Influencers Are Suing Each Other for Stealing “Vibes” (E11)

This week’s episode is the personality hire of episodes; it’s fun and light (and just what we needed). From trying to understand what “brat” even means, to the unhinged gifts for celebrity lookalike contests and influencers suing each other for “vibes,” you don’t want to skip this episode. 

More from us:

• Mitzi Payne @mmmitziP 
• Mike Payne @mmmiiike

Timestamps: 

• 01:00 – Personality stories ONLY this week. 
• 02:30 – Be sure to check out Arcade’s TikTok for our Vlogmas!
• 06:00 – Mike & Mitzi explain new slang (Big Thing 1 - the word of the year isn’t one word). 
• 20:00 – Thing 2: Influencer, Sydney Nicole Gifford, is suing Alyssa Sheil for copying her aesthetic. This is a slippery slope. 
• 30:00 – Big Thing 3: Lookalike contests are on the rise (with exciting prizes like a literal pack of cigarettes). Why?
• 38:00 – Buffalo fans are built different.

Show notes:

• The SCAN 👀 CLUB Gift Guide: https://scanclub.substack.com/p/gift-guide-what-people-want-for-the 
• The SCAN 👀 CLUB Trend Report: https://scanclub.substack.com/p/what-digital-audiences-want-in-2024 

Big Things with Mitzi (@mmmitzi) and Mike (@mmmiiike).

For more from Arcade, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @helloarcade. https://www.arcadearcade.ca/

Production by Morgan Berna, editing by Oliver Banyard.

Chapters

• 0:12 Conversation on Current Marketing Trends
• 4:26 Kids' Movie Theater Adventure
• 17:23 Influencer Lawsuit Over Copycat Aesthetic
• 31:14 Celebrity Lookalike Contests and Party Tricks

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:12

Welcome to Big Things. I'm Mitzi and this is Mike.

Speaker 2 0:15

And this is our show where we talk about the things that we're seeing in marketing, social media, pop culture and sports, and also talk through the signals that we're watching that could influence the future of digital marketing yeah, and today in the show, we're going to be summarizing a few big things.

Speaker 1 0:30

The first one is the words of the year. The second one is influencers are suing each other for copying their vibe and celebrity lookalike contests are on the rise, and we think we know why this is gonna be a fun one.

Speaker 2 0:44

I feel like these are kind of just like personality stories and less like substance. This week there's no hard-hitting news happening over here, like that this week we're just trying to get by yeah, and I apologize in advance to all of our listeners or viewers on YouTube for my voice. It's down an octave this week because I'm dealing with a cold that I got from my son, who got one from his daycare. But it'd be like that too yeah, it'd be like that.

Speaker 1 1:07

Sometimes I actually like your voice at this octave oh, it's like my bedtime voice. I don't know about bedtime, it's just like a raspier voice. I like when my voice is raspy too fair enough.

Speaker 2 1:19

Yeah, yeah, you've had some good raspy voices. You sound like you're ready to criticize something.

Speaker 1 1:27

Yeah, I wish in general, like speaking of vibes. My vibe is very like bubbly and like smiley and friendly, and I like when my voice changes. So I'm like just a step below that.

Speaker 2 1:40

Yeah, it's like a little edgier.

Speaker 1 1:42

I feel like it's more interesting for people, but yeah, anyways.

Speaker 2 1:44

Well, hopefully I it's more interesting for people, but yeah, anyways Well hopefully I will be more interesting for people today because of my raspy voice.

Speaker 2 1:49

Let's go and it won't just be annoying. What were we going to talk about before we got into it? Oh yeah, in case you missed it, we dropped a gift guide a couple of weeks ago. The idea originated on this show and we our team is awesome, so they brought it to life. But if you're looking for an outside of the box approach to giving gifts um, maybe less to your significant other, but more to the burnt out person in your life or the person that's burning the candle at both ends maybe your marketing co-conspirator or social media girly, whatever it might be check out our gift guide. There's a lot of cool ideas in there, based on signals that we saw throughout the year.

Speaker 1 2:29

Yes, it's a really good resource for people. I personally love so many of the gift suggestions that we've talked about. We also did a breakdown of all the gift suggestions in the gift guide in our last episodes. If you didn't listen to that, go check that one out. Also, I want on that arcades tiktok is going to be popping off this month of December. We're doing vlogmas, which means a different person on our social team will be taking over every single day and vlogging their whole day. So I'm really proud of the team. They are really putting in the work this month to make it pop off and I think it's going to show like you're going to just be blown away by a day in the life of all these girlies.

Speaker 2 3:08

I have to shout out myself too, because I was recently in a TikTok, which I don't agree to very often, and it went pretty well.

Speaker 1 3:15

Yeah, yours went viral.

Speaker 2 3:17

And I got all the names right from the people on our team that participated, and I also had some admirers in the comment section you sure did.

Speaker 1 3:27

People were trying to get your at good thing I'm not active on TikTok.

Speaker 2 3:33

I'm just one of those lurkers. I scroll but I don't post yeah, I.

