🎩 “Boardwalk McEmpire” — McDonald’s Monopoly psychology. Friend AI’s viral subway ad. EA’s Saudi Sale. +The Best Idea Yet nomination.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet – “Boardwalk McEmpire”

Date: September 30, 2025
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell
Episode Theme:
A punchy, fast-moving look at three top business stories: the return of McDonald’s Monopoly (and its psychological hooks), Electronic Arts’ $55B buyout from Saudi Arabia, and Friend AI’s viral, controversial subway ad blitz—plus a celebration of podcast milestones.

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Episode Overview

Jack and Nick dive into the hottest pop-biz news stories of the day, mixing sharp analysis, humor, and personal anecdotes. The episode spotlights the psychology and history behind McDonald’s Monopoly, the geopolitics of Saudi Arabia’s massive acquisition of Electronic Arts, and the extremely viral (and vandalized) subway ad campaign for Friend, an AI companion device. There’s also a special nod to their podcasting journey and award nominations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Return of McDonald’s Monopoly

[06:03 - 10:33]

• McDonald’s re-launches Monopoly: After a 10-year hiatus due to an infamous fraud scandal, the iconic promotion returns as the chain seeks to reignite consumer excitement amid high prices and sagging sales.
  • "McDonald's just relaunched their famous Monopoly promotion after a 10 year pause." – Nick [00:17]
• The 2000s Fraud Scandal:
  • The FBI uncovered a 12-year scam where a marketing company worker, “Uncle Jerry,” sold rare Monopoly pieces on the black market for up to $50,000, leading to 50+ convictions and a $24M fraud.
  • “He was a real-life version of the Hamburglar. An actual burglar tied to real McDonald's.” – Jack [09:02]
• Psychology of the Promotion (“Psychonomics”):
  • The game is a case study in harnessing behavioral economics: it leverages nostalgia, the illusion of progress, scarcity (easy to get 2/3 pieces, impossible to get the last), and the Zeigarnik effect (motivation from unfinished tasks).
  • “Monopoly always boosted sales for McDonald's for a bunch of behavioral reasons, even though the game never really changed.” – Jack [09:39]
  • “It’s a case study in ‘psychonomics’…even if the past is stained by a $24 million fraud.” – Nick [10:24]

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2. Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Saudi Buyout

[10:33 - 14:54]

• Historic Acquisition: EA, known for The Sims and Madden, is being taken private in the largest leveraged buyout ever, led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and involving Jared Kushner.
  • “Electronic Arts is now going private in a $55 billion record breaking acquisition… Saudi Arabia is the biggest investor by far.” – Jack [11:09]
• What’s a Leveraged Buyout?
  • Analogy: “House flipping, but for companies” – buy EA stock at a premium using massive borrowed money ($20B loan from JP Morgan).
  • "Shellack, shellack that thing." – Nick’s quip on “renovating” the company [12:12]
• Geopolitical Motives:
  • The Saudi move isn’t just about profit: it’s about clout, cultural cachet, and diversifying beyond oil by owning a major piece of American pop culture.
  • “This isn’t a regular PE deal… This is a cultural power play.” – Jack [13:41]
  • “Video games are a media with underappreciated influence. The amount of time Americans spend playing video games is more than watching movies, TV, and listening to music combined.” – Jack [14:18, hero stat]
  • Previous similar US media asset takeovers (Twitter, TikTok, Paramount) are cited as context.

