The Drink Cart: Pop Up Summer

This week we're going deep on fancy summer popups and candles, beer hats, uppity antacids and nuts, content creators and even a refreshing lemontini.

Well friends, we made it to this week’s Drink Cart. Don’t worry about it, they started cutting interest rates, everything seems totally normal over at OpenAI and we only have three years until AI takes away all our work, everything is totally fine. And it’s taking everything for me not to write this whole newsletter about these Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix flavored Muffins and Mini French Toast things.

Remember, on this day 80 years ago, Allied forces were landing in Normandy under a hail of gunfire and artillery. Today we get to write and read newsletters, complain about AI and have a drink to contemplate it all.

Today’s “newsletter” has lots of stuff for you, not just hidden links to 40 year old speeches by Ronald Reagan:

• Summer pop ups, summer candles and a summer cocktail

• Lumber campaigns, gut nuts, content creator bubbles and fancy tums

• Donut Shoes, beer hats and much more for your inbox pleasures

1. If it’s summer and Jacquemus is having way more fun than you

In St Tropez, the buzzy brand has opened another new boutique, restaurant, a beach club and a beach pop-up. It’s mesmerizing to think about this luxury brand bringing $45 decks of cards, $95 summer dominos sets, the $240 La pétanque set (I really should be doing a whole issue on pétanque) and all the striped summer wear you can stand to a pop-up on the mediterranean town of just 3,500 people.

When they post about anything, 300,000 like it and every trend site in the world gets to work - that’s high-end luxury click bait. Full disclosure, I just like saying the word Jacquemus.

2. The $430 candle of the summer?

I always like brands like Diptyque. The luxury candle maker has just introduced their new summer collection. And like most things Diptyque, the limited edition Summer Candle is iconic. Sure the regular sized one is just $74. But the extra large one is an insane $430.

I freely admit, and maybe this was after watching the latest Hallmark movie For Love & Honey a tale of beekeepers and archeologists in Malta, that I’ll have whatever they are having and want to write candle copy from now on: “To celebrate summer, Diptyque beckons you in for a relaxing, sunny stay on the Mediterranean coast. Turquoise waves ripple on the horizon, colourful parasols stud the beach, and the evenings stretch late into the night…” Wake me up for the Diptyque x Jacquemus super collab.

3. Best wood campaign of year?

While watching a lot of baseball on TV this weekend, behind home plate was an impressively hilarious campaign for Home Hardware promoting “Woodstock Festival of Lumber.”

This wood sale which happened last year too, was only on until June 5th, and promises that the brand had “got your lumber.” Advertising lumber behind home plate at a baseball game is a genius media placement.

4. Fermented nuts

A few weeks back we talked about Sport Coffee. This week we spied “fermented nuts” or Gut Nuts - the worlds first (and only) fermented nut brand. This is the kind of thing you do not want to know what the Urban Dictionary thinks this brand name is. Each time we launch another brand like this is proof that we have moved further and further from god.

5. The Content Creator Bubble

You gotta read this Hubspot Consumer Trends Report stating that a shocking, “50% of millennials and 46% of Gen Z call themselves content creators.” The report goes on to say that 50% of them have less that 5,000 followers. For the record, I do not consider myself a content creator, and as Lucille Bluth would say, “I don’t understand the question and I won’t respond to it.”

Here’s my hot take, ready? We read a lot today about the impending doom from the garbage content tidal wave coming from AI, but what about the garbage content we are already wallowing in from millions of content creators? I feel like we are in the trash compactor in the Death Star and one side is AI written content. On the other side is hidden gems as far as the eye can see from content creators. From streaming to social we are awash in totally mid content. Too much content, too many choices, not enough quality.

6. Do we really need fancy Tums?

The always readable Andrea Hernández of Snaxshot found that, “Yassified Tum’s is now available in CVS another major indicator that Millennials are getting old and we’re changing ‘pharmacy vibes’”. Question: Do we need a cool antacid brand?

Of course Wonder Belly features antacids in the following ridiculous flavours: Strawberry Milkshake, Tropical Fruit, Fruity Cereal, Lemon Sorbet or Watermelon Mint. My only comment is this: It’s 2047, there are 74 brands of antacids fighting for limited shelf space in the great upset stomach wars. I’m so in the tank for big antacid all the way. Last note: antacid and gut health social media is absolutely wild.

7. Meaningless inspirational quotes

I love that people are shredding this amazing tourism campaign from Manchester. Despite it feeling like an AI ad with an error background, the campaign took photos in front of a real mural that said, “Inspirational quote on a colourful background.” That’s the whole campaign. Even on the landing page. So great.

Someone saying this made my day, “Holding out for the ‘Shutterstock’ watermark” as it sums it up so perfectly. It also says something that tourism has devolved into just getting photos of yourself in front of giant words and quotes.

8. I hate it here

Wow. Another brand doing sneakers. Only Tim Hortons would do a limited edition collaboration with adidas and their Samba sneakers for National Donut Day for four measly pairs of shoes. First the stupid pizzas and now this?

The sneakers which are not available to buy can only be won in a contest are for Boston Cream, Honey Cruller, Vanilla Dip and Double Chocolate themed donuts. I hate this but can appreciate the rinse and repeat playbook that this will get in terms of unlimited write ups on Daily Hive.

9. Hat of the week: Beer Hats

I love that Ebbets Field Flannels has a very nice lineup of classic lager beer hats just in time for summer barbecue season when you don’t want to pick a team. This one is the famed Stroh’s of Michigan.

And I picked the Stroh’s one as I just want to do whatever is happening in this 1987 commercial.

10. Last call: The Drink Cart Lemontini

How is it June already? I guess It’s time for a summer cart refresher. This Lemontini takes the classic 1970s Lemon Drop and subs out the tripe sec with limoncello to truly maximize all the lemon vibes.

It was Norman Jay Hobday who owned Henry Africa’s in San Francisco who supposedly came up with it. The Lemon Drop started as a cocktail - probably as a nod to the old timey lemon drop candy - but by the 1990s it had become a legendary shot as the original cocktail faded into history.

The Drink Cart: Lemontini

• 2 1/2 oz vodka

• 1/2 oz limoncello

• A splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice

• A few dashes of lemon bitters

• Shake over ice and strain into proper chilled martini or coupe glass with a lemon twist. (And for the love of all that is holy, do not put a sugar rim on this martini, keep it classy)

Here’s a bonus nonsensical limoncello ad:

What did you think of this week’s content? Drop me a comment or question below or tell me how your drink from the cart turned out.

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