Happy Saturday Besties,

You may have heard that Oxford Dictionary announced the Word of the Year: “Brain rot” (actually 2 words, Oxford). Use it in a sentence? “I scrolled for 18 hours and it gave me brain rot.”

But more interesting to us was the mispronounced words of the year (we’re audio guys).

• The shopping app Shein — it’s actually pronounced SHE-in

• The actress Zendaya — it’s pronounced Zen-DAY-a

• The politician Pete Buttigegg — it’s pronounced BOOD-ih-judge

• The Ozempic ingredient Semaglutide — it’s pronounced sem-ah-GLOO-tide

• The singer Chappelle Roan — it’s pronounced CHAP-uhl ROHN

And for the record, Super Mario is pronounced “Mario” (if ya know, ya know).

Scroll to the bottom for our bonus Spotify Wrapped stats 🎵 

Trivia

What was the top-streamed movie of 2023 AND 2024 on Disney+? (Hint: It’s 8 years old). Answer at the end.

Is any press really good press?

🐆 Jaguar just “enjoyed” the most controversial rebrand of the season. But did it burn its brand or did it actually light it up?

First, some context: Jaguar was founded 102 years ago in England - and it’s more British than a pint of fish & chips. The Queen had 2, James Bond rode in 3. Point taken.

• Side note: Nick read Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine. The founder of Ferrari said the most beautiful car he ever saw… was a Jag. That’s like Warren Buffett calling Ken Griffin’s stock picks hot. We trust his taste.

ICYMI, there was major drama last month: Jaguar pulled off the biggest surprise rebrand since King Henry the 8th’s Church of England.

• What’s changed? No more iconic animal logo, the “g” changed to a “G.” The company clarified the pronunciation is JaG-u-ar (sounds fancy). The promo video? No cars, just models with shaved heads in pink robes (btw, that was our Christmas card idea). It’s giving more avant garde fashionista than classic british car co.

• But it’s not just a rebrand. Jaguar is changing its entire biz model too. Production is shut down (so no new cars) and factories are closed while the company turns fully electric. Their new EV car concept is shaped like a Tesla Cybercab. It’s a minimalist, futuristic, and reminds us of lip gloss. The front seat is divided from the passenger with a wall, like a business class seat on an airplane.

So Brits are revolting, but we dug up some surprise context in Jaguar’s history: 

1. Jaguar has changed its name before (its original name was “SS Cars” but that term became associated with the Nazi military).

2. Jaguar isn’t British anymore (In 2008, it was acquired by Indian conglomerate, Tata).

But was the controversial rebrand (more like metamorphosis) all worth it?

The Takeaway: One man’s bad press is another man’s good press.

• Stat: Over the last decade, Jaguar car sales have fallen 80% and its US market share is just 0.05%. The brand has become irrelevant.

• But since the rebrand, Google searches for Jaguar hit their highest level since Google’s been keeping track.

• Soooo it was bad press… from the perspective of car buffs. But they’re not buying Jaguars anyway. From the perspective of potential EV customers of Jaguar’s new cars, it might have been good press.

• Jaguar’s current buzz may or may not convert to sales, but bad press & good press are relative to which audience you’re actually talking to.

👉 The Best Fact: Most Jaguars today are green. The reason? Green is the original racing color in Britain (Italy was red, France was blue, Germany was silver).

Date Night Financial Trickshot

Jack’s “Challenge date:” You and your partner try to eat/drink/devour every item on the menu of your favorite restaurant. It will motivate you to go back again and again. Each time, you gotta try something new.

Tell a Bestie

So you don’t have to talk work at the office holiday party…

• 🧼 Crumbl and Dove collab on cookie-scented soaps.

• 🍺 Guinness is cutting off pubs in the UK.

• ☀️ DOGE wants to end Daylight Savings Time.

• 🔥The wealthy are buying personal fire hydrants.

• 👋 The number of Americans wanting to switch jobs hits a 10-year high.

• 🍫 Advent calendars are becoming billion-dollar business.

The Best Idea Yet

What company did Steve Jobs most look up to?

Answer: 📸 Polaroid. 

The Polaroid Camera completely changed photography by squeezing a dark room into a camera. It’s latest episode of our weekly show “The Best Idea Yet”

45-minute episodes drop every Tuesday: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed. Listen to The Best Idea Yet this weekend to learn all about… The Polaroid Camera.

And one more thing. Here’s some more stats from our Spotify Wrapped…

Get This: We were the #1 podcast for 19K fans just on Spotify 🤯 (thank you for all your love, Yetis). And in our personal jam sessions?

• Nick’s top artist: 🇧🇷 Antõnio Carlos Jobim (Bossa Nova every night)

• Jack’s Top song: Northern Attitude, by Noah Kahan. Followed by the entire Lion King soundtrack (Wilder’s in his Simba era).

Celebrate the wins,

— Nick & Jack

Trivia Answer: Moana 1. We covered the full story in this episode.