Toby’s Trends of 2024: Dry January, Ankle Socks, Solo Dining and More

Summary

Morning Brew Daily Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Toby’s Trends of 2024: Dry January, Ankle Socks, Solo Dining and More
Hosts: Neal Freyman & Toby Howell
Release Date: December 30, 2024

Neal Freyman and Toby Howell delve into the standout trends of 2024 on this insightful episode of Morning Brew Daily. From shifts in consumer behavior to evolving social norms, they unpack the significant movements that defined the year. Below is a comprehensive summary of their discussions, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. Health and Wellness: The Evolution of Dry January

Toby kicks off the conversation by revisiting the burgeoning trend of Dry January. In 2024, Dry January not only saw a surge in individuals abstaining from alcohol but also witnessed a parallel rise in marijuana sales.

• Dry January Insights:
  • Sales Dip: Sales at three of the largest U.S. liquor stores hit their lowest post-pandemic levels during the early months of the year.
  • Search Surge: Google searches for Dry January doubled compared to the previous year (Toby Howell, 02:01).
  • Cannabis Industry Boost: While alcohol sales declined, marijuana sales experienced a significant uptick, indicating a shift towards alternative wellness products.

Neal Freyman emphasizes the potential longevity of this trend:

“I do think that what we're seeing with people drinking less alcohol, focusing more on wellness is one of those things that could extend years, if not decades.” (02:58)

2. Literary Boom: The Rise of Romantic Fantasy Novels

Transitioning to literature, Toby highlights the explosive popularity of romantic fantasy novels, a genre that dominated book sales in 2024.

• Market Performance:
  • Sales Figures: Romantic books soared by 45% last year, selling nearly 20 million copies, overshadowing giants like James Patterson and Stephen King, who only sold 6 million print books in 2023.
  • Influential Titles: Series such as The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarrow and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas became bestsellers.

Neal attributes this surge to social media influence:

“I think this is a particular type of genre that lends itself to talking about it and speculation. And so I think you can't decouple the rise of book talk.” (05:04)

Toby shares his personal engagement with the trend:

“I ended up reading them in literally like 24 hours. So it is one of those things that you can just flip through.” (06:03)

3. Fashion Forward: Nostalgia and Vintage Resurgence

The conversation shifts to fashion, where nostalgia plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer preferences.

• Nostalgia's Impact:
  • Asics' Surge: The 75-year-old Japanese running shoe company, Asics, saw its stock price quadruple over the past two years, driven by the popularity of their classic silhouettes like the Gel Kayano.
  • Nike's Struggles: In contrast, Nike experienced a 25% stock decline as it overly relied on nostalgic designs without sufficient innovation.

Neal comments on the power of nostalgia in marketing:

“Nostalgia is very powerful in marketing and it's always been around... [Asics] did a great job of capitalizing on this.” (07:33)

• Vintage Shopping Boom:
  • Resale Growth: With over 25,000 resale stores in the U.S. and secondhand apparel sales up 11%, vintage shopping became a mainstream trend.
  • Brick-and-Mortar Appeal: Independent vintage stores thrived by offering unique, idiosyncratic shopping experiences that online platforms couldn’t replicate.

Toby observes the cultural embrace of vintage:

“Vintage is clearly in these days.” (11:15)

4. Social Shifts: Embracing Loneliness and Solo Dining

A significant societal trend discussed is the rise in loneliness, reflected through increased solo dining habits.

• Solo Dining Statistics:
  • Reservation Increase: Solo dining reservations surged by nearly 30% over the past two years (14:08).
  • Gen Z and Millennials: 60% of Gen Z and millennial diners have dined alone at least once in the past year.

Neal links this to broader social changes:

“It speaks to maybe the lack of a third place... people are certainly embracing their loneliness.” (15:17)

• Industry Response: Restaurants adapted by offering more bar seating and tasting menus tailored for solo diners, while fast-casual chains like Sweetgreen and Chipotle became popular spots for solitary meals.

5. Technological Advancements: AI Companions Addressing Loneliness

Neal and Toby explore the intersection of technology and social well-being, focusing on AI-driven solutions to combat loneliness.

• AI Companions:
  • Friend.com: Introduced a wearable pendant that listens and chats with users throughout the day, aiming to provide companionship without pressure for productivity.
  • Market Demand: High Google search interest in terms like “AI boyfriend” and “AI girlfriend” indicates a growing market for AI companionship.