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3. Friend AI’s Viral Subway Blitz

[17:08 - 21:48]

• From Viral Video to Real-World Product:
  • Friend is an AI-powered wearable “companion” (neural necklace) that listens and texts empathetic responses—aimed at “companionship, not productivity."
  • “It’s an eavesdropping necklace with empathy… an $129 AI Tamagotchi.” – Jack [17:58], [18:06]
• Record-Setting NYC Subway Ad Campaign:
  • Friend bought 11,000 in-train ads, 1,000 station posters, and took over West 4th—spending $1M for omnipresence.
  • “You cannot meet a gal pal for your double digit latte at Bleecker street without seeing a friend sign up at the subway stairway.” – Nick [19:20]
• Instant Viral Feedback—Graffiti and Backlash:
  • New Yorkers covered the ads in snarky graffiti (“get real friends!”/“AI sucks”/“be friend a senior citizen instead”), possibly playing into the company’s PR strategy.
  • “The day the ad campaign went up, people were writing ‘AI sucks’...” – Nick [20:21]
• Efficiency and Impact:
  • Friend’s launch is held up as a case study in cheap, viral, and efficient marketing: a $3 million spend for immense name recognition (product, viral videos, Friend.com, and now the graffiti-boosted campaign).
  • “If Friend works, this will be one of the most efficient marketing launches we’ve ever seen. A true financial trick shot.” – Nick [21:41]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Uncle Jerry was charging $50,000 in cash to get the winning sticker pieces you'd need to accomplish that $1 million jackpot prize." – Nick [08:53]
• "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is a self described avid gamer who once played video games with Jensen Huang of Nvidia. It's kind of a nepoquisition, if you will." – Nick [12:54]
• "AI hardware that's like, hard to do and takes a lot of money. And yet Friend only has a few extra million dollars left over after this marketing splurge." – Jack [21:22]
• “The amount of time Americans spend playing video games is more than the time we spend watching movies, watching TV and listening to music combined.” – Jack [14:18]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [06:03] McDonald’s Monopoly Returns (history & scandal)
• [09:27] Psychology behind Monopoly’s success (“psychonomics”)
• [10:33] EA’s $55B Leveraged Buyout by Saudi Arabia (deal details)
• [13:41] Geopolitical power play, not just a financial move
• [17:08] Friend AI’s Subway Ad Campaign (product details, rollout)
• [19:59] Public reactions, graffiti on Friend ads
• [21:00] Takeaway: Is Friend the most efficient launch ever?

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Additional Notes & Moments

• Podcast Milestones:

  • Jack & Nick discuss wrapping up Season 1 of their “Best Idea Yet” show, with 50 evergreen episodes—ranging from Happy Meals to Birkenstocks—culminating in a slew of award nominations.
  • “For the last year, launching a weekly show on top of this daily show has been a labor of love from Nick and me.” – Jack [02:48]

• Business Update Quick Hits:

  • Looming US government shutdown [22:42]
  • Expiration of the EV tax credit [22:54]
  • Robinhood’s booming “prediction market” [23:02]
  • Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Bad Bunny (politics and marketing) [23:25]

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Conclusion

This episode showcases The Best One Yet's signature mix of lively business storytelling, sharp behavioral insights, and “if you know, you know” references. You’ll learn why nostalgia, psychology, and cultural power plays matter in business—from fast food to video games to viral gadgets.

If you’re looking for:

• The story behind McDonald’s Monopoly’s comeback—beyond the nostalgia,
• The real agenda powering EA’s record $55B buyout,
• Why an AI trinket’s subway ads became a city-wide meme,

this is, as they say, a T Boy episode.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick, this is Jack. It's Tuesday, T Boy. Tuesday, September 30th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T Boy.

[B]

The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

[A]

Oh, Jack. Last day of the quarter. That's big. What do you say we hit our three stories? Aren't they fantastic?

[B]

They are fantastic. For our first story, McDonald's just relaunched their famous Monopoly promotion after a 10 year pause.

[A]

McDonald's Monopoly. It's one of the most successful marketing campaigns ever. But it involves the FBI and 50.

[B]

Criminal convictions of conspiracy.

[A]

True story. And we got it for you.

[B]

For our second story, Electronic Arts, the video game maker, is being acquired for $55 billion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

[A]

It's the biggest leveraged buyout of all time. So Jack and I will channel our inner former finance bros and tell you what that really means.

