Your weekly round-up of the topics we’ve covered this week along with all the things that might not have made it in our posts the first time around, but that you should not miss…
1. The Pink Plague
We delved into the Princess Problem that parents and brands are facing in trying to rebrand the modern day princess, and don’t miss the related “pink plague” issue: the trouble parents of girls are having finding toys and clothes for their daughters that aren’t seriously gender stereotyped and pink themed. The pink plague might seem innocuous, but can become problematic messaging for impressionable young girls when stores begin to label non-pink toys like chemistry sets as just for boys.
2. Network TV Ratings Drama
This week’s Essentials touched on how traditional TV is being threatened by non-network originals. Netflix plans to double their original content by 2014, and viewers fragmentation will only continue. This visual created by Vulture lays out the drastic ratings fall for the majority of returning shows this year, and shouldn’t be missed.
3. More Brand Scandal Responses
Last week, we discussed what scandal in the age of acceptance looks like for Millennials, and how the new definition of scandal will focus on brand missteps and cover-ups. Now don’t miss that this week, Abercrombie & Fitch finally responded to their recent “cool kids” scandal (12 days after the fact) with a statement about the brand’s “support of diversity and inclusion.” Or that Nutella had a mini-scandal on their hands after issuing a cease-and-desist against their biggest fan for her organization of “World Nutella Day,” a tone-deaf move that was quickly reversed with apologies by the brand. World Nutella Day is back on!
4. Links We’re Passing
Don’t miss how Millennials are finding moments of levity (in a week of bad news) with this week’s memes. Cat Beards is the simple trick of making your cat into a beard and snapping a picture, and Duck Face Spaghetti “fixes” duck face—the pursed-lip pose that has become a selfie signature of tween and teen girls— by adding a bowl of spaghetti and a noodle to the shot.
5. Early Birds Get Ypulse Events
Definitely don’t miss the early-bird pricing on registering for our June 26th Naming the Next Generation and June 27th Ypulse Mashup: Millennials Reassessed events, which ends on June 1st!