Neal highlights the trend's roots in popular culture:

“The one I want to bring up was all of those AI created marketing ploys that fell flat on their face.” (20:21)

6. Pop Culture Dynamics: AI in Marketing and Rising Pop Stars

The hosts discuss the nuanced relationship between AI and creativity in marketing, along with the emergence of new pop stars.

• AI Marketing Challenges:
  • Backlash Against AI Ads: Apple's and Coca-Cola's AI-generated advertisements received significant negative reactions, highlighting the tension between human emotion and machine-generated content.

Neal remarks on the backlash:

“I've never seen anything draw such backlash to it.” (20:53)

• New Pop Icons:
  • Emerging Artists: Artists like Chapel Rowan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charlie XCX gained immense popularity, challenging established stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
  • Nostalgic Influences: These artists often blend nostalgic elements with modern sounds, resonating with diverse audiences.

Toby reflects on their appeal:

“They borrow from nostalgia and make it their own.” (22:34)

7. Micro-Trends: Sock Wars and Raw Dogging Flights

Wrapping up, the hosts touch upon smaller yet culturally significant trends.

• Sock Preferences:
  • Generational Differences: Gen Z favors calf-high socks, while Millennials preferred ankle socks, leading to playful intergenerational teasing.

Neal shares personal insights:

“You won’t catch me wearing ankle socks ever again.” (12:25)

• Raw Dogging Flights:
  • Solo Flight Practices: A quirky trend where individuals attempt to spend long flights in introspective solitude, though often interrupted by fellow passengers.

Toby humorously recounts his attempt:

“I was sitting next to the bathroom. People kept going by me, kept breaking my conversation.” (23:26)

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Conclusion

Neal and Toby effectively charted the diverse landscape of 2024’s trends, illustrating how societal shifts, technological advancements, and cultural movements intertwine to shape our daily lives. As they anticipate the continuing evolution of these trends into 2025, listeners are left with a nuanced understanding of the forces driving contemporary change.

Notable Quotes:

• “I do think that what we're seeing with people drinking less alcohol, focusing more on wellness is one of those things that could extend years, if not decades.” — Neal Freyman (02:58)

• “Vintage is clearly in these days.” — Toby Howell (11:15)

• “I've never seen anything draw such backlash to it.” — Neal Freyman (20:53)

• “They borrow from nostalgia and make it their own.” — Toby Howell (22:34)

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Transcript

[Google Gemini]

This episode is brought to you by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app, you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city, or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the Gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.

[Neal Freyman]

Good morning Brew Daily Show I'm Neal Freyman.

[Toby Howell]

And I'm Toby Howell.

[Neal Freyman]

Today, a trip down Memory La as Toby relives some of his favorite trends of the year.

[Toby Howell]

From fridge scaping to Mu Dang and everything in between, this is the Toby's Trend show. It's Monday, December 30th. Let's ride man. I am really excited for you all to hear this show. We go through so many Toby's trends in a year, but some are just flash in the pan things. Remember our queen Moo Dang, the pygmy hippo? But some have a more lasting impact on the year. And it's those trends that Neal and I are going to talk about today.

[Neal Freyman]

Yep, as we are right on the cusp of 2025, it's the perfect time to look back at 2024 through the lens of these trends because as you start to put them together, some larger themes start to emerge.

[Toby Howell]

You're right Neal. As I was looking back through each week, I noticed a lot of these topics ladder up into bigger trends. It's like a Russian nesting dolls of Toby's trends. So let's have a little fun to end the year and dove on in. Figured the best way to kick things off is to go all the way back to the beginning of the year to talk about the rise of Dry January. Two trends stood out to me here. One, People are drinking less. Sales at three of the largest US Liquor stores hit a post pandemic low during the first months of the year. Meanwhile, Google searches for Dry January reached an all time high, doubling from a year ago. But what also stood out to me about Dry January is that marijuana sales spiked during the month as the alcohol industry's loss was a cannabis industry's gain. So Neil, it wasn't just a Dry January this year, it was also a high January.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, we're looking back 11 months ago to Dry January saying it was the biggest one ever. Google searches for Dry January doubled. We're coming up on a new Dry January. You have to expect that it will only grow from there. You mentioned at the top that some trends are just a flash in the pan. Some may have a longer, may reflect just longer term changes in our society. I do think that what we're seeing with people drinking less alcohol, focusing more on wellness is one of those things that could extend years, if not decades. I mean, just look at the rise of nonalcoholic beverages. Nonalcoholic beer, wine and liquor jumped 32% from 2023 over 2022, while total alcohol sales were essentially flat. And then if you look at what Whole Foods is selling, which is maybe one of our trendier supermarkets, the top selling beer there as of earlier this year was nonalcoholic, was athletic brewing.