[B]

For our third and final story, we covered Friend. One year ago, Friend was creating a wearable AI device. A wearable AI Friend. And the product is now for sale.

[A]

So Friend just launched the biggest and most controversial New York City subway ad campaign of all time. We'll tell you the drama, but yetis.

[B]

Before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa.

[A]

That is a mix of stories. Love the mix.

[B]

Nick and I have been doing the show daily since the spring of 2018. We are close to 2000. Thousand episodes of T Boy.

[A]

Here's the key, Eddies. Two years ago, we wanted to create a legacy, a version of our show for our kids to listen to 20 years from now and still enjoy.

[B]

It would be a new show that wasn't news based. Instead, it would be evergreen stories with timeless value.

[A]

Well, we walked into a Hollywood studio down in LA and pitched that idea two years ago. And it became the best idea yet. The untold origin stories of the most viral products of all time. The ones you're obsessed with.

[B]

Well, here's the news. Season one just wrapped up.

[A]

50 episodes, 45 minutes each.

[B]

Season one was epic. It started with the McDonald's Happy Meal, which was actually invented by a mother down in Guatemala.

[A]

Then we did the Birkenstock sandals, the Patagonia fleece, Legos, Reese's peanut butter cups, Hamilton. Even the New York Yankees, baby.

[B]

We also covered Pokemon because so many people asked every episode, will you do an episode on Pokemon?

[A]

But besties, here's the bigger news because we're capping off season one with an award nomination.

[B]

We just received our third nomination for best business podcast.

[A]

Yeah. First, this show, the best one yet. Got a Webby award for Best Business podcast.

[B]

Then the Best idea yet got nominated for best business podcast by the ambies.

[A]

Well, now for the third and final podcast award, the Signals. We've been nominated for the best idea yet to win best business podcast.

[B]

So pause the pod and vote. Now we got a link in the episode description. Yetis. For the last year, launching a weekly show on top of this daily show has been a labor of love from Nick and me.

[A]

Jack, you wanna sprinkle on some behind the scenes context?

[B]

Every weekend we reviewed a script. Every Monday morning we reviewed another script. Every Tuesday night we recorded that script after already recording this daily news show.

[A]

And then we would spend three extra hours in the studio late night until 9pm every Tuesday morning recording the best idea yet.

[B]

We called Tuesday double sessions.

[A]

Big Tuesday.

[B]

So season one was a marathon and we hope to come back with a season two.

[A]

We'll keep you updated if and when we do a season two.

[B]

But in the meantime, if you've given the best idea yet a listen, thank.

[A]

You very much and an extra thank you to the epic 10 person team that co produced the whole show with us. Now go vote to get us that award.

[B]

So we finish season one really in style.

[A]

Amazing. This all began two years ago, Jack. With a pitch in Hollywood about a Happy Meal.

[B]

Someday we're gonna do a best Idea yet episode on the Best Idea yet Full circle.

[A]

But in the meantime, we got three fantastic stories for you. Jack, let's hit the tea.

[C]

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet. But the best is the norm. Jack. Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%. That's a fat tip. T Boy City on your atlas. If you know, you know. Cause we read to go. We can't wait no more.

[A]

So just start the show.

[C]

Start the show.

[A]

Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

[B]

Airbnb.

[A]

Yetis. Our show actually started as a side hustle over 10 years ago. It began in secret outside of our bank jobs.

[B]

We were worried we'd get fired, so we didn't tell our bosses and we even left our names off the website.

[A]

Now that was our side hustle, a media startup. But there are other side hustles that are a lot less risky than that.

[B]

And that have 0% chance of getting you fired. Like being a host on Airbnb.

[A]

In this economy, it's a fun and rewarding way to make money. Off the thing, you're already paying for your house or your apartment.

[B]

I've hosted two previous apartments and my current chalet on Airbnb.

[A]

And when no one's using it, why not welcome a family, a couple that just got engaged?