Speaker 1 3:37

I think the team on TikTok is doing amazing yes if you're like a business owner or marketing manager of a business account. Our investment in TikTok which is like our time spent doing TikToks and filming content and having someone kind of like own that channel has been really worth it. We've gotten lots of great attention from other potential clients, partners, things like that for TikTok, so it's been really fun things like that for our TikTok, so it's been really fun, yeah, and it's just a cool way to show a little bit more behind the scenes of what's happening here.

Speaker 2 4:08

Because Instagram, as we all know, is generally more polished and more about like the actual work we're doing.

Speaker 1 4:13

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:14

But this is kind of like the fun in between, for sure.

Kids' Movie Theater Adventure

Speaker 1 4:17

Yeah, it was fun and we also had a jam-packed weekend this weekend. I need to tell, let the people know, that I took well, we took 15 five-year-olds to the movie theaters to see Moana 2 and it was awesome.

Speaker 2 4:32

They all did great I only caught the second half, but I got to enjoy some popcorn and some coke you did two bathroom breaks three with the same the same person. Um, but that's chill's what it's like that for kids. They have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Speaker 1 4:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:48

Sometimes you just need to stretch your legs.

Speaker 1 4:50

Yeah, it's funny, some kids would just like come up to me and be like I don't want my popcorn anymore, and I'd be like, okay, just put it right on the ground next to your seat, like it was just really cute. Yeah, it's like you had to learn those as a kid it's true yeah but it was cute, it was a good time yeah, it was fun.

Speaker 2 5:07

It was. It's funny, though like knowing we had a bunch of five-year-olds, that they seated us in the very back row. I guess it was probably because they knew we'd be noisy. But it's funny, when you're doing multiple bathroom breaks, like throughout the entire movie, to be climbing up and down the stairs each time. It's just as disturbing.

Speaker 1 5:26

It's all good, but I feel like everyone in the theater was just chatting. It was like all kids it's chill when it's a matinee.

Speaker 2 5:31

But, I enjoyed the movie. There were some banger songs on there.

Speaker 1 5:34

Yeah, I missed the last little bit, but I don't know how it got resolved. But I have confidence that Moana figured it out.

Speaker 2 5:42

Yeah, you and I can debrief later, because I missed the beginning and you missed the end. So together we have a complete viewing experience.

Speaker 1 5:47

And the good thing is we know that we'll watch it at least like 50 times in our lifetime because our kids are obsessed with it. So we'll catch up.

Speaker 2 5:56

I think the highlight of the party was probably at the end, when your brother got the kids doing Simon Says, though we had like 20 minutes before parents came and picked up their kids, we had already done food, we had already done cake. We had already opened all the presents and we were like what do we do now? So he came in clutch with the Simon Says.

Speaker 1 6:13

Yeah, those games where you don't need anything to play a game are so clutch, like until you have kids, you don't really realize the value of those games Like I spy Simon says.

Speaker 2 6:25

Oh yeah, you were playing, I spy.

Speaker 1 6:26

I was doing spy, I spy and they even did rock paper scissors. Yeah, do you call?

Speaker 2 6:30

it rock, paper scissors or paper scissors rock.

Speaker 1 6:32

Rock paper, scissors.

Speaker 2 6:33

Good, you're one of the good ones.

Speaker 1 6:35

Yeah, anyways, I don't know what other games are at the silent game.

Speaker 2 6:39

Like just see who can be quiet longer. Yeah, that's got to be my favorite game of all time. That's like my. That's Mike, coded right there.

Speaker 1 6:48

That is Mike Kids, let's just be quiet.

Speaker 2 6:50

See who can be quiet the longest.

Speaker 1 6:51

I feel like you play the silent game with me.

Speaker 2 6:54

What do you mean?

Speaker 1 6:55

Like when I'm mad at you no, just like in our life, like, especially at night, you're playing the silent game by yourself.

Speaker 2 7:04

Sorry, unpack that please.

Speaker 1 7:07

Because you're just so quiet and I'm just like yapping and chatting your ear off, like when we're getting ready for bed. Or talking in circles, yeah.

Speaker 2 7:14

No, that's just because I get ready for bed much faster than you, and by the time I'm in bed, I'm like reading a book or like on. Twitter or something like that. But then you're like, while you're in the bathroom still, you're kind of like yelling at me from the bathroom about different random thoughts that cross your mind and I'm just like.

Speaker 1 7:32

That's amazing. I'm not yelling at you about random thoughts, but you know.

Speaker 2 7:36

I'm not good at multitasking, so I really should just put down my phone or the book and just anticipate it.

Speaker 1 7:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2 7:42

But then that's going to be the night that you have nothing to say, and then I'm just going to be laying there like what do I do?

Speaker 1 7:46

That's not true.

Speaker 2 7:48

You always have something to say.

Speaker 1 7:49

Yeah, that's my time to debrief with you.

Speaker 2 7:52

Even if we're watching something like in the basement beforehand and you're tired or like falling asleep and we go to get ready for bed, suddenly you just hit a second wind and you still need that deep.

Speaker 1 8:03

It's because I wash my face, yeah, and it wakes me up again.

Speaker 2 8:07

Yeah, I wash my face in the morning. Is that not normal?

Speaker 1 8:11

I mean you should wash your face in the morning, but I also need to wash my makeup off.