[Toby Howell]

Right. I do want to drill into the marijuana portion though too, because when we did that Toby's trends all back in January, we were like, oh wow, the, the amount of teenagers that are smoking weed versus, you know, drinking alcohol is a lot higher. Not teenagers, but 18 to 25 age group was a lot higher over the past year. But then recently there's been a little bit of a stop in the legalized weed movement on the state level because Florida voted no to legalize weed this year. So maybe the weed industry will run into a little bit more headwinds than we're expecting. But I am curious to see if that Google trend data starts to search up, starts to go up again as we move into this next iteration of dry January and we just do this whole trend all over again.

[Neal Freyman]

It'll be. We. I'm sure we will in a few weeks and it'll be curious to see what the next Trump administration, how it's going to deal with weed. We know that the Biden administration moved to classify it as a much less harmful substance than it is now. And the wild card here could be RFK Jr is going to be the Health and Human Services secretary. He is very pro cannabis. He on the campaign trial when he was running for president, he said he was going to legalize cannabis. But yeah, I would say he is a wild card here. There's going to be a lot of attention on him and see how he, he deals with a federal cannabis policy and also psychiatric drugs which he said he's, he's very.

[Toby Howell]

He promotes my next trend that is slightly related to the one above because it might involve some wine. Was the rise of Romant fantasy novels. This was the year that some steamy, sultry fantasy novels with dragons and fairies. Oh my. Dominated book sales. Series like the Fourth Wing from Rebecca Yarrow and A Court of Rose and Thorns by Sarah J. Maas sold like hotcakes. Sales in the romantic book category rose 45% last year to nearly 20 million copies, even as the overall US book sales fell 2.6%. Just to put that 20 million copy number into perspective, Neil, James Patterson, Stephen King and John Grisham only sold 6 million print books in 2023. So the book industry was just completely overtaken by romantic books this year.

[Neal Freyman]

And I think it speaks to the power of book talk. You know, a lot of these. These books gained popularity and awareness on TikTok with people holding, hosting book clubs and offering reviews and all this speculation. I think this is a particular type of genre that lends itself to talking about it and speculation. And so I think you can't decouple the rise of book talk. People talking about books and giving recommendations on TikTok and other and other forms of social media and the rise of romantasy. But it has clearly taken over book sales in general. At one independent bookstore in Chesapeake, Virginia, novel grounds, they said romanticy accounts for about 70% of sales. And you're starting to see romance. Only bookstores pop up all around the United States. They don't sell anything else. There's about two dozen of them, starting with the first one in Culver City, California in 2016.

[Toby Howell]

It got so big that I was like, I'm not. I'm doing a disservice to our audience if I don't go and read.

[Neal Freyman]

That's what that.

[Toby Howell]

So I read Fourth Wing. It is. It was just as like steamy dragon as people said. And then I read A Court of Rose and Thorns as well. Also very good. I mean, these books do draw you in and you. I ended up reading them in literally like 24 hours. So it is one of those things that you can just flip through. It's a page turner. You just want to get on to the next one in this series. So I was fully wrapped up in this trend this year. You not so much. But I have the book.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, no, I will, I will. If you. If you give it to me, I will absolutely read it. Like on the beach or the next plane ride. Is this a trend do you see going into the future?

