regulate AI over the next 10 years, that clause is getting bipartisan blowback. According to a recent poll, 81% of voters agree that “advances in AI are exciting but also bring risks, and in such fast-moving times, we shouldn’t force states to sit on the sidelines for a full decade.” Even the CEO of generative AI company Anthropic is a full-throated advocate for stricter AI regulation. The people have spoken. Whether they are listened to is another matter altogether. A single, silly credit card ad may seem an unlikely step toward a dystopian future of unfettered AI and full unemployment, but if we laugh it off now, the bill may still come due later.
Category:
E-Commerce
Coal power is a dirtier energy source than renewables like wind and solar. But even for those Americans who don’t care about climate, its also a more expensive energy sourceand the economics of using it as a power source just keep getting worse. As President Donald Trump tries to bolster the coal industry by ordering shuttered coal power plants to reopen, that means everyday Americans are likely to see their electricity bills spike. Coal power was 28% more expensive in 2024 than it was in 2021, according to a new analysis by Energy Innovation, a San Francisco-based climate research firm. That means the cost of generating power with coal is rising faster than inflation, which increased by 16% over the same time period. The economics of coal have been bad for some time. A 2023 Energy Innovation report found that 99% of the existing coal plants across the U.S. are more expensive to run than to replace with renewables like wind, solar, or energy storage. In the past four years alone, more than 100 coal-fired units have closed for economic reasons. And yet Trump has ordered coal plants set for retirement to keep operating past their planned shut-down dates. The J.H. Campbell power plant in Michigan, for example, was scheduled to close May 31, but Trump ordered it to remain open. These orders to prop up the coal industry ignore the economic fundamentals underpinning coals decline, Energy Innovations most recent report reads. And that affects Americans across the country: If coal plants are being kept online that would otherwise be retired, the cost of running those plants is going to be passed on to the electricity consumer, says Michelle Solomon, a manager of the electricity program at the firm and the reports author Electricity rates are on the rise across the country, but states that rely heavily on coal, like West Virginia and Kentucky, are seeing even faster increases. Between 2021 and 2024as 95% of the countrys coal power plants have gotten more expensive to runelectricity rates in West Virginia have gone up 24%. (Since 2022, residential electricity prices have increased 13% on average across the country.) Coal is getting more expensive for a few reasons. In many areas, easy access to coal is gone, because its already been mined for so long. That means it gets more expensive to continue mining for coal, Solomon says. Coal plants are also aging, and so they’re more costly to maintain. Per Energy Innovation, the average age of U.S. coal plants is 43 years old, though multiple plants are pushing 70. These factors also affect Trumps decision to keep operating coal plants that were set for retirement. Utilities have already planned for those plants to shutter, meaning they have likely burned down their stockpiles of coal and may have even deferred maintenance, since they wouldnt be kept running. Rushing to buy coal or scrambling to complete last-minute maintenance could add even more costs. Renewables have seen some price volatility with inflation too, Solomon says, and this most recent Energy Innovation report didnt update renewables analysis. But its clear the coal fleet is getting significantly more expensive. And given that coal has already been more expensive than renewables for years, “its fair to say that the economics [of coal] continue to get worse compared to renewables, she adds. Its hard to say exactly how much rising coal prices will affect someones electricity bills, especially when it comes to keeping open planned-for-retirement coal plants. But typically, the costs of operating these plants are passed on to consumers, Solomon says. The coal fleet, because its more expensive than inflation, is putting inflationary pressure on U.S. electricity prices. So if the administration’s goal is to make energy cheaper and to bring down inflation, keeping old coal plants running is completely opposite to what they should be doing, Solomon says.