Speaker 2 8:15

Yeah, I don't wear makeup, so I guess that tracks.

Speaker 1 8:18

But you don't touch your face with water.

Speaker 2 8:20

At night.

Speaker 1 8:21

Yeah, no At all.

Speaker 2 8:22

No, crazy, I do that in the morning, which wakes me up, which is perfect for the morning I got it.

Speaker 1 8:29

Yeah Well, anyway should we get into our first big. Thing.

Speaker 2 8:32

After that crazy detour, here we are with thing one words of the year. So it's that time of year where we assess things like trends and we do have a trend report coming out in January, by the way but we also assess things like what we listen to. Spotify Wrapped is happening any minute now. But this thing is specifically around words of the year and we wanted to bring it up because there isn't one consensus word of the year. This year, depending on which dictionary you track with or use the most, they all kind of have different opinions about which one gets the credit. So, either way, I think all of these words kind of give us a gut check on what the culture was like this year, what the trends looked like on TikTok, how people were talking, what new thing Gen Z is teaching us but through 2024, thing Gen Z is teaching us but through 2024, um.

Speaker 2 9:29

Collins dictionary decided that the word of the year should be brat. Not surprising, that was obviously a top contender. Cambridge dictionary said the 2024 word of the year should be manifest. Dictionarycom word of the year is demure and Oxford word of the year is brain rot, which I have to just say. Oxford, you're dropping the ball, because brain rot is two words.

Speaker 1 9:48

I knew you'd say that.

Speaker 2 9:50

I mean.

Speaker 1 9:50

I knew that was your biggest hang up.

Speaker 2 9:51

You have a simple job as a dictionary to pick a word and instead you pick a phrase.

Speaker 1 9:56

It's not a phrase. It's two words that mean one thing, which I feel like I mean. Oxford should know that maybe that's qualifies as a word of the year, because it means one thing.

Speaker 2 10:08

So you're saying I'm the dumb one in this?

Speaker 1 10:09

No, I'm not saying you're dumb, no, I'm just kidding.

Speaker 2 10:12

Well, I still think that was a miss. Okay, well, I had some other good options to choose from? Are they just trying to be different?

Speaker 1 10:18

Other good options Like what If you could pick a word?

Speaker 2 10:20

of the year. Would it be manifest or demure?

Speaker 1 10:23

I. I'm sure they're just trying to differentiate yeah, do you think that they talk to each other and be like oh, I have a source saying, like someone at colin's team is like oh, I have a source saying that dictionarycom is going to pick demure, so we can't pick that. We need to be original and different right, yeah, maybe like who picked which one first?

Speaker 2 10:42

yeah, kind of like right now. I feel like Pantone has always been the one that decides the color of the year, but the last couple of years I feel like Pinterest has been kind of like carving out their own, their own share of voice in the color of the year discourse.

Speaker 1 10:56

Right, and you know what, for these organizations like Collins Dictionary, cambridge Dictionary, dictionarycom and oxford, this is like their big marketing moment of the year, like I can't remember another time where we'd be talking about these entities that's true. So this is their spotify wrapped so I don't mind these words like brat manifest and your brain rot.

Speaker 2 11:18

Definitely all feel true to 2024 can you help me like I still? I hate to admit this, but I still don't truly understand what brat means. It's like when you're like acting am I putting you on the spot, like you don't really know.

Speaker 1 11:37

No, I know what it means.

Speaker 2 11:38

You know the vibe of brat, but can you describe it?

Speaker 1 11:41

Let's see, stop You're. You're like making me second guess it. It's like instinctual, like brat is like being kind of edgy and like not following the rules. Like being a little bratty, yeah, like kind of like messing around and being a little messy and like having a little party time, like just like undoing the seams a little bit. Yeah, would you, would you agree?

Speaker 2 12:06

Drew's nodding.

Speaker 1 12:08

Morgan's laughing yeah.

Speaker 2 12:09

Oliver has no clue. Thanks, oliver. So yeah, and you know what's?

Speaker 1 12:17

so interesting about this is that this brings. I think the biggest debate of the year has been Bratt versus Demure, because Bratt obviously took over most of the summer. Demure became a thing in the fall. So everyone's like are you Brat or are you Demure? But if it were up to me, I would have added Mindful to the list, because I don't know.

Speaker 2 12:41

But Mindful kind of goes hand in hand with Demure right.

Speaker 1 12:43

Yeah, I don't mind Dem. But mindful kind of goes hand in hand with demure, right?

Speaker 2 12:45

Yeah, I don't mind demure Because people are like so mindful, so demure.

Speaker 1 12:48

Right, it's all from the same like thing, so they're like synonyms of each other.

Speaker 2 12:51

I feel like demure is the more unique word.

Speaker 1 12:53

True, I also would have added vibe to this list.

Speaker 2 12:56

A hundred percent. I'm with you there.

Speaker 1 12:58

Like vibes, or vibe or vibe. But can you define vibe? No, I literally, it's instinctual. Let me ask you, what if, before we had the word vibe? What?

Speaker 2 13:10

word did we use? We didn't. There was no vibes before the word vibe how would you describe like? Everything was binary, black or white, yes or no?