[B]

You already have an Airbnb, you just didn't realize it yet.

[A]

Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host Netsuite Yetis what does the future hold for business? Can someone just invent a crystal ball?

[B]

Until then, over 42,000 businesses have future proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one Cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory and HR into one platform.

[A]

With real time insights and forecasting, you're able to peer into the future and seize new opportunities like a young gandalf.

[B]

Download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning for free at netsuite.com tboy that's netsuite.com tboy for our first story.

[A]

After 10 years, McDonald's is bringing back the thrill of the peel with McDonald's Monopoly.

[B]

But the reason it's been gone so long is a massive conspiracy and a black market of McDonald's Monopoly pieces.

[A]

But Jack, in order for us to tell this story, could you please sprinkle on some context to the current McDrama going on right now?

[B]

The $20 price tag of a Big Mac meal is like an inflation scar on all of our minds. It's no longer considered an affordable place to eat. So Ronald McD's is desperate to bring back any sense of I am loving it.

[A]

Yeah, well, first, Jack, they tried to do that by bringing back Grimace.

[B]

They also tried an adult Happy Meal, new value meals, extra value meals. But after two consecutive quarters of shrinking US sales at McDonald's, they are going for the nuclear option.

[A]

Here's the news. Monopoly is back 10 years after retiring their most famous marketing game. McDonald's says Monopoly is here again.

[B]

So you can go to your local McDonald's, order some french fries, and then peel off a McDonald's sticker. If it's Pennsylvania Avenue, you're one step closer to a free Jeep cherokee.

[A]

But the McDonald's monopoly combo is one of the most underappreciated collabs of all time.

[B]

Not underappreciated by us. We recognize the wild success of this campaign, but also the wild controversy, which.

[A]

You may not know. Here's the deal, besties. This game was first introduced back in 1987, and immediately it was a force for national unity on Par with the American Revolution.

[B]

I took a lot of road trips as a kid. We only stopped at McDonald's.

[A]

I mean, Jack, when the McDonald's came out with Monopoly, my dad would like strategically send us to different boroughs to go to different McDonald's to optimize our chances of winning.

[B]

I don't know how strategic that was.

[A]

But I was like going to school in the Bronx and stopping at McDonald's. We'd send Katie, my sister, on play dates in Brooklyn just so she could go to a Brooklyn McDonald's and bring back some stickers.

[B]

But yetis, in the year 2001, the FBI got an anonymous phone call with a tip of a potential scam.

[A]

Yeah, a scam that had been going on for 12 years.

[B]

The suspect was a Georgia man named Jerome Jacobson. Yeah, and according to the FBI files.

[A]

AKA Uncle Jerry, which sounds like a character in like a Wes Anderson movie, not a good guy.

[B]

Jerry worked for a business called Simon Marketing. The same marketing company McDonald's hired to launch their Monopoly campaign.

[A]

Well, it turns out Uncle Jerry, as he was known, had a little monopoly on something else, too. Something called embezzlement.

[B]

He used the company's resources for his own personal gain by secretly selling the most rare Monopoly pieces.

[A]

Okay, Yetis, remember when Jack said, like, you would need two extra pieces in order to win that free jeep playing the Monopoly game?

[B]

Uncle Jerry found those pieces at McDonald's because he worked for them and sold the most rare pieces on a black market.

[A]

Uncle Jerry was charging $50,000 in cash to get the winning sticker pieces you'd need to accomplish that $1 million jackpot prize.

[B]

He was a real life version of the Hamburg.

[A]

An actual burglar tied to real McDonald's.

[B]

And the result? More than 50 people in all were convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy to steal $24 million from McDonald's.

[A]

Hence the 10 year delay on them bringing it back. Yeah, but Jack, what's way for our buddies Pass and go for the McDonald's Monopoly promotion?

[B]

The McDonald's Monopoly campaign is psychonomics at work.