[Toby Howell]

I think it's only going to get even bigger because this was really the year that booktok exploded. I mean, I don't know if this was the first year it happened, but it really. 20 million romance novels being sold compared to those other like a list authors. It truly is the book industry at this point. So I think it's only going to snowball from here. Now let's head to the fashion world where nostalgia was the trend du jour. One brand I want to highlight again is Asics. Asics is a 75 year old Japanese running shoe company but its stock price has quadrupled over the past two years as it's ridden this wave of popularity in both running and fashion circles. First, it capitalized on the pandemic running boom quite well but is also seeing success on the backs of its ugly dad sneakers. Some of its more classic silhouettes like the gel Kayano have become fashionable as the quote unquote ugly shoe wave continues to rip as Nike has stumbled this year. Neal Asics has done very well and part of that is this return towards nostalgic silhouettes.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, I think nostalgia is very powerful in marketing and it's always been around. I think brands are getting very good at it, especially in 2024. It just makes you feel better about it makes you think about the past. And often when you think about the past you, you feel like it was better times than it is now. I think Asics is one brand that has done a great job of capitalizing on this and especially in the resale market On StockX in 2024, trades of ASICS products were up 1000% year over year. So to say this is a spike is an understatement.

[Toby Howell]

I mean just walking around New York City you can see it happening in front of your eyes. I mean I go to the gym.

[Neal Freyman]

Like half I look people in the eye, Toby, I don't, I don't look.

[Toby Howell]

At their straight to the sneakers. What's ironic about this trend though, this return to return to nostalgia is that Nike, its stock had a very bad year down about 25% as the time that we are recording this. Part of the reason that it had such a bad year is that it relied too heavily on its nostalgic silhouettes like the Nike dunks like Jordan and it didn't innovate enough. So it is one of those things where you can get too far sucked down the nostalgia rabbit hole. But I will say Asics isn't all nostalgia. Like it also has this very forward looking running shoe division. Their running products are as comparable if not better than anyone other anyone else in the game right now. So I do think it is navigating the tightrope of let's remember our heritage but also let's look forward into the future with our running tech as well. But on this topic of nostalgia, another fun trend in fashion was the emergence of the mob wife esthetic. This was mostly a TikTok thing that involved serving up looks that have big fur coats, lots of leathered animal prints that don't really match big hair, and of course, stacks of gold jewelry. Just think Sopranos, because that's pretty much exactly what it was inspired by. This year was the 25th anniversary of the show. And even though this wasn't one of the longer trends of the year, what this really shows is the circular nature of some of these fashion trends and.

[Neal Freyman]

Also the fact that people just want to look like Carmela Soprano is one of the best characters on tv. I think this was maybe a rejection of that quiet luxury trend that happened in 2020. But again, it's probably nothing new. It's just a rebrand and slapping a new buzzy name on something that people wear all the time. And this one did not last, at least on Tik Tok.

[Toby Howell]

Right? It was. I think what I do want to just call out about this is that it can take just such a small trigger to just like make something erupt into the. I mean, call it mainstream culture just for a little bit. And I think that trigger was obviously the Sopranos 25th anniversary. I also do want to nail down the fact that this trend was not just about what you were wearing either. A lot of it was about how you carry yourself, just the confidence that you carry yourself with. I think you taught me the word hotspot at that point when we were talking about it earlier this year. So it was just one of Those things that TikTok sent into the ether. It calmed back down a little bit. But I think it does speak to this trend of nostalgia that we are talking about. And then another trend that goes hand in hand with both the return of nostalgia and the rise of this mob wife esthetic is how big vintage shopping was this year. Business has been so good in the vintage shopping game. There are over 25,000 resale stores now in the US and secondhand apparel sales were up 11% last year. Apparel resale in the US grew at seven times the rate of the broader retail sector to reach $43 billion just six years ago, sitting at about half of that. So vintage is clearly in these days.

[Neal Freyman]

It is. And big brands are obviously capitalizing on this. Banana Republic, when it's opening its new store in soho, has a small section dedicated to resale. H and M has done the same thing. So you're starting to see larger apparel companies dip a toe into vintage because it is one of the fastest growing areas in this entire sector.

[Toby Howell]

And when we spoke about this trend earlier this year, what we said was that downtowns love resale stores because brick and mortar is still just their, you know, bread and butter. Brick and mortar is their bread and butter because, yes, you can go on Realreal, yes, you can go on Depot, but nothing, you know, recreates the experience of going into a vintage store, trying all the things, because they're all idiosyncratic things. Like you don't know how things are going to fit. So they've been propping up some downtowns because they are really one of the only tenants that still need brick and mortar retail space.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, I mean, do you think nostalgia is. Is unique to 2024 or has it always been here? And we're just talking about. Because we're podcasters now.