Speaker 1 13:19

right, so okay, if you go to a restaurant aesthetic but say you went to a restaurant.

Speaker 2 13:24

Aesthetic.

Speaker 1 13:25

But say you went to a restaurant Aura. No one said aura. Well, some people. People said aura, there are aura people for sure, but like I'm just trying to think like what did I used to say Like to describe a restaurant? I love the vibes, atmosphere.

Speaker 2 13:41

Which is way more boring.

Speaker 1 13:43

Way, boring Way more Gen X. Hmm, but yeah, I think vibe could have been added to this list. I also saw some comments online that say that they missed the word cooked, which I actually don't know what that means.

Speaker 2 13:57

I think cooked it's instinctual I'm just kidding, I think it's when people are using it on social media. I think it's like they're finished, like it's over for them, like if they did something bad that they can't come back from. Or if an NFL player fumbled the ball For the fourth time he's so cooked Like he's gonna get benched.

Speaker 1 14:19

I feel I relate to this word Today. I'm cooked, I'm done, I'm so past my to-do list yes that doesn't feel right are you?

Speaker 2 14:31

sure, that's what it means well, you're saying it more like you're tired yeah but I think it's this is more definitive, it's more like it's over for you like like you're injured yeah, like if you, if you did something that just compromised your reputation, and now like Like, you're canceled. You can't run a business anymore.

Speaker 1 14:48

Diddy is cooked.

Speaker 2 14:49

He's cooked it's over.

Speaker 1 14:52

It's over, yeah, okay.

Speaker 2 14:56

Yeah, aaron Rodgers Cooked, at least with the Jets.

Speaker 1 14:59

I think in general.

Speaker 2 15:01

Probably, probably.

Speaker 1 15:02

The.

Speaker 2 15:02

NFL would be better off if he was just cooked. In general, he can just go on a darkness retreat and do mushrooms.

Speaker 1 15:08

Anyone else?

Speaker 2 15:10

There's lots of people, but I don't want to just throw people on the bus. I feel like cooked is good, but I don't think it had as much reach as Demir or Vibe. To your point, I think it could compete with brain rot and manifest, though I do like brain rot. Yeah, cool. I think the word of the year shouldn't be, shouldn't have a negative connotation, though.

Speaker 1 15:33

Keep things positive.

Speaker 2 15:34

Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 1 15:36

So demure.

Speaker 2 15:37

Brat or manifest would be top if we're thinking of it on a positivity scale and then demure and then brain rot.

Speaker 1 15:43

Manifest is soest.

Speaker 2 15:44

feels like third wave Feels like we've been there, done that, it's cooked.

Speaker 1 15:47

It's cooked Bye.

Speaker 2 15:50

Is there any other words that you would nominate?

Speaker 1 15:52

There's no other words I would nominate, but I recently discovered a new word. The kids are saying it's oomph.

Speaker 2 16:01

Okay.

Speaker 1 16:01

Do you know what that is? I thought you were going gonna say chihoo from moana. No, I missed that part.

Speaker 2 16:09

Oh, do you know what oomph is?

Speaker 1 16:10

I don't please describe it o-o-m-f one of my friends okay, okay, go on but I also think it could be interchangeable with one of my followers. So it's like some people are like good night, oomphies, see you tomorrow. Like signing off?

Speaker 2 16:35

It's weird for it to be one of my friends but then people use it in like a plural.

Speaker 1 16:40

Yeah, oomphies are like one of my followers.

Speaker 2 16:44

All of my, one of my friends, plural yeah, oomphies are like one of my followers.

Speaker 1 16:45

All of my. One of my friends? Yeah, exactly, but I saw this meme which, like, helped educate me about this term.

Speaker 2 16:52

Memes are good for that.

Speaker 1 16:53

Yeah, memes are great for that. I saw this meme that was like yeah.

Speaker 2 17:00

Tell us Quick.

Speaker 1 17:02

I just want to compose myself, I just want to do it justice. It was like you need to be more demure right now it was like yeah, she's weird, but she's one of my.

Speaker 2 17:23

I feel like that's just like a bad attempt at replacing like day one or woes, like working on excellence. Yeah, but you could be like Rolling through the six with my woes.

Speaker 1 17:36

Nice. You could be like oh, do you know that person? Like, oh, that's an oomph.

Speaker 2 17:43

I guess I feel like that takes too much effort I.

Speaker 1 17:47

I feel like I can see it. It's got legs like I'm obviously this isn't.

Speaker 2 17:51

This can't be gen z coded. This is like gen alpha at this point, like 12 year olds are trying to make this happen yeah, or young like young gen z's.

Speaker 1 18:04

Yeah, oomph is like a new one, so just just hold space for that. Also speaking of, have you heard of holding space? Yes I feel like that is a strong contender for 2025 words of the year, but let's remember I said this well, it means one thing, see.

Speaker 2 18:20

That's why brain rot is a slippery slope. Mitzi brain rot is two and now that's a gateway drug to three words.

Speaker 1 18:28

Holding space is two words.

Speaker 2 18:30

I can't even do math right now.

Speaker 1 18:31

Yeah, holding space is two words, but do you know where that comes from?

Speaker 2 18:35

TikTok yeah, like everything else.

