Month: February 2019

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Zoë Kravitz’s ASMR-Themed Michelob Ultra Super Bowl Ad Is Dividing the Internet

During the Super Bowl, Michelob Ultra ran a 45-second commercial for their newest  “organic” beer starring Zoë Kravitz, introducing the masses to the internet trend called ASMR.

Though many may have heard of it before, they might not have experienced it until the ad ran on TV and made ASMR mainstream.

In the commercial, Kravitz gently whispers into a microphone, taps her nails on the bottle, slowly rolls the glass around a wooden table, and audibly pops off the cap and pours it into a glass. 

Paired with stunning visuals of waterfalls, trees, and mountains, it makes for a “full sensory experience” that illustrates “the power of an organic beer to help people reconnect with nature.”

But what’s so great about whispering and other noises? Why is ASMR so popular? 

Well, for starters, ASMR is short for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response,” and was first coined in 2010 by a woman named Jennifer Allen. 

It refers to a tingly sensation of pleasure and deep relaxation induced by sounds and visuals including breathy whispers, tapping, turning book pages scratching, and even chewing.

In one of the first scientific studies about ASMR, researchers described it as “a … sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli. This sensation is widely reported to be accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being.” 

Throughout the past few years, ASMR videos have become increasingly popular on the internet, and some have hundreds of thousands and even millions of views from people who swear by it for tingly relaxation.

On YouTube, users upload videos that are hours long of them drumming their fingers on a microphone, stroking the camera lens with paint brushes, cutting hair, and eating loudly into the microphone.

For example, here’s an ASMR video of a cat eating:

But frankly, not everyone is particularly into ASMR, and some actually think it’s uncomfortable. I personally find it unbearable, but for others, it apparently works. A UK study found that ASMR provides temporary relief from depression and chronic pain, and helped participants deal with stress. 

Before the ad ran during the Super Bowl, it was posted on YouTube on January 28th and has over 13 million views, but according to social media analytic firm Brandwatch, the commercial received mixed reviews on Twitter and the majority were negative.

Business Insider states that “Michelob Ultra was mentioned 4,200 times and more than 54% of the tweets were negative, according to the firm. At one point, 750 tweets a minute were flying around about the brand.”

What do you think about ASMR? If you love it, here’s one more video for you to enjoy.

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Okay, Wow: This Is What Fashion Week Looked Like in the 1980s

Before supermodels, Prada’s comeback, e-tailers, Instagram, bloggers, cell phones, Alexander McQueen, and cult brands, there was the decade of fashion that was the 1980s. Power dressing was a phenomenon, and Kevyn Aucoin hadn’t yet changed the face of fashion. Jane Fonda had just invented her famous workout videos, and Julia Roberts was about to film a movie with Richard Gere.

Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and Azzedine Alaïa dazzled center stage, while newcomers Kenzo and John Galliano began creating a buzz. Oh, and Karl Lagerfeld had just taken over Chanel. Can you even imagine a world without Lagerfeld at Chanel? It’s difficult; I know. So what was the front row like? Were guest outfits highly documented? Who was who? Keep scrolling to see what fashion week was like in the 1980s.

The runway of the 1980s was a fun place to be. There was a joie de vivre in the air with the runways at Todd Oldham and Betsey Johnson in New York, Inès de la Fressange at Chanel, the beginnings of John Galliano’s iconic theatrics, and Jean Paul Gaultier’s enfant terrible.
Style Notes: Inès de la Fressange and Jerry Hall were a couple of the biggest models of the decade and were always ones to watch on the Chanel runway.
While street style as a concept has existed throughout the 20th century, it wasn’t until the rise of the blogger that street style outside shows became heavily documented by photographers. So these Paris street style images outside the Yves Saint Laurent ready-to-wear F/W 86 fashion show are rare. Compared to the wild, outlandish, and competitive nature of contemporary street style outfits, these are simple and timeless.
Style Notes: Outside the same YSL show, this group of guests gives us an embodiment of peak ’80s style: oversize outerwear, large glasses, sheer tights, and Dynasty levels of fur.
Style Notes: This outfit could have easily been seen at the recent London shows. It’s a history lesson that less is more, but this is much more than a wool coat. Note the headband and statement earrings. I adore it.
Style Notes: Here’s a rare off-duty shot of two models caught walking into the Courrèges show in 1981. These looks are amazing for many reasons, but most importantly, they serve as proof that we should bring fashion gloves back.
Before bloggers and influencers, celebrities were the only stars of the FROW. Actors, musicians, and actual royalty populated the coveted seats. Here’s the iconic duo Yves Saint Laurent and Catherine Deneuve (his muse) in Paris for the F/W 89 show.
Style Notes: Three icons standing in a row: Kenzo, Grace Jones, and Azzedine Alaïa in New York, 1986.
Style Notes: Brooke Shields attending a Valentino show. Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli’s contemporary designs echo back to this dress.
Style Notes: Sofia Coppola and Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel’s F/W 88 show. This was only three years after Lagerfeld took on the job as creative director at Chanel and around the time Coppola did her first internship at the legendary house.
Style Notes: Princess Caroline of Monaco was a regular at Chanel shows through the ’80s. Here she is in 1989 with Chanel muse Inès de la Fressange.
Style Notes: Singer Boy George joins designer Yohji Yamamoto at his F/W 85 show in Paris. The ’80s saw the beginning of major success and influence of Japanese designers at European fashion weeks.
Style Notes: Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington attend a fashion party in New York. This was 1989, and they were on the cusp of transforming from models into supermodels along with Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, and more.
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Instagram head admits platform has a problem policing self-harm posts

Instagram hasn’t effectively protected users from self-harm and suicidal content, Adam Mosseri, the head of the company, admits in an op-ed today, and he says that the company is working to remedy that.

Mosseri writes in The Telegraph that the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell in 2017 moved him and pushed the company to take a deeper look at its self-harm content screening. Russell died by suicide, and her family says she followed multiple self-harm and suicide Instagram accounts, which led her to kill herself. After hearing Russell’s story, and after UK health secretary Matt Hancock issued a warning to tech giants about their handling of these issues, Mosseri and his team began a “comprehensive review” of how the platform handles…

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