[A]

Yetis, any quarter when McDonald's ran their monopoly game, they would cite it in their following earnings report as a massive revenue success.

[B]

Monopoly always boosted sales for McDonald's for a bunch of behavioral reasons, even though.

[A]

The game never really changed. Like, of course, there was the nostalgia element to this, but also there was the clever manipulation of scarcity, which created an illusion of progress.

[B]

Here's the manipulation of scarcity. You needed three stickers to win most of the prizes, right, Jack? And McDonald's made a bunch of two of those stickers, but only a few of the third.

[A]

Another strategy, Jack, the Zeigernik effect. The motivation of unfinished tasks.

[B]

By having two of the three stickers we need for that Jeep, we're more motivated to keep trying and buy another McFlurry.

[A]

So yet he's add it all up. And for a variety of behavioral strategies, Monopoly is a consistent sales booster. Profit puppy for McDonald's.

[B]

It's a case study in psychonomics, psychological economics, even if the past is stained by a $24 million fraud.

[A]

For our second story, Electronic Arts, the video game studio known for the Sims, Madden and Battlefield just sold in the biggest leveraged buyout ever.

[B]

What is a leveraged buyout? Now it's house flipping, but for companies. But the buyer in this case is Saudi Arabia.

[A]

But besties. Yeah, just to chat, a little nostalgia here too. When Jack and I were kids, we played video games made by EA Sports.

[B]

It's in the game, but besties.

[A]

When Jack and I became finance guys, we learned that adults don't play with EA Sports, they play with EA stock.

[B]

This company, founded in 1982 by Apple employees, Electronic Arts is now going private in a $55 billion record breaking acquisition. It's the biggest LBO ever. And among the new owners are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner.

[A]

It appears that Saudi Arabia is the biggest investor by far. The Saudis will now own America's second biggest video game company.

[B]

But for them to make this acquisition, they need the government's approval, which is probably why the President's son in law is in the deal.

[A]

Yeah, there's another private equity firm involved as well. And they all want the same thing, thing.

[B]

Flip Electronic Arts in five to seven years for a profit.

[A]

Let's sprinkle on some more context.

[B]

Let's sprinkle on an analogy to understand what a leveraged buyout is.

[A]

So besties, imagine that the sale of Electronic Arts video games is like the sale of a house.

[B]

A house bought with a mortgage.

[A]

You see, the buyers are those three private investors we mentioned who think Electronic Arts has a ton of unrealized value. It's like a fixer up, right Jack?

[B]

It needs to be gutted. And we're gonna put up some knotty pine on the interior.

[A]

Shellack, shellack that thing.

[B]

So these three investors paid 210 bucks for every single share of Electronic arts, which is 25% above asking price, the.

[A]

Asking price being the stock price. Before the news broke of this deal and investors bought it up.

[B]

And it's called a leveraged buyout because the buyers took out a loan, a record $20 billion loan from JP Morgan.

[A]

Just like you would get a mortgage loan to buy a house. They took out a loan to buy a giant video game.

[B]

But Nick, the new owners aren't kids who played EA College Football 2021 through 2027 in their parents basement and dream to own a video game company someday.

[A]

Actually, Jack, I'm sorry, pause the pod. That is exactly what is happening right now.

[B]

True, because the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is a self described avid gamer who once played video games with Jensen Huang of Nvidia.

[A]

It's kind of a nepoquisition, if you will. He's using his parents money to buy the biggest video games out there.

[B]

But they're also financiers. So they're looking to cut costs of this company they just bought, find some new revenues and sell EA Sports back onto the stock market someday for a profit. That would make John Madden say pow. Tough acting today.

[A]

And besties, that is how a typical LBO leveraged buyout deal actually happens.

[B]

But based on the buyers in this deal, maybe that's not what's happening.

[A]

No, Jack, let's go further inside. What's the takeaway for our buddies over at Electronic Arts? Video Games?