[Toby Howell]

It could be that we're podcasters now and it's not like vintage really popped up. But fashion is cyclical. I think that's the biggest takeaway from this entire category is that maybe vintage will start calming down again. We will be looking forward to new styles going forward, but maybe it's because we got a mic in front of us. But I do think that there is something here, specifically in 2024, in the air, that people wanted to look back in history. Okay, final note on fashion trends. Remember the sock war between millennials and Gen Z? Oh, yeah, I'm going to put you on the spot. Do you remember which type of sock Gen Z prefers and which sock Millennials?

[Neal Freyman]

I do, because I'm very self conscious about it now. I feel like millennials got teased by Gen Z for wearing the ankle socks instead of the ones that go up a little more on your calf. So I don't. You won't catch me wearing ankle socks ever again.

[Toby Howell]

See, you do look at people's ankles.

[Neal Freyman]

Neil, because you started look at mine.

[Toby Howell]

You look at your own ankles. Yeah, I realize that I. Because I'm right on the cusp of Gen Z and Millennial and I kind of realize I wear mid level socks. Like they are not exactly ankle socks. They're not the no show socks, but they're also not, you know, tube socks. So I think that perfectly encapsulates where I sit, which is straddling generations. We're going to take a quick break, but more Toby's trends coming up next.

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[eBay]

Okay, I have to tell you, I was just looking on ebay, where I go for all kinds of things I love. And there it was.

[Toby Howell]

That hologram trading card.

[Neal Freyman]

One of the rarest. The last one I needed for my set. Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams.

[Toby Howell]

One of a kind. Ebay had it. And now everyone's asking, ooh, where'd you.

[Neal Freyman]

Get your windshield wipers? Ebay has all the parts that fit my car. No more annoying, just beautiful.

[eBay]

Whatever you love, find it on eBay. EBay Things people love.

[Toby Howell]

Okay, another macro trend I want to talk about is loneliness, starting with eating alone. In the U.S. solo dining reservations are up nearly 30% over the last two years, according to OpenTable. And a survey of 2,000 diners found that 60% of Gen Z and millennial respondents have dined solo dolo at least once in the past year. Neil Dining alone went from being something that was almost scoffed at and used as a punchline in a lot of movies to now being totally normal.

[Neal Freyman]

Maybe people are embracing their loneliness here. I think it speaks to maybe the lack of a third place. And this is not nothing. This is not new. It's. It's been going on for a while. But, you know, the concept of a third place is the fact that you have work, you have home, and then there's always that next, you know, club that you join as part of a, you know, social gathering to meet people outside of work and home. And that seemingly has gone away or moved to digital spaces, which could be, you know, a whole other discussion. But people are certainly, you know, certainly embracing their loneliness and the rise of eating alone. I know we were talking about whether you actually do it or not. Has is certainly emblematic of that.

[Toby Howell]

I think it is emblematic. And remember, restaurants started leaning into this trend, too, because they're like, all right, we have all these reservations for one coming through the door. How can we cater to them? And they started offering more bar seating instead of table seating. They started offering more tasting menus for people coming in alone. I think a do a big part of it, too, is the rise of fast casual chains. Kava, Sweetgreen, Chipotle. These are places where it's very normal to go at lunchtime, grab a Bowl, sit and eat by yourself. I mean, like, I do that all the time because it is just a brief respite in your busy, busy day. So I think you can go as deep into it, like maybe people are lonely, or maybe people are just being more convenient and really engaging with these fast casual chains. But another also on this topic of loneliness, that was another trend we did where we covered America turning into a nation of homebodies. Even coming out of the pandemic, census data shows that Americans are spending more time at home than ever before. The American Time Use survey showed that time spent at home increased by an hour and 39 minutes a day from 2003 to 2022. Obviously, a rise in work from home contributed to those numbers. But also things like education, eating and drinking and religious activities have moved into the house. The largest shift actually did come from religious activities. 59% occurred at home in 2022, up from just 24% in 2003. So we really did move a lot of our lives indoors.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, and in response to that, there's been this phrase that has become way more popular, which is go touch some grass. And I think that is, has been another trend of 2024 that we didn't talk about where there's an urge from people online who, to others who are spending all of their time online. So maybe people in glass houses, but certainly people are telling are saying, go touch some grass. You know, be a part of the real world. Especially when it came to this electoral season where a lot of discussions were happening online, where that may not have mirrored what was happening in the, you know, in the actual real world. So that reminds me of just saying, you know, go touch some grass. Sometimes got to get outside, put on.

