The Drink Cart: Bowling for Content

Dreaming about $4 million power points and the finer points of putting garbage in trash bins.

I asked Midjourney to imagine a private club for lawn bowling, and I liked it so much I’ve included it as the newsletter header graphic. So yes, I think i’d like to open up the Soho House of Lawn Bowling clubs now. I would join this one for sure. My other idea was to show off how great the water battle in the Colosseum in the new Gladiator trailer looks. So yep, I’m still thinking a lot about the Roman Empire it seems. Not sure how this trailer has 175,000 dislikes on Youtube?

I also couldn’t figure out how to integrate this story of a German TV show called Miss Merkel which is about a world where Angela Merkel is a private investigator. This is a hilarious idea especially because people found the dubbed in Italian version which makes it even better. Oh, and look, I just snuck it here. If you’re playing the Drink Cart drinking game, and had Angela Merkel on your card, drink up.

Today’s “newsletter” is chock full of good vibes and links:

• We lead off with data on social platforms and taco retirement homes

• We revel in expensive garbage power points and AI creative

• We dish on hot dogs, dessert ramen and coffee flavoured nacho chips

• We share shameless dog content and even a great story and baseball hat

1. How we feeling about X now?

X dropped their latest numbers showing 570 Million monthly users and 361.9 Billion daily user seconds - both up from last year. Measuring in seconds is interesting or as this look at the data suggests is a, “weird data point”.

Meanwhile Threads is now over a year old and boasts 175 Million monthly users - worth remembering they had 100 Million after 4 days, so getting to 175M took the year. Exit Question: So are you Team X or have you moved over to Team Threads?

Speaking of social, this is an interesting read that Spotify is now a social network.

2. Taco Bell Creates Early Retirement Pop Up

It’s true. The Cantinas Early Retirement Community is opening up reservations next week so you can, “Come Live Más at the ultimate playground for your inner eclectic grandparent.”

Not only is there retiree lodging and overnight stays and afternoon naps, you can get vintage merch and play croquet, bocce and golf (and yes it does mention Pickleball but croquet and bocce are far superior. I would have done classic lawn bowling myself, but I’m kind of a purist). Of course this is all while eating Taco Bell and paying $50 a day or $150 for a whole weekend pass. Paid marketing activations are certainly a vibe.

Related activation: This 2022 Miu Miu Tennis Club in St. Tropez is all over my feed right now. So basically Tennis is still hot and has been for years.

3. Yes please to steam bun hot dog bars

This is such a great idea. Asian hot dogs in a dream hot dog bar. Love it. This makes me nostalgic for London’s Bubbledogs. Which sounds like it is sort of back for the summer. Would you go?

4. Behold, the 95-Slide, $4 million deck on garbage

News this week that New York City paid McKinsey $4 million dollars to conduct a feasibility study and 95 page deck on if it’s better to leave garbage on the street or in trash bins. The deck is amazing. Slide 10 is where it really gets cooking. Trung Phan goes deep on everything you need to know about the most expensive deck in history. I loved this Tweet about who the consultant was.

I like this note from him, “There is a slide called ‘Why containerization matters’ and three reasons are ‘rats’, ‘pedestrian obstruction’ and ‘dirty streets’ (the 21-year intern that did this slide billed at prob $10k an hour is my hero).”

I would watch 8 part Netflix documentary on this project for sure. There should certainly be an outraged celebrity doing some sort of George Clooney style Op-Ed response on this.

5. Is this really the future of creative?

I saw this thread in my feed this week. Is it incredible to see pasta shapes doing couples aerobatic yoga using AI? Or is it insane? Do you even want to eat dancing pasta?

If you follow the whole thread, you’ll come to this hot dog creature dancing on a barbecue. I love hot dogs. But it was too creepy to even include in this newsletter and why I’ve included multiple hot dog stories this week.

6. Crossing the ramen rubicon

Everything is just a viral product now right? Do people want everything Heinz sauce? Or the unholiest of unholiness, bagels without holes? And this summer, did anyone think that Campfire S’mores Ramen - or the absurd category busting, “dessert ramen” would be a thing? Nope.

7. Coffee Nacho Chips?

Everything is just a viral product now? Wait, didn’t we just do this one? Yes, yes we did. So if you thought dessert ramen was too much, you’re really not going to appreciate this Doritos Coffee variant are you? This might be one of those Fonzie jump moments and I say this as someone who liked a Tweet this week about Deep-Fried Ranch Dressing.

8. Dog days of summer

I’ve never wanted to be a small dog more in my life. Hat, sunglasses and being hand fed hot dogs at a baseball game. That looks like the good life.

9. Hat of the week: Albany Rollers

I love this story of the Albany Rollers. After 120 years, the West Coast League’s Corvallis Knights will play one night this week as the Albany Rollers. The class D team originally short for Log Rollers played in 1904 after relocating from Vancouver, Washington (they were called the Vancouver Soldiers) in the season.

They played for two short months and then the league disbanded. Not one team member ever made it to the big leagues. Sadly the hats aren’t for sale yet, but love the 120 year story.

Unrelated baseball content: I need these baseball helmet planters asap.

10. Last call: The Drink Cart Pimm’s Cup

Let’s start with some good news. According to new research, 1-2 alcoholic drinks may shorten life by 2 months. Seems like a fair trade off, n'est-ce pas? It could be much worse, guys in BMWs are chugging bottles Angostura bitters, apparently. A large amount of my week has been dreaming of this incredible draft Old Fashioned set up. But lets get to the drink of the week.

The Drink Cart: The Pimms Cup

It’s desperate times here in Ontario with our liquor stores currently shut due to strike. So we’re reaching to the back of our bar cart for anything. And since it is Wimbeldon finals this week, the obvious choice was The Pimm’s Cup.

Now, I was tempted to try something Feed Me’s Emily Sundberg mentioned on her Substack Live earlier this week, an Aperol Spritz with an extra shot of vodka - which sounds completely bonkers. It was that or this champagne in a tennis ball koozie.

PImm’s No. 1 is a gin based digestif created in the 1800’s by London bar owner James Pimm. Technically it sounds like James was actually more of a fishmonger who opened an Oyster House in South London circa 1823 - 1840. He wanted to make a concoction featuring gin, herbs and spices, fruit and quinine to help aid digestion of the oysters. Fun fact quinine also treated malaria! So you’re telling me the Pimm’s Cups are a health drink basically?

The low alcohol drink was perfect for summer sipping and eventually ended up in a Wimbeldon pop-up bar in 1971 where they now sell an estimated 300,000 every tournament. Now you know.

Back to the Pimm’s Cup which you can build in the glass or pitcher.

• 2 oz Pimm’s No. 1

• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Crushed ice

• Top with ginger ale

• Garnish with cucumber slice and some mint.

As a call back to last week’s story on Spuds MacKenzie, my feed turned up this gem of a hat. Incredible. 10/10.

Down the hatch! What did you think of this week’s newsletter? Drop me a comment or question below or tell me how your weekly drink turned out.

The Drink Cart is a weekly newsletter of advertising, pop culture, baseball and cocktails from Jackson Murphy.