Out of Scope Issue #121: The Brand Formerly Known as Twitter

Plus: A potential alien invasion and, finally, Barbenheimer

Happy Friday! This week we learned that UFOs may have joined us just in time for the ongoing demise of the platform formerly known as Twitter. But first...

📡ON OUR RADAR 

• In a viral ad, the Biden administration reclaimed the phrase “Bidenomics” to describe his economic record, quoting a speech by alt-right darling Marjorie Taylor Greene (this Barbie supported an insurrection!). Others, however, are not entirely sold on Bidenomics— as a message or as a policy.

• As one of the world’s best-known — and at times, problematic — brands, Barbie is no stranger to criticism. With this in mind, many are praising Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie for running towards the complexity to address both the good and bad aspects of the iconic doll through the brand’s thorny past.

• Atomic bomb backstory Oppenheimer also sparked its fair share of dialogue - though some takes were better received than others. OpenAI founder Sam Altman lamented the film’s failure to “inspire,” seeming to miss a few nuances and offering an evergreen reminder to scope out the full conversation before weighing in on a trending topic.

💡ON OUR MINDS: The Brand Formerly Known as Twitter

• In a shocking-albeit-eye roll-inducing  move, Elon Musk announced that Twitter, one of the world’s most iconic and influential brands, would be renamed “X.” The following 24 hours saw the blue bird we all know and love swiftly plucked and replaced by a fan-submitted graphic of the letter. 

• The abrupt decision caught many off guard, especially given Twitter’s entrenched significance. The crowd-sourced nature of the rebrand also emphasized Musk’s highly unorthodox approach to brand management. 

• It’s noteworthy that this massive change – which resulted in even more conversation about the diminishing value of the Twitter/X brand – occurred amidst bold moves by platforms like Meta to capitalize on the platform’s destabilized public perception and lost advertising dollars. 

• Even TikTok seems to have thrown its hat in the ring: introducing text posts with a limit of 1,000 characters just this week. The feature may not be groundbreaking, but it could result in even more user time spent on TikTok – and increased ad revenue for the platform. 

• The “X” logo’s debut certainly poses intriguing questions about the true value of a legacy brand and the impact these kinds of decisions have on corporate reputation. Will “X” give it to us? Who’s to say? In the meantime, we hope the letter X isn’t too overwhelmed. 

🥊QUICK HITS: 

In case you missed these reads.

• Government officials called for transparency this week as they testified under oath, discussing UFO sightings and government possession of “nonhuman” biological matter.

• Cracker Jack’s “I Am Cracker Jill” campaign addressing visibility in women’s sports introduced Lindsey Zurbrugg, a wheelchair basketball player, as the first athlete to join their roster.

• Haven’t seen a good out-of-home campaign in a minute? Have no fear— The Sphere is here.

Thanks for reading,

HL

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