Speaker 1 18:38

So there's this viral clip going around of this interview interviewer who is interviewing ariana grande and cynthia what's her name, I don't know arrivo, cynthia arrivo from wicked, and they're doing a press tour and like their interviews are going so viral because they're so emotive in them, like they're so like emotional and emotive. Anyways, there's this interviewer and she was like the sound's going viral because she was like you know, I've seen lots of people are holding space for the lyrics of defining gravity. And then Cynthia Erivo's like I didn't realize that that's what I wanted, and she just, and then the interviewer's like yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen it, it's happening. She's like wow, and she's just so overtaken by just that phrase that the reporter says. And then Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do this Give me your hand, give me your hand. And so that clip is going viral and the sound is going viral and it's just so funny and that's strangely intimate, just like what a one finger handhold.

Speaker 1 19:49

But like so gentle, so demure so demure I'm holding space for that so I just feel like holding space is like a top contender for 2025. You heard it here first it it happened in 2024, though. So it just missed the bandwagon. I'm sure it's just going to pick up steam, though it's like end of 2024. Why I?

Speaker 2 20:08

don't know, just kind of mid.

Speaker 1 20:10

Hmm.

Speaker 2 20:11

It kind of has like manifest sort of vibes.

Speaker 1 20:14

No, it doesn't, Anyways.

Speaker 2 20:17

Thing two you take this one.

Speaker 1 20:19

Okay, in a first of its kind lawsuit, one tiktok creator is suing another for copying her neutral beige and cream aesthetic. After a judge ruled the case should go forward last month, the matter will now go to the us district court for the western district of texas for a final disposition. So influencer gifford claims influencer Sheil took their professional overlap too far, blocked her on social media after meeting her and started posting content so closely that some viewers couldn't tell them apart. In court, influencer Gifford submitted nearly 70 pages of side-by-side comparisons showing posts where the influencer she Sheil allegedly mimicked her content. In one example, the influencer showed off gold bow-shaped earrings by sweeping her hair back, and then days later the other influencer posted nearly identical photos, hair back with the same earrings. Gifford is seeking up to $150,000 in damages for mental anguish and lost income and she's also asking for Shields content to be taken down.

Speaker 1 21:37

So this is so interesting to me because, like it's the first time that influencers are suing each other for copying their vibe, which is basically how they present their content, and it's obviously kind of like it's funny to me because social media in general just invites imitation, like it's designed in the platforms. Even when you think about Instagram reels. There's literally templates for like copying other people's videos. You can even design your own template to encourage people to copy your own format. So it's just so odd for me to like even hear about this. I'm not surprised, but it's also like where do you draw the line Like? Your way of posting an earring is not so original that someone else can't also post that and everyone's content looks the same Like are you going to just? It's just. This is such a slippery slope to me and I just don't think that it's worth our time like drawing a line on like who can post this versus that?

Speaker 2 22:36

Yeah, I think it's just a desperate attempt at attention and regaining some money because her sales have been slipping. That's my knee-jerk reaction to the situation. I was also reading another article on the Verge about this that got a little bit more into the backstory and apparently they met twice before Sheil blocked Gifford and Gifford's the one that's suing Sheil Um. But both times was with one of Gifford's other influencer friends and Sheil felt that both times um they had, they were like kind of passive aggressive towards her and she didn't feel super welcome. And this was before any claims of copying.

Speaker 2 23:21

Right her and she didn't feel super welcome, and this was before any claims of copying right and uh. So after those like subpar experiences, she decided to block her and then like stopped thinking about her right so I think I just wanted to be clear that her blocking her wasn't because of the lawsuit, it was because they had some earlier interactions that were unpleasant.

Speaker 1 23:39

They just didn't like each other's vibe.

Speaker 2 23:41

Yeah, I also thought it was interesting the article quoted. So Gifford the one that's suing Sheil, her mom, is super involved in her business, which is cool, like whatever if you want to work with your mom.

Speaker 2 23:55

That's sweet, but her mom was quoted in the article as saying you can see why people call me Chris 2.0, referring to Kris Jenner and I. That kind of like triggered something for me in the sense that I've kind of like opened my eyes up to where this girl is drawing her inspiration from. Like you can clearly see that this like mother daughter duo is very much like trying to be like the Kardashians. Interesting the aesthetic I think is derived from Kim Kardashian's aesthetic, at least back when she was married to Kanye West, and they're like big, minimal, very like. What's the word?

Speaker 1 24:34

Beige, yeah, beige.

Speaker 2 24:36

Like even some of the same kind of furniture very little like color or texture like that. And even the way she talks and her personal aesthetic. You can see where she draws inspiration from and they were both described as like clean girl aesthetic, which is like minimal space. But also the way they dress like very simple, like kind of tight tank tops and things like that, and the way they do their hair, which to me looked I'm not I'm no expert but it looked very like Hailey Bieber vibes.

Speaker 2 25:04

I feel, like she's kind of like a tastemaker and that kind of aesthetic, so just kind of trying to affirm your point of like who really is the originator here? Yeah not this girl, and I think in in the landscape of creators, like no one has created a hierarchy, but I feel like Amazon, like product creators, has to be like lower on the totem pole than other types of creators, because it's just all of your content is just about getting people to click your affiliate link and buy something right that's likely a cheap knockoff of something else as well.