[B]

This isn't a regular PE leveraged buyout financial deal. This is a cultural power play.

[A]

This is all about clout. Yetis, we almost did a takeaway today about the video game industry getting decentralized by companies like Fortnite and Roblox and disruption of video games.

[B]

But then we realized the most important thing about this acquisition is is the buyers, not the sellers.

[A]

Exactly. Because acquisitions are increasingly happening for power and influence, especially media acquisitions and video.

[B]

Games are a media with underappreciated influence.

[A]

Okay, Jack, can you please share that wild hero stat that we love?

[B]

The amount of time Americans spend playing video games is more than the time we spend watching movies, watching TV and listening to music combined.

[A]

Twitter, Paramount, TikTok and now EA. All historical acquisitions conditions bought by people with geopolitical agendas.

[B]

Saudi Arabia isn't doing this for the money or for the financial returns. They're doing it to diversify their oil economy, get closer to the west and gain some cultural cache and power.

[A]

It's the clout. So besties, this could be a classic private equity house flipping situation and we'll see if EA hits the stock market again in five years.

[B]

Or it could be a power play another influential American media asset with powerful new owners.

[A]

Now a quick word from our sponsor, AT&T Business Yetis Starting your own business. It ain't easy. When we first got our daily newsletter off the ground that led to this podcast a decade ago, we definitely did not get everything right.

[B]

Remember, we initially bummed WI fi off of hotel lobbies.

[A]

Classic move.

[B]

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[A]

Another latte shout out to all the.

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Which is the main thing you want in a provider. Less time stressing, more time for you to work on your business.

[B]

And Yetis, there's never enough time.

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So start a business, live your dream and wake up to the power of ATT business. Business.att.com ZipRecruiter Yetis, are you a witch? Or a ghost? Or maybe are you an elf?

[B]

This year we're doing Toy Story and I'm actually gonna be the claw. Those little green aliens.

[A]

Well, Q4 is the holiday quarter, and with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is the ultimate season for hiring seasonal roles.

[B]

So if you've got a belly, a white beard and a big old laugh, Macy's will hire you starting November 25th to be Santa Claus.

[A]

And whether you're hiring for one of these roles or any other role, the best way to find the perfect match for your on ZipRecruiter.

[B]

And right now you can try it out for [e-mail] tboy they got this matching technology.

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That's just One reason why ZipRecruiter is the number one rated hiring site based on G2.

[B]

The other reason is that the unemployment rate for reindeer 0% right now.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

And right now you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com tboy again that.

[B]

ZipRecruiter.com tby ZipRecruiter the smartest way to.

[D]

Hire.

[A]

For our third and final story, every New Yorker over the weekend was talking to their friends about friend Friend, the AI Friend wearable device friend launched.

[B]

The biggest New York City subway ad campaign ever. And the reaction is getting even more.

[A]

Attention now as daily yetis and besties listening to this podcast. You may remember a story we did last July about a promo video that got more attention than a Kardashian.

[B]

It was a video of a woman doing a solo outdoor hike, talking to herself.

[A]

I'm so out of breath, she said as she held up a necklace to her face at the end of the hike.

[B]

And then she got a text message that said, but we made it outside, didn't we?

[A]

But here's the key, besties. That text did not come from a friend. It came from Friend Friend, the AI Buddy device that you wear around your neck.

[B]

It's basically an eavesdropping necklace with empathy because this thing listens and responds to you with text Messages.

[A]

That's an $129 AI Tamagotchi.

[B]

It's a roommate around your neck. But it's not AI for productivity or creativity. It's AI for companionship.

[A]

And since we did that story, Friend bought the website www.friend.com for $1.8 million, which is now looking like a steal because one year later, Friend just got into the zeitgeist again.

[B]

Friend got more attention than ch he could ask for.

[A]

The founder of Friend tweeted their numbers and so far, 464 of these friend necklaces are out there in the wild.

