The advent calendars are open, the Baileys is flowing. As a tribute to what must be their least favorite time of year, this week we’re uncovering the dental habits of dentists. Are they as good in private as say they are when hovering over your mouth? Today’s chart of the week has the answers.
Scroll down to read about the best brushers, matcha supremacy, and a potential soft drink payday for the Gallagher brothers.
Stats to power your week
🕯️ People say the stock market is “astrology for dudes” - but astrology is still astrology for girls. In the US, women aged 16–24 are just as likely to say they’re interested in “astrology” as “the economy”. If trading apps ever wanted to win them over, maybe it’s time to put some cups and pentacles among the stock charts. GWI USA
🍵Sometimes it is easy being green, actually. The matcha trend continues apace, with 15% of UK Gen Zers now partaking in the Japanese tea - putting it up there with the formerly voguish flat white (17%). GWI Core Plus
🐱The good times keep on rolling for “Made In Chelsea” alumnus and giggler-in-chief Jamie Laing, as the parent company of his vegan sweets brand Candy Kittens recently acquired snack company Graze. Little wonder - there’s been a 35% jump in the share of Brits who call Candy Kittens one of their favorite sweets brands year-on-year. GWI Core Plus
🥤The reunion tour might be over, but their name is more relevant than ever. It turns out people from Manchester are 2.3x more likely than other Brits to drink the soft drink brand “Oasis”, just the latest example of nominative determinism in the consumer world. Liam, Noel, if you’re reading, and still need a bit of extra cash - this partnership has to happen. GWI Core
What’s on our radar
One of the less-discussed aspects of the EV transition is how governments recoup tax revenues when fuel duty is less of a thing. In this respect, the UK government’s proposed per mile tax is a new experiment and one worth watching to see how it affects demand.
Recent research suggests that not only do AI models converge on the same creative outputs, but that newer models are actually worse at creative variation.
On the other hand, as we’re seeing across almost all types of media, AI ads seem to perform better, unless people know they’re AI.
Clearly the big news of last week is Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros, but also of note is Netflix dipping its toe into more sports content by signing up Goalhanger Podcasts’ “The Rest Is Football” for a daily streaming series across next year’s World Cup.
Another interesting move in the ever-fluid world of news, where the UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer has opted to cut out the middleman and launch his (or his comms team’s) own Substack.
Recent years have shown that prediction markets can be effective in predicting the news before it happens, and traditional media seems to have noticed, with CNN signing a new deal with Kalshi to make the latter its official prediction markets partner.
Chart of the week
This week, we ask a question that’s echoed down the generations: just how much do dentists take care of their teeth, compared to the rest of us?
The results are in: pretty good on the whole, but 14% of dentists are not brushingtwice a day. And product managers (of all people) actually beat them for dental habits. There are confounding factors here, but for anyone out there who’s had a grim hour or two in the dentist’s chair, let’s enjoy this one while we can.
We’ve also learned that dentists are more likely to choose a toothpaste “recommended by a dentist”, so we can be confident they’re at least listening to themselves.
Other professions have some work to do. To all the fitness trainers - only two-thirds of whom brush twice a day - you can stand a bit further back from the leg press machine, thanks.
🔥 Hot take
Punchy perspectives, with data that nudges the narrative
“The Bounty bar did nothing wrong”
Deep breath, we know it’s controversial to defend the coconut. But despite its reputation as a perennial straggler of the Christmas selection, Bounty is not the least preferred chocolate brand in a Celebrations box. That “honour” actually goes to the Milky Way (17%). Plus, more UK consumers prefer a Bounty (22%) to a tub of Heroes (18%) or Roses (19%) full stop.
So if you are stuck with a clutch of bitesize Bountys you can’t get rid of, who exactly should you be offering the box to? Looking at our data, we’d suggest tracking down superhero-enjoying, Carling-drinking, 55-64 year olds.