Speaker 2 25:37

so even in that sense, there's like a a morality or ethics question where you're selling people things that are knockoffs of like an actual, like luxury item whether it's a chair, like a dupe chair or a dupe rug or a dupe piece of art but someone else can't have a similar aesthetic to you.

Speaker 1 25:54

Yeah, it's just like so.

Speaker 2 26:01

Sorry, that was a lot of talking.

Speaker 1 26:03

No's all good, it's so desperate, like it. It's just kind of it's actually embarrassing like if this person had a truly original form of content, like there are creators out there who are really doing some original stuff, like there's this one creator I thought of when I was reading this article. He he posts outfit or he one of his videos was like outfits based on different fonts and they're so well produced, they're like works of art, they're so well done. There's clearly a lot of time and thought and originality put into this and he, to me, feels, feels like a really original person, creator, artist, and I feel like there's IP there with something like that.

Speaker 2 26:48

Something specific.

Speaker 1 26:49

Yeah, there's not IP granted to someone who has a beige aesthetic Like. That's literally everyone. Every girly on Instagram is a clean girl aesthetic girly.

Speaker 2 27:00

Like it's just not original. I think this is kind of what you're trying to say is like your aesthetic is like the absence of things.

Speaker 1 27:07

Right.

Speaker 2 27:08

You know, it's not like.

Speaker 1 27:09

When your aesthetic is an absence of things, because there are other people where their aesthetic is not defined by the absence of things. It's the curation of things, you know.

Speaker 2 27:18

Yeah, but I'm just talking about these two specifically. It's like neutral. Neutral, like no color and like no art on the walls. You know, like you've removed everything and called it an aesthetic and now no one else can right do the same and I think the reaction to someone copying you should not be like take him the court.

Speaker 1 27:37

It means like you should maybe try to be more original, like totally innovate change your, your approach to content.

Speaker 2 27:45

Like I, dare you to try to be different especially if your sale, like she mentioned, that she's lost a business in this time frame. So if you're seeing other people duplicating you whether you they were blatantly copying you or not and you're also seeing your sales slipping, like, rather than just lashing out with kind of like a tantrum like this, why not just to your point, like iterate, like try something different.

Speaker 1 28:09

For sure.

Speaker 2 28:10

Re-evaluate, right Reposition yourself, find a different market.

Speaker 1 28:13

Yeah, cause all of us are susceptible to people who will copy us. Like, our agency is one of thousands that does digital marketing and we are no different in terms of like service provided than a lot of other agencies, but we are different in the way we provide it and how we think about marketing and how we approach content and things like that. So decide what that is you know and then change.

Speaker 2 28:40

Yeah, we all have to constantly evolve.

Speaker 1 28:42

Right. The reason why we're also talking about this is because a case like this could set a precedent. It couldn't. If this goes to court and this person wins, it could have bigger impacts on our this industry and content creation and what's fair to replicate and what's not. So that's why we're keeping an eye on it and seeing what will happen.

Speaker 2 29:06

Yeah, and at the end of the day, like I think already there's some regulation in place for like sponsored content, like brand partnerships, but still many influencers ignore those rules anyway, Also, there's still kind of like a perception or misconception around influencer and creator work that still kind of scoffs at it, and I think also like a lot of influencer and brand relationships are already fragile, so it just feels like something's just waiting to break or change and something like this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back for sure, but also, I think, at the end of the day, like creator content, if you really boil it down, it ends up just being like ad creative you know, so if, if it becomes too complicated or too hard to succeed or too hard for brands to get the outcomes they want, then they could easily just regress to producing their own content again, and brands have have also already kind of adapted, like they've learned how to create their own UGC style or hire creators to be their like TikTok account

Speaker 2 30:16

yeah, hire in-house creators or even create an AI creator.

Speaker 1 30:21

You know, like that's something that we have to think about right now as well, so it's just fragile.

Speaker 2 30:26

So like, why now is not a good time for a creator in a fragile mark like landscape to be throwing a fit?

Speaker 1 30:33

Yeah, we'll see. We'll keep an eye on it.

Speaker 2 30:37

That we will.

Speaker 1 30:38

That we will.

Celebrity Lookalike Contests and Party Tricks

Speaker 2 30:39

Our third thing for today is celebrity lookalike contests are on the rise. This is a fun one. I think it's just been cool to see different ones popping up and see how different celebrities react to it. First, it was Timothee Chalamet who showed up to his own lookalike contest and cost the organizer a $500 fine for hosting a public event without a permit. Oops. Since then, more events have been popping up, including lookalike contests for Dev Patel and Jeremy Allen White. I think this is your note here.

Speaker 1 31:14

Yeah, my favorite lookalike contest and we were talking about this was the one for Glenn Powell, which took place in Austin.

Speaker 2 31:20

Texas.

Speaker 1 31:21

Yeah, this is the one you're telling me about the event had the the actor's mother, cindy powell, on hand to judge her son's look-alike contest, and let me tell you the prize. The prize was five dollars, a cowboy hat and a free queso from torches for a year. That was the prize for glenn powell's look-alike contest and for jeremy alan white.