[B]

And the average human is sending their AI friend 238 messages per day.

[A]

Which is more than what we would send to our buddy Timmy back in the day when he was our roommate.

[B]

More messages than I send my real friends.

[A]

But here's even bigger news. Yetis Friend launched the hugest subway advertising campaign of all time.

[B]

Friend gave the New York City MTA $1,000,000 for 11,000 signs within New York City subway trains. 1,000 posters within New York City subway stations across all five boroughs of the city.

[A]

And most strategically, Friend did an entire subway takeover of the West 4th street station. Which is right by NYU, right?

[B]

Jack, you cannot meet a gal pal for your double digit latte at Bleecker street without seeing a friend sign up at the subway stairway.

[A]

But Jack and I dove in t boy style. And we discovered other wild details about the record setting Friend ad campaign on the subways.

[B]

It was designed by the founder himself, Avi Schiffman, who whipped it up on Figma DIY style.

[A]

And there's something kind of deeply ironic Jack and I think about this Friend subway ad campaign, right?

[B]

I mean, Friend's product is a Cutting edge AI artificial companion.

[A]

And yet they're spending their ad budget on the most basic old school technology of all. A billboard on a subway.

[B]

But an even bigger story than this ad campaign is the reaction to it because the ads are getting covered in graffiti.

[A]

Now, we should point out, Jack, that like pretty much every subway ad gets vandalized at some point if it's left up for so long.

[B]

But this time, New Yorkers had an especially loud amount of fun with their Sharpies because they crossed out, like the marketing message and they just wrote get real Friends instead.

[A]

Literally, the day the ad campaign went up, people were writing, AI sucks. Surveillance capitalism. Befriend a senior citizen instead on all of these Friend ads.

[B]

Although it's possible that's exactly what the founder wanted because the ads have a lot of white space. It's like they were begging to be graffitied.

[A]

And all of our buddies were talking about this campaign in New York. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our friends over at Friend?

[B]

Is Friend the most efficient tech launch in history?

[A]

Yetis no company's getting better ROI on their moves right now than Friend. You see, with just $3 million, they have enormous name recognition with all of these financial trick shots.

[B]

That launch video from last summ cost next to nothing, but went viral and got millions of views.

[A]

The website friend.com is valuable digital real estate. And now their $1 million subway billboard campaign is getting double the attention because of all that graffiti.

[B]

And yet Friend has only raised $8 million. It's the tiniest startup that's achieved massive buzz.

[A]

What about the product? Are they neglecting product development to get.

[B]

All of this buzz AI hardware that's like, hard to do and takes a lot of money. And yet Friend only has a few extra million dollars left over after this marketing splurge.

[A]

Well, they probably didn't build. Probably does run off of ChatGPT or Claude, but you still gotta pay for that stuff.

[B]

Friend just started shipping the product. We'll be curious if it actually works.

[A]

But in the meantime, if Friend can pull this off, it might just be the most efficient marketing moves we've ever seen.

[B]

A true financial trick shot.

[A]

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T Boy Tuesday?

[B]

McDonald's announced Monday that McDonald's monopoly is back after 10 years. Starting next week.

[A]

With manipulated scarcity and behavioral hacks, McDonald's monopoly is psychonomics at work.

[B]

For our second story, Electronic Arts is selling for $55 billion in the biggest private equity leveraged buyout ever. Saudi Arabia now owns ea.

[A]

Another influential US Media asset is being bought not for profit, but for power.

[B]

And our third and final story is Friend, an AI necklace that listens like a good friend. And it's taken over the New York subway with the biggest campaign ever.

[A]

If Friend works, then this will be one of the most efficient marketing launches we've ever seen. True financial trick shot.

[B]

But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[A]

First, a federal government shutdown is expected to happen tonight unless an agreement is reached.

[B]

In other government policy news, Tuesday is the final day of the electric vehicle tax credit.

