Lab Weekly - 07/03/2025
Post-viral beauty trends; Plus, the latest news about Meta’s AI hiring spree, YouTube’s AI summary carousel, and more must-know news and stats
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How Beauty & Wellness Enter a Post-Viral Era
As trend fatigue sets in, consumers are trading fleeting fads for wellness rituals, athlete role models, and AI-aided self-discovery
In case you missed it…
Apple WWDC 2025 Recap: AI Hype Seen Through the “Liquid Glass”
Apple’s AI strategy re-focuses on delivering quality-of-life improvements across shiny new UI design
Airbnb’s Rebranding & What It Says About the Service Economy
The issue with scaling local services and experiences, and how AI might play a part in Airbnb’s future
Zuckerberg Leads AI Recruitment Blitz Armed With $100 Million Pay Packages [WSJ]
One of the most discussed tech news stories of the past two weeks has been Meta’s AI hiring spree, with Mark Zuckerberg reportedly reaching out to key AI personnel in rival companies and luring them with eye-popping nine-figure offers. While such high numbers are not unheard of in Silicon Valley, it was usually reserved for the C-suite executives and rarely extended to the researchers and engineers, until now.
Meta seems especially successful at poaching key AI researchers from OpenAI, with Zuckerberg successfully recruiting four senior researchers from the company to join Meta’s Superintelligence Lab. This kind of high-stakes talent competition also raises the bar for the consumer AI space as a whole, as companies invest a skyrocketing amount of money into building a competent AI model that will enable new differentiation points for their products.
As the AI talent war continues, its ripple effects will be felt in other industries as well, albeit with much lower pay. From finance to healthcare to media, companies are rethinking their org charts and scrambling to attract AI-proficient talent, even if they can’t compete with Big Tech’s compensation packages.
Related: OpenAI leadership responds to Meta offers: ‘someone has broken into our home’ [Wired]; WhatsApp has become a hub for AI chatbots [Business Insider]; Midjourney releases first AI video model amid Disney, Universal lawsuit [VentureBeat]
YouTube Adds an AI Overviews-like Search Results Carousel [TechCrunch]
YouTube is testing a new AI-powered search results carousel, currently available to Premium users in the U.S., that aims to make content discovery faster and more intuitive. Similar to Google’s AI Overviews, the feature generates brief summaries and suggests relevant videos in response to searches related to shopping, travel, or local activities. For example, a query like “best beaches in Hawaii” might return a carousel of curated clips highlighting top snorkel spots, along with short AI-generated descriptions.
While this tool may surface answers quicker by streamlining search, it raises concerns for YouTube creators who depend on video clicks for revenue. If viewers can get key information directly from the AI summaries without ever watching the video, it could decrease engagement and monetization. Some YouTubers may push back, arguing that certain experiences—like travel vlogs or in-depth tutorials—can’t be reduced to a few clips of AI summaries.
Related: Google launches Offerwall to help publishers generate revenue beyond ads [TechCrunch]; Google’s AI search features are killing traffic to publishers [TechCrunch]; In the age of AI Overviews, Tripadvisor wants to be the destination [Digiday]
iPhone Users Upset By Apple Wallet Ad Pushing ‘f1’ Movie [TechCrunch]
Apple truly went all-in on promoting F1: The Movie, pulling out interesting tactics that leverage its sprawling ecosystem, such as a prominent spot in its WWDC keynote and the Apple TV app, a special haptic trailer, and an interactive feature in Apple Maps that lets users virtually explore the film’s iconic race tracks. Their efforts paid off: the film opened to an impressive $144 million globally and $55.6 million domestically, marking Apple’s first legitimate box office hit. While the movie’s reportedly $250 million production budget means it still has a ways to go before turning a profit, its strong debut bodes well for an original, adult-oriented blockbuster in a market dominated by franchises.
Not all aspects of the promotion were well received. Some iPhone users expressed frustration after Apple Wallet pushed out a promotional notification offering a $10 discount on F1 tickets via Fandango. Interestingly, iOS 26’s beta includes a new toggle for "Offers & Promotions" in Apple Wallet, suggesting Apple plans to push more marketing through Wallet in the future. While some customers might choose to opt out, it would open a new promotional channel for brands to leverage.
Behind the scenes, Apple is reportedly considering launching its own theatrical distribution unit, according to The Wall Street Journal. Currently, Warner Bros. is handling theatrical distribution for F1, taking a cut of the box office earnings. While Apple hasn’t traditionally shown much appetite for theatrical releases, a successful outing like this could nudge the tech giant to expand its ambitions in the theatrical space, though it’s unclear whether it’s ready to compete head-on with Hollywood studios on a larger scale.
Related: Apple finally has a box office hit with ‘F1.’ What’s next for the studio’s movie strategy [Variety]; Apple promotes F1 with a ‘haptic trailer’ that vibrates when viewed on a compatible iPhone [Fast Company]
Situational Awareness:
Google's new AI app Doppl lets you try on outfits virtually [Engadget]
This new virtual try-on app is meant to bring Google’s existing AI try-on capabilities into a standalone app with more features. While this may reduce fashion brands’ control over how their products are represented, especially as users remix looks from various sources, it also opens a new, highly shareable marketing channel. Brands that embrace this shift by optimizing digital assets for AI tools and leaning into co-creation could unlock deeper engagement and personalization.
Meta announces Oakley smart glasses [The Verge]
Meta is expanding its smart glasses lineup with new versions developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, this time under the Oakley and Prada brands. The Oakley-branded glasses are expected to be priced around $360, as Meta positions them as a more rugged alternative to the current Ray-Ban Meta models. This suggests Meta is aiming to broaden its appeal across lifestyle segments, from luxury fashion to outdoor performance.
Mars and Razers' new gum is made to help Gen Z gamers focus [Marketing Dive]
Successful brands know their audiences and cater to their lifestyle needs. And that is exactly what Mars and Razer did with this new gum product targeted at young gamers. By partnering with Razer, Mars tapped into the gaming community and ensured authenticity through tailored activations, including support from gaming influencers and livestreamers. To resonate with a generation that values both performance and wellness, the brands surveyed 30,000 gamers to co-develop bold, on-trend flavors, creating a gum product that feels genuinely made for the gaming lifestyle.
Waymo’s robotaxis are now available on the Uber app in Atlanta [The Verge]
Waymo is fully operational in metro Atlanta via Uber, offering driverless rides in parts of the city. Fares and booking are managed like conventional Uber rides, at no extra cost. This move follows Waymo’s March rollout in Austin, also via Uber, and further solidifies Waymo’s lead in robotaxi deployment amid rising competition.
In 2025, U.S. adults are projected to spend the most daily time with traditional TV at 2 hours and 29 minutes, followed by subscription OTT at 1 hour and 58 minutes, per the latest data from eMarketer. Social networks also rank high at 1 hour and 31 minutes.
According to a new study published in the medical journal JAMA, which followed more than 4,000 children across the country, US kids who said social media, phone, or video game use was “addictive” were 2 to 3 times as likely to have thoughts of suicide or harm themselves by age 14. However, Longer screen time at age 10 was not associated with higher rates of suicidal behavior, NYT reports.
Trust in AI is higher in lower-income countries and in China, where its rise is seen as beneficial to the competition with the United States, according to a new survey from the United Nations, Bloomberg reports. In developing nations, the UN report found that over 6 out of 10 people said they have faith that AI systems serve the best interests of society, with 83% of Chinese respondents expressing trust in the technology.
If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Chelsea Freitas, our VP of Strategy, at chelsea@ipglab.com.
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