Speaker 2 31:42

It was a pack of cigarettes that's amazing that's half the funny element.

Speaker 1 31:47

Absolutely just like what people get when they win but glenn powell just uh, took a step further and he facetimed the winner and offered the winner's parents or family members a cameo in his upcoming film, which I think is so funny. So glenn powell's known for having like his parents as like background actors to his movies and so he like decided to like give this as a personal prize to the winner. But obviously you can't have two glenn powells in a movie.

Speaker 2 32:13

So he said, like your closest relative or parent can be in my next movie, which I think is so funny that is so funny because obviously, like the lookalikes, parents don't aren't gonna look like glenn I feel like they might there's so many like dna factors that play here and genetics and like heritage and things like that right so it's so funny that they had to be so careful, like just in case, your dad looks just like mine and your mom looks just like mine, you know just in case, yeah that would be crazy.

Speaker 1 32:49

What if Glenn Powell's lookalikes parents look exactly like Glenn Powell's parents?

Speaker 2 32:54

Then there has to be a better prize.

Speaker 1 32:56

Well, he doesn't know that? That'd be crazy. I love these celebrity lookalikes contests because it's just good plain old fun it is, I think.

Speaker 2 33:09

Well, first off, who have you like? Which celebrities do you think you look like, or have you been told you look like? Well like which? If there was a contest of celebrity x or celebrity y that would draw you to go to it because you thought you could win, who would it be?

Speaker 1 33:24

I don't think I'd go to a celebrity. I actually hate when people compare me to anyone.

Speaker 2 33:29

That's true, can confirm?

Speaker 1 33:31

I like being an original Um, so I don't think I would like willingly put myself in a contest, but I have been told that I look like a few people. Someone from my high school messaged me like five years ago like well after I finished high school, to tell me specifically that I look like Taraji P Henson.

Speaker 2 33:49

Houston.

Speaker 1 33:50

Houston. Taraji P Houston.

Speaker 2 33:53

I don't know if there's a P in there no, I think it.

Speaker 1 33:55

I think it is Taraji. Taraji P Henson, yes.

Speaker 2 34:01

Henson, wow yeah.

Speaker 1 34:05

Specifically to say that I look like Taraji P Henson. And then someone messaged me and said that I look like Chrissy Teigen, which sure I'll take it.

Speaker 2 34:19

Maybe leave her off the list why she might be on the Diddy list.

Speaker 1 34:21

Stop, don't say that. Maybe leave her off the list why she might be on the Diddy list. Stop, don't say that. Oops, sorry, okay, anyways.

Speaker 2 34:26

My favorite one that I get compared to is Mac Miller.

Speaker 1 34:29

Yeah.

Speaker 2 34:29

And I like being an original too. But I mean, if you're going to compare me to Mac Miller, sign me up.

Speaker 1 34:34

Yeah.

Speaker 2 34:34

That guy's rest in peace. But he was an amazing rapper but also, like, known to be, a really kind human. Yeah, and like good friend.

Speaker 1 34:43

A good soul. Every time you're in like the TikTok. Every time you're in Arcade's TikTok, people are like whoa, does Mac Miller work there?

Speaker 2 34:54

And every time I take it as a massive compliment.

Speaker 1 34:56

Yeah, it is a compliment.

Speaker 2 34:57

Yeah, the other one that I don't like so much, and I feel like I used to get this more than now. I don't like so much and I feel like I used to get this more than now. I don't know why, but people would tell me I looked like Ryan from the.

Speaker 1 35:08

Office, like the weird guy that was always dating Kelly, you know.

Speaker 2 35:13

I've been told I sound like.

Speaker 1 35:14

Kelly. So there you go, cute. Is that a compliment? Well, I'd play it up.

Speaker 2 35:17

sometimes you embellish it for sure. So I'm not showing up to anyone's lookalike contest, because the one that I would is no longer with us, but I think you could show up at a Dora the Explorer lookalike contest and probably win.

Speaker 1 35:31

I would for sure win that I actually dressed up as Dora the Explorer many years in a row and and I would go out as Dora the Explorer, like on Halloween, and people would be like Dora, like people would take pictures of me, people would like I was Dora and I feel like I embodied her in a weird way.

Speaker 2 35:49

Yeah, you understood the assignment.

Speaker 1 35:50

Yeah, I would for sure go to a Dora lookalike class, but that's not quite the same as what we're talking about. Like. These are real celebrities, not like fictional characters.

Speaker 2 35:59

I know I just had to get that in there. Cool, I used to tell little kids that I was dora I used to tell you that my middle name was danger, and you believe me it's true, yeah, that's. You should tell everyone that story that was a party trick for me, like in university, I don't know Like what story.

Speaker 1 36:22

Tell me why.

Speaker 2 36:24

Back in the days of like video rental places. One time I went to a Rogers video to rent a I think it was a video game, and when I went to the counter to rent the game the guy asked for my student card or like, asked for my name or whatever, and it was Mike Payne. And he was like Mike Payne, that's such a sick name. Can I make your middle name Danger? In the system I was like I did not know why, but I was kind of down with it. So I said, sure. So then from then on my Rogers membership was Mike Danger Payne. And then eventually I had, in that transition era from Hotmail to Gmail, I decided to make my Gmail Mike Danger Payne. And then I would just always tell people when they asked my middle name that my middle name was Danger. And everyone thought that was pretty sick.