[Toby Howell]

Your ankle socks and go outside.

[Neal Freyman]

But another trend that this also remind me of, that I think we did, was about the rise of huge televisions.

[Toby Howell]

Oh yeah.

[Neal Freyman]

Which was the fact that there was a tenfold increase in massive televisions of 90, at least 97 inches or bigger this year over last year through the first nine months of the year. So if people are spending more time at home, which they are, they're, you know, they're doing it up, make the.

[Toby Howell]

Space look good again. This is another trend that it reminded me of. A trend within a trend of moving things into home was fridge scaping. Remember, people started decorating their refrigerators in these esthetic ways and then posting them on Instagram. Think colored Tupperware tops, label free mason jars, even some non edible elements like flowers would bring themes out like they were dressing them as the Hobbit or Bridgerton. So that was certainly boring of spending more time in the house as well.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, that one doesn't have a long shelf life.

[Toby Howell]

I see what you did there. People were. People were actually mad about this, though, because they're saying, like, taking dairy products out of their sealed containers and putting them into different containers, like, messes up the pasteurization. So that one was probably valuing esthetics over, you know, actual practicality there. But that was a big trend of moving more life indoors. One business idea that emerged out of this rise in loneliness, too, is the emergence of AI products being built to address loneliness. We talked about one company, friend.com who is designing this wearable pendant that listens to you throughout the day and is always there to just chat. It's meant to keep you company, not make you more productive. Because we are seeing tons of Google search interest already in girlfriends and AI boyfriends. People are more isolated than ever. So having someone to talk to that understands you because it's been listening. There's probably a big market out there for a device like this and others.

[Neal Freyman]

Absolutely. I mean, we're just over two years into the quote, unquote, AI revolution launched by Chat CBT in November 2022. And it's clear, you know, one of the biggest use cases for AI is being your friend or having a companion, which was predicted really by the movie her and also, you know, boyfriends, girlfriends. There was this study that came out that analyzed a million chachi beat interactions, found that the second most popular use was sexual role playing. So clearly people are using AI for intimacy and also just to converse with bots. The one of these companies is Character AI. It's one of the biggest AI companies out there. Last year, $150 million is an absolute, absolute behemoth. So if you're looking at, you know, if you're asking questions of like, okay, two years in to chat cbt, what are people actually using it for? This companionship one is certainly one of.

[Toby Howell]

The biggest, right, Friend? I created a pendant that you interact with in the real world. But I do think that even just chat bots on your computer will be something that we will be monitoring going forward this year, in the next year to come. And then finally, that is some of the best trends of the year that I remember. But, Neil, I want to turn it over to you a little bit. What were one or two trends that stood out to you as some of your favorites?

[Neal Freyman]

Well, I've got a couple, but since we Just talked about AI. The one I want to bring up was all of those AI created marketing ploys that fell flat on their face. Remember Apple had their, they had this commercial that they debuted where a, you know, the classical tools of the way people created art were crushed. And what emerged was a sleek iPad and Apple introduced its, its Apple intelligence and features in its new products. And the response to it, I've never seen anything draw such backlash to it.

[Toby Howell]

Well, I think you're talking about two separate things there because one, that the Apple ad was talking about crushing creativity, right. And then the Coca Cola one was actually built using AI. But I think you are right. Google had another ad where it was talking. A dad was helping, oh the Olympics.

[Neal Freyman]

One the Olympics won.

[Toby Howell]

Their daughter write a letter to her favorite athlete and he was using like Gemini AI to enable that. So there was this big clash between like human emotion and AI tools as well as like that actual. The Coca Cola ad was a more recent thing where it looks like the uncanny value because it was generated using AI. So I think you're definitely right. That is a trend we'll look at going forward.