Category:
E-Commerce
The world is awash in nonalcoholic beer right now. Athletic led the category with some $95.8 million in sales in 2024, followed by the legacy barons Heineken ($89.45 million), Budweiser ($62.37 million), Busch ($37.08 million), and Corona ($28.6 million). As Beverage Industry reports, 0% beer is predicted to continue growing by double digits this year, so it comes as no surprise that Modelowhich overtook Bud Light as the U.S.s leading beer in 2023is getting into the game. What does come as a surprise is the logo of its new alcohol-free beer. Some brands, like Heineken, simply made a few tweaks and added a 0.0. Others, like Budweiser, stripped the can of color (conceptually fun!) and added a Zero. But none of them were as perfectly primed to go NA as Modelo.[Image: Modelo]The brands new logo is as serendipitous as it is straightforward, but no less sublime. It almost feels like an intervention by the design gods, perhaps not unlike the FedEx arrow. And thats likely why there was no debate when Gut Design presented the work to Modelo. It was an instant go.You cannot unsee that, right? says Murilo Melo, Guts global head of design. They said . . . we dont have to see anything else. It was kind of a magic moment.[Image: Modelo]Model0%Around six months ago, Modelo brought the Gut agency on to oversee the strategy and branding of what would become Model0% Dorada and Model0% Negra, which just launched in Mexico. The company was focused on creating a nonalcoholic beer that tasted like beeror, rather, a nonalcoholic Modelo that tasted like Modelo, which the brand says it achieved via a proprietary yeast formula.When it came to the branding, Melo says Modelo needed a system that would work across multiple flavors and styles of its beer to prime it for the future. Given the companys success and its 100-plus-year history, there was an intention to honor the legacy of the brand, Melo says. So what we tried the most was to preserve the equity and everything the brand already had.They experimented with various concepts and hooks. But then, in an informal Gut team chat in WhatsApp, someone posted Model0%.[Image: Modelo]When we did that, we said, Whoa. Theres something here. Melo adds that his team has a mantra to keep things simple and powerful (we always try, but its quite hard)and, well, they had stumbled upon a mark that visually signifies a nonalcoholic Modelo that tastes like the regular Modelo fans love. Gut built out a system for the brand that can scale across new NA products, featuring secondary typeface Rauschen B (a funky, unexpected choice), a 0% label at the top of the bottle sporting the o of the legacy logo, and more. The bottle does away with the lions, banner, and other elements from the original. But look closely at that o, and youll indeed find some of the parallel line motifs from the full-strength formula.Ultimately, it all yielded that immediate green light from Modelo.Everybody was so on board to respect the visual legacy of the beer, and open to something new, Melo says. It was a perfect match.How often does that happen?Less than I would like it to, he says with a laugh.
Category:
E-Commerce
Standard financial advice starts with the assumption that 40-year-old investment newbies are getting a late start. So what if you’re a card-carrying member of AARP without a portfolio? How do you start investing when youre in your 60s? Recently, a family friend reached out for some advice on how to start investing for retirement. At 61 years old, he was afraid it was useless because he had heard the standard tut-tutting about how he should have started earlier. Once I got over my shock at his age (because that means Ive reached my late 40s and I have no idea how that happened), I assured him that its not too late. Just because a lot of retirement math starts with the wonders of compound interest over time doesnt mean your retirement is doomed. Becoming a first-time investor in your 60s may feel scary, but its the best way to ensure you have a financially secure retirementunless you can get your hands on some kind of time traveling phone booth. Heres what you need to know about beginning your investment journey long after hitting the big 60. Start setting money aside right away And when I say right away, I mean right this minute. Putting money aside for retirement is the kind of important-but-not-urgent task that is very easy to put off, which is why 20% of Americans over the age of 50 have nothing set aside for retirement, according to a 2024 AARP survey. If you already have an IRA, 401(k), or other retirement vehicle, transfer whatever amount you can afford today, and set up an automatic contribution to come out of every paycheck. If you dont already have a retirement account, take a half hour today to set one up with a reputable brokerage like Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Each of these brokerage firms offer retirement accounts, education, and tools for newbie investors. Additionally, each major brokerage has customer service available by phone and online chat that can walk you through the process of opening an account and setting up a recurring contribution. Asset allocation in your 60s Of course, its not enough to set up your retirement account and your contributions. You will also have to decide how to invest your contributions, which feels a little more complicated in your 60s than it is for younger investors. Thats because the traditional advice for retirement investors is to buy-and-hold index funds, allowing time and compound interest to perform their magic on your money. But sixtysomethings dont have the same luxury of time enjoyed by whippersnappers in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Except, thats not necessarily true, is it? The Social Security Administration estimates that a current 60-year-old man has a life expectancy of 80 and a 60-year-old woman has one of nearly age 84which means investors in their 60s can and should invest some portion of their money for a longer time horizon. Older first-time investors need to allocate their retirement money the same way every investor doesby when they expect to need it. This is often referred