Have we finally forgotten one of the longest-running internet memes? A new ad for Snickers features an emotional support snake on a plane, and yet it seemingly makes no reference to the 2006 film “Snakes on a Plane.” Unless Snickers’ snakes are a sneaky suggestion of Sam Jackson’s serpents?
Scroll down to read about resurgent Foxes, farm museums, and a Portuguese false friend.
Stats to power your week
🗣️ The community r/AskReddit posted a hugely popular question this week: “Men in their 30s with no kids or wife how is your life?”. That post isn’t accessible anymore, but it made the rounds on X, too. When you AskGWI, the data is pretty conclusive. Men in their 30s without kids or a partner are twice as likely as their married counterparts to say they’re never satisfied with their life. GWI USA
🎮 The number of consumers using an Xbox Series X/S or PS5 has grown 483% since late 2020, but which games make people want to upgrade devices? For many, a new installment of Grand Theft Auto would swing it but there’s still quite a wait, so Call of Duty and Mario will have to fill the void in the meantime. GWI Core & GWI Zeitgeist
🦊 Leicester City, the football team known for winning the English Premier League at ludicrous odds, has been promoted back to the top division. As far as their fanbase is concerned, they have some catching up to do – the number of supporters worldwide has dropped 70% since they won the FA Cup in 2021. GWI Core
🤓What comes to mind when you think of tourism in the UK? Castles? Stonehenge? North Ings Farm Museum? Our Travel data set might offer some insight. Consumers who’ve already started planning a vacation there are over 1.5 times more likely to say they travel to try new food. Just remember to consult the guide if you want the lowdown on Britain’s best sausage rolls. GWI Travel
⛑️ Most of the time, where you work is a great predictor of your interests. If you’re a photographer, you’re into photography more than anything else; beauty therapists name beauty as their #1 interest, vets like pets, and cooking tops the list for chefs. But there are some intriguing exceptions: interior designers don’t much care for home improvements, and copywriters prefer other things over books. GWI Core
What’s on our radar
La Liga president, Javier Tebas, has his sights set on league matches being played in the US as soon as the 2025/26 season.
The mastermind behind viral successes Crocs and Stanley, Terence Reilly, has been appointed as the EVP and president of Crocs’ HEYDUDE footwear line. Can he crack the formula a third time?
With Apple allowing iOS app downloads from third-party websites, a string of retro game emulators flooded the market. But they’re still seen as something of a gray area, as some are already disappearing from the store.
There are few countries on Earth experiencing more rapid cultural changes than Saudi Arabia. In recent weeks we’ve seen the first Saudi-penned opera take to the stage, and a model from the country suggesting she could be her country’s first-ever Miss Universe contestant.
Apple is in discussions with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT in its iPhones, while Italy (which temporarily banned ChatGPT in 2023) has greenlit new rules regulating AI technology.
Sora, OpenAI’s text-to-video model, wowed the world with its debut in February. Months later, we can peek under the hood thanks to an interview from filmmakers who had access to the tool. An early takeaway is to not read too much into cherry-picked examples – a useful thing to keep in mind as a new Chinese video model is released.
Chart of the week
In many ways, Billie Eilish is a Gen Z archetype. She wears baggy clothes, she cares deeply about her environmental footprint, and her song “Xanny” is an anthem for sobriety. And – as was made clear in a Rolling Stone profile last week – her dating preferences, liking both men and women, are pretty much in line with the rest of her generation.
As you might expect, the data shows young people are getting more comfortable identifying as LGBTQ+. But not everywhere, and not to the same degree. The biggest driver of the trend is young women increasingly identifying as bisexual.
Various reasons have been suggested, and public figures like Eilish might be part of it. Prominent celebrities in the LGBTQ+ community are a huge source of inspiration, helping to normalize broader sexual identities in the media.
Local lowdown
Gasóleo, gasóleo figaro
Over the next decade, the auto industry will experience one of its biggest gear shifts ever, as laws and commitments seek to drive ownership of electric vehicles. But these will only be as successful as they are in persuading people to buy one. And this will be trickier in Portugal than most places, as it’s the country with the highest share of diesel car drivers.
Why? With new electric cars outpricing Portuguese consumers, many cars on the country’s roads are secondhand and run on diesel engines. Due to the country’s tax system, diesel is often cheaper at the pump, and diesel cars are seen as being cheaper in the long run.
A quick word of advice to anyone eyeing up a road trip through the Algarve – gasoline is “gasolina”, whereas diesel is, confusingly, “gasóleo.” Filling up on the wrong fuel, as you might imagine, is a common mistake.
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