[Neal Freyman]

And another one, I don't know if this is a trend, but it's certainly in the cultural sphere and I don't know if I have any deep analysis of it but certainly like the rise of the three pop stars, Chapel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charlie XX over the summer, especially Brat summer was, was a big trend, at least on social media, which is where you pick a lot of your trends from kind of dethroning the, the music royalty of 2023, which is Beyonce and Taylor Swift. So those three pop stars were absolutely, you know, they were everywhere this summer. And again, I don't know what it means in the broader scope of things, but it shows that people are always looking. As much as they like nostalgia, they are looking for fresh, new, innovative ideas. Which I think all those three, those three did. Except you know, a lot of them did borrow from nostalgia and make it their own. Charlie XCX borrows a lot from like you know, dance club beats from decades ago. Sabrina Carpenter channels the seventies in her music. So that mixing of, you know, old, old themes and music and like putting a new spin on it was absolutely big in the cultural sphere.

[Toby Howell]

What's fascinating too about that is that Sabrina Carpenter and Charlie XCX had been around for a long time. They dropped multiple albums. But this year, for whatever reason, I think it could have been the nostalgia, like you might have just explained it very well there that people like that it evoked a time in the past. And then, I don't know, Chapel Rowan is just like incredible. So like, of course she was just going to do well no matter what. But yeah, that is, that's a good one. I think that maybe we'll get a new crop next year and we'll be talking about a new crop of pop stars in 2025. The final trend that I just liked that I couldn't fit into any bigger, wider explanation was remember raw dogging flights where people, mostly guys, would just go on 7 hour, 8 hour, 9 hour flights and just look at the seat in front of them or look at the flight map in front of them. That didn't speak to anything. But I just remember that was very fun. I thought about trying it on a recent long flight. I had. I made it like 10 minutes.

[Neal Freyman]

How. How did you actually try?

[Toby Howell]

I did try.

[Neal Freyman]

Were you going in with the attempt? Like, I'm not going to do anything.

[Toby Howell]

Well, I didn't like fully commit myself to it, but I tried. And then what started happening? I was sitting next to the bathroom. People kept going by me, kept breaking my conversation. I got tired. So I don't know if people were just lying about that on social media, but it definitely was a thing that guys are like, let's, let's just work on this. We're going to go inwards in our thoughts. So not really speaks to anything bigger. But that was one of my.

[Neal Freyman]

Are you allowed? If I had a window seat, could I look out the window?

[Toby Howell]

I don't think so.

[Neal Freyman]

I think you got to shut.

[Toby Howell]

You're not allowed to go to the bathroom. Like, you literally just.

[Neal Freyman]

I can't do that straight ahead for me. But that term, which is, you know, a sexually explicit term that has become a part of our vocabulary now. And people kind of, you know, don't really think about its origins. That has, that has staying power. And I think people will still use that to describe any, any effort at doing something without the, without, without the comfort. So I've heard people use it a million times over to describe any single thing. There's videos going around I know that we watch about golf where he's like, yeah, I'm doing this with golf and I'm just in a forest and I'm just hitting a ball randomly. So I do feel like that could be maybe not doing this for flights, but, but just. It has certainly permeated the culture of that really monastic lifestyle that was. And challenging yourself.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, that was Toby's trends. No huge bigger meaning to it all. Just you versus you.

[Neal Freyman]

And that is all the time we have. Toby, thank you for those trends. I'm excited to see what 2025 has to offer and thank you so much for starting your morning with us and have a wonderful Monday. For any questions, comments or feedback, send an email to Morning Brew Daily at Morning Broadcom. Let's roll the credits. Emily Milligrant is our executive producer. Raymond Lu is our producer. Olivia Graham is our associate producer. Eugenia Ogu is our technical director. Billy Menino is on audio, hair and makeup is also feeling wistful about the past. Devin Emery is our Chief Content Officer and our show is a production of Morning Brew.

[Toby Howell]

Great show, Daniel. Let's run it back tomorrow. Wait, wait. Before you go, Neil has one more thing to tell you.

[Neal Freyman]

It's time to come clean. Hosting Morning Brew Daily isn't my only job.

[Toby Howell]

Wait, are you Batman?

[Neal Freyman]

No, when I'm not here sitting next to Toby. I'm also the Executive Editor of Morning Brews Free Daily Newsletter if you love the pod, you'll love the newsletter. Not only does it give you your daily dose of news, but it also has crosswords and trivia and jokes written by people way funnier than me and Toby.

[Toby Howell]

I hate to admit it, but it's true. I read it every day and I think you all will love adding it to your routine as well.

[Neal Freyman]

Subscribe now at Morning Broadcom or head to the link in the show Notes.