to as the bucket method, and is often broken down into three investment buckets. Short-term investments: Since you will use it for living expenses in the first one to five years after you retire, you want this money to be invested in assets that are reasonably stable and liquid. Medium-term investments: This money will provide you with retirement income for years six to 15, so youll invest it in slightly more aggressive investments that still aim to protect your principal. Long-term investments: You wont plan to touch this money until at least 16 years in the future, so you can afford to invest in higher-risk-higher-return investments, giving you time to ride out market volatility. Put away as much as you can While your future self will be glad for whatever amount you can put aside for retirement today, more is definitely better in this scenario. Luckily, the IRS agrees with the importance of saving for retirement. Contributions to traditional IRA and 401(k) accounts are tax-deductible, meaning the money you put in those accounts lower the amount of your taxable income for the year. The IRS allows the gray-haired set to make tax-advantaged catch-up retirement contributions to IRA and 401(k) accounts. For 2025, the IRA contribution limit is $7,000 for anyone under the age of 50, and $8,000 for anyone over the age of 50. For 401(k) accounts, the contribution limit is $23,500 for those under age 50, $31,000 for anyone between the ages of 51 and 59, $34,750 for those between the ages of 60 and 63, and it drops down to $31,000 to anyone 64 or older, because the IRS is nothing if not confusing. In 2025, if you areYou can contribute this much to an IRAYou can contribute this much to a 401(k)Under 50$7,000$23,50050 to 59 years old$8,000$31,00060 to 63 years old$8,000$34,50064+ years old$8,000$31,000 Find other sources of investment money If every dollar is spoken for before your paycheck even hits your account, the idea of maximizing your retirement account contributions may feel quaint. So its helpful to start identifying some other sources of investment money. You may have more cash available to invest than you realize. Check for old 401(k) accounts Once youre blowing out 60 candles on your birthday cake, you likely have multiple careers under your belt, let alone shorter-term jobs youve forgotten about. You may have unclaimed retirement benefits gathering dust. A quick search of the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits can let you know if youve got some retirement money languishing in an old account. See if you have unclaimed funds An estimated one out of every seven Americans is owed unclaimed property totaling $70 billion as of 2023. You can search for unclaimed funds by visiting the National Assoiation of Unclaimed Property Administrators and searching any states where you have lived. Sell things you no longer want or need You probably have a lifetimes worth of accumulated clutter, some of which may actually be worth some money. Cleaning out your stuff to find hidden gems will not only help you pad your retirement accounts, but it will also help you with any downsizing you may want to do before retirement. But DO NOT invest your Social Security benefits If youre looking for other sources of investment money, taking your Social Security benefits as soon as you turn 62 and investing that money may seem like a no-brainer. But it is nothing short of a terrible idea. Thats because your Social Security benefits are as close to a financial guarantee as youre going to get in this world. Your Social Security benefits are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States governmentwhich, admittedly, has lost a little of its luster and reputation recently. But you can absolutely count on the monthly amount promised to you, the approximate 8% per year delayed retirement credit for waiting to take your benefits, and the annual cost of living adjustment. No investment can promise any of those things. Investing your Social Security benefits means you could lose that money. Taking your benefits as of age 62 means you will lose out on the guaranteed delayed retirement credit of 8% per year. And no investment can guarantee an annual return of 8%, let alone a cost of living adjustment to account for inflation. If you are able to delay taking your Social Security benefits, it is generally best to wait to take them until you have reached age 70 so you can maximize your monthly benefit amount. Other than yesterday, the best time is now There is no point in beating yourself up with coulda-shoulda-woulda thinking if you get started investing later in life. Its counterproductive to ruminate over things you cant change, especially since theres still a lot of good you can do as a 60-something newbie investor. The first thing to do is start right away. If you have a retirement plan, move money into it today and set up a recurring contribution. If you dont, open one with a reputable brokerage firm today, taking advantage of the customer service phone or chat options to help you lower the barrier to entry. Once you have the account and automatic transfer in place, plan your asset allocation. Even though you don’t have the luxury of time like a young investor, you can still set up a three-tiered investing strategy. Your short-term, stable investments are for the money youll need in the next one to five years. The medium-term, slightly more aggressive investments will be accessed in years six to 15. And your long-term, higher-risk, higher-return investments will be left alone until year 16 and beyond. Its important to put aside as much money as you can. If youre able to maximize your 2025 tax-deductible IRA and 401(k) contributions, that will lower your tax burden, which may help you afford the contributions. But you could also look for other sources of investment money, such as searching for forgotten retirement accounts and unclaimed funds, or by selling off some of your accumulated stuff as part of a downsizing effort. But do not use your Social Security benefit as a source of investment money. Thats trading a guarantee for a risk.
Category:
E-Commerce
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