[A]

For the first time in 20 years, there will be no financial incentive to.

[B]

Buy an electric vehicle, which means we're about to discover natural EV demand.

[A]

And second, Robinhood announced that 2 billion predictions contracts were executed in just the last quarter on the stock trading platform. That is such a big number that Robinhood stock soared 13% to a new all time high on Monday.

[B]

Because as we said in August, Robinhood found a backdoor entrance to the booming sports betting market, or as they call it, the prediction market.

[A]

And finally, the singer of the super bowl halftime show in San Francisco this year is going to be Bad Bunny.

[B]

But it's causing grumblings from the political right since Bad Bunny endorsed Kamala Harris and raps mostly in Spanish.

[A]

But the super bowl halftime show has always been about expanding the NFL's audience beyond football fans. It's about the NFL's money at the.

[B]

End of the day and Bad Bunny is an international powerhouse who's gonna bring millions of eyeballs from overseas to Santa Clara.

[A]

He single handedly already boosted the entire Puerto Rican economy. Now time for the best fact yet. This one was actually a couple of comments left on yesterday's Spotify episode by Alan and Warren.

[B]

We did a yesterday on a new concept in China ad supported toilet paper. So Alan and Warren told us it's actually common in China you're expected to bring your own toilet paper with you when you go out in public.

[A]

Basically it is common to have the toilet paper in your bag or your backpack just in case of an emergency.

[B]

Anyway, if you do find yourself in a pinch. Apparently China's like instant real time delivery market is so good you can tell an app I need toilet paper and someone will be there and like fuck.

[A]

Add it all up besties. And in China add supported toilet paper. Not so surprising since you probably got the toilet paper with you. Yetis, you look fantastic and thank you for that entire season. One of the best idea yet we loved whipping it up for you every week.

[B]

We want to win Best Business Podcast we do, but we depend on your votes for it. So get out the vote.

[A]

We got a link in the episode Description Vote share your vote, tell us you did your vote and we'll get back to you because we we appreciate you so much.

[B]

Thank you Nick and I. We'll see you tomorrow.

[A]

And before we go, a congratulations to yeti's Chuck and Lindsey who got married in lovely Hagerstown, Maryland. Congratulations guys.

[B]

Congratulations to Anthony and Lanie Whitlow who are getting married in the Adirondacks of New York today.

[A]

Beautiful. And Robert and Tammy Raza from West Hills, California just had the their 30th anniversary by taking a trip to Austria. That's how you celebrate Jack.

[B]

And happy birthday to David Fish, the chiropractor in Wheeling, Illinois.

[A]

But also happy birthday to Jeanette Steinbeldring, who's a Slytherin turning 39 in Norway.

[B]

And a big thank you to Will Birdsey for sending Nick the Ultimate Guide to hiking at Yosemite national park and Kuwait.

[A]

Dodson from Albuquerque, New Mexico just launched a fintech company. Check out the third AI.org Congrats on the launch Kwait.

[B]

And happy work anniversary to Cheryl Haggard from Frederick, Colorado, who's also leaving for a mission trip to Kenya.

[A]

And Claire Butterocco, the future tennis pro dominating the circuit in the Bay Area. Barely missed making the US Open this year, Jack, but we have got our eyes out to see at Roland Garros next year.

[B]

This is Jack, Nick and I both own stock in Robinhood and Apple. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

[A]

Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a.

[B]

Little bit about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey we want to get to know you and now a.

[D]

Next level moment from ATT Business. Say you've sent out a gigantic shipment of pillows and they need to be there in time for International Sleep Day. You've got at and T5G so you're fully confident, but the vendor isn't responding. And International Sleep Day is tomorrow Pro. Luckily, AT&T5G lets you deal with any issues with ease so the pillows will get delivered and everyone can sleep soundly, especially you. AT&T5G requires a compatible plan and device coverage not available everywhere. Learn more at att.com 5G network.