Speaker 1 37:12

Everyone thought that was pretty sick.

Speaker 2 37:14

When I was older and not in university anymore, I met you and I was feeling you and I was trying to use my party trick on you and I told you my middle name was danger and you just didn't really care but believed me and moved on.

Speaker 1 37:27

I was like, wow, that's so crazy that your middle name's danger.

Speaker 2 37:31

Wow, cool, anyway, yeah, and so I didn't even really have a chance to like correct it, and so I was just kind of stuck in this lie that my middle name was danger, and there's no like comedic relief from it or like satisfaction of a response. So then I just had to like I felt bad, so I had to just confess that it wasn't true, and then you just shamed me for it.

Speaker 1 37:50

You were like so remember that time I told you my middle name was danger, I was like yeah, and you were like well, it's not Sorry. You're like it's Todd. I was like okay, why did you say it was danger?

Speaker 2 38:05

Yeah, like, why wouldn't I believe you? I'm like, why would you believe someone's name is danger?

Speaker 1 38:10

Yeah, but like, why not believe you? Like, that wasn't like a cool thing to say. Anyways, that was the last time you ever lied to me, right?

Speaker 2 38:18

I've never lied since. You learned your lesson. Yeah, that was hard.

Speaker 1 38:22

I'm still recovering yeah, I'm glad you are do you have anything else to say?

Speaker 2 38:27

um, I really enjoyed the NFL Buffalo game oh, we are talking about football we weren't going to, but before we started we were like, should we talk about football? And we were like we don't really have anything noteworthy to say so let's not force it.

Speaker 1 38:40

It was like it was cool to watch them play in snow it was like they were playing right here in Calgary, alberta, canada yeah, I just I feel like Buffalo fans are built different and Buffalo players like really embody that like spirit of embracing the winter and the cold and, yeah, every time there's a blizzard in Buffalo before a game.

Speaker 2 38:59

it's a huge story because they ask fans to come and do shifts of like clearing snow from the seats and pay them $20 an hour, but then there's still snow drifts by the time people come to the game. So, it's kind of like what was the point of that?

Speaker 1 39:15

Yeah, I love to see it. Though, like I just think it's such a cool flex to be like oh I don't know, I just if, if I were a buffalo fan, like knowing that that's such a big part of like their culture as a team, like you're almost like embracing it, you're just like hoping there's a blizzard for the game part of the experience and all the buffalo bills, players were playing like sleeveless, like no long sleeves. They just had their like short sleeve t-shirt on and I feel like that was like a flex.

Speaker 2 39:42

Yeah, they're just raw dogging the snow. We're not afraid.

Speaker 1 39:44

They were like jumping in the snow, like sliding, like embracing it to the max, and I, just, I like that spirit that's, I think mentally, that's where you're at with winter. It reminded me of you. Maybe that's why I want to talk about it.

Speaker 2 39:57

Maybe that's why yeah, you gotta just take winter head on, and whenever there's a blizzard in Buffalo, you know they're gonna win.

Speaker 1 40:04

Yeah, it's like good luck.

Speaker 2 40:05

Unless it's like against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who can also handle winter. Most of these other teams, like Miami, mike McDaniel, just shivering on the sideline, just can't handle it.

Speaker 1 40:18

Can't cope. Let's just take the L and get back.

Speaker 2 40:20

Tyree Kill can't even stay on his feet, just slipping and falling on his butt every 10 yards.

Speaker 1 40:25

I know it's amazing.

Speaker 2 40:26

Yeah.

Speaker 1 40:27

Yeah, anyways, that's all I wanted to say.

Speaker 2 40:29

Good weekend of football, for sure. We're almost to the fantasy playoffs. We're getting into that zone where teams are starting to get eliminated or out of contention for the NFL playoffs. We've got lots to look forward to like with the Christmas game and the Beyonce halftime show. All that kind of stuff. So it's getting good.

Speaker 1 40:47

And then the Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 40:48

The plot is thickening.

Speaker 1 40:49

Yeah, into it.

Speaker 2 40:50

Well, thanks for watching. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube. Follow us on Instagram. We also recently launched TikTok, so you can find us there if that's where you prefer to be, we there if that's where you prefer to be. We also have versions of this on Apple and Spotify, so if you like it there, leave us a review. We want to hear from you, so make sure you send us a message. Let us know what you're liking, what we need to stop talking about when Mike thinks he's funny and he should just quit and let Mitzi talk. Any of those opinions or hot takes that you have, let us know. We won't take offense, but that's about it for this week.

Speaker 1 41:24

We'll be back at you next week with episode 12. See you later. Do it. Thank you, that was a nice one.

Speaker 2 41:33

I kept it soft this time.

Speaker 1 41:35

It wasn't that soft, it wasn't.

Speaker 2 41:37

I'm trying to find the sweet spot, because I could really ring the alarm or I could just gently ring the alarm.

Speaker 1 41:42

I'm holding space for that gong.