Thinking — ideas and evidence for people building brands

A woman in sunglasses and a red skirt carries an oversized golden Chipotle bag along a city street. — Chipotle gives its familiar takeout bag an outsized role in the Family Meals campaign. Source: Chipotle / GUT. View full size.

Latest release · The Weekly Cut 024

Google builds a shared shopping cart. Meta competes on memory. Chipotle makes the bag the story.

A new US shopping experience, agents built to keep working and a familiar brand asset turned into a group-meal idea. Plus Tesla’s airborne spectacle.

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Andy Parton16 October 20268 min read

The Weekly Cut.

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The Weekly Cut 024 · 16 October 2026

Google builds a shared shopping cart. Meta competes on memory. Chipotle makes the bag the story.

A new US shopping experience, agents built to keep working and a familiar brand asset turned into a group-meal idea. Plus Tesla’s airborne spectacle.

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The Weekly Cut 02416 October 20268 min read

Apple’s official iPhone Duo image shows two hands holding the phone, folded on the left and open on the right, against a pale background. — Inside The Weekly Cut 019: Apple’s launch image shows iPhone Duo folded and open. The phone was announced on 9 September, with availability from 23 October. Source: Apple.

The Weekly Cut 019

Better models, Apple’s first foldable & AI’s public consequences

New evaluations show where AI is improving, Samsung finds its moment at Apple’s launch, and an agent investigation puts private testing under public scrutiny.

The Weekly Cut 01911 September 20268 min read

Two people and a dog sit on a sofa in a room with a Sonos soundbar and rear speakers; one listener wears headphones. — Inside The Weekly Cut 018: Sonos’s September 1 launch photography shows Beam Ultra, headphones and rear speakers in one home system. The products were announced alongside Sonos 27, the software update discussed inside this edition. Source: Sonos.

The Weekly Cut 018

ChatGPT ads expand. New models raise the bar.

A wider advertising channel, more capable models and a staged rollout of image creation inside Google Workspace change the next marketing brief.

The Weekly Cut 0184 September 202610 min read

Two people at a pub bar in a scene from This is our BBC. — Inside The Weekly Cut 016: A scene from the BBC’s July campaign “This Is Our BBC”, the subject of System1’s 20 August review. The image belongs to that campaign, rather than a new August launch. Source: BBC / Blink.

The Weekly Cut 016

AI advertising, synthetic people and creative trust

Consumer comfort and new creative tools meet a concrete example of where released marketing capacity can go.

The Weekly Cut 01621 August 20268 min read

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Monthly analysis

A group of friends around a dining table in a room with Sonos speakers. — Sonos 27 launch photography, released on 1 September. Its connection to external AI assistants enters Early Access on 8 September; this scene is launch imagery, not evidence of customer satisfaction. Source: Sonos.

Analysis 005 · September 2026

A better model. A better customer experience?

September brings new AI controls and fresh evidence of customers’ reluctance to retry a failed chatbot. A launch needs to prove what happens after the conversation.

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A hand holds a smiling Goldfish cracker close to the camera, with a young person’s face softly out of focus behind it. — A product close-up from the 30-second version of Goldfish’s “Photoshoot”, published in July. It shows the campaign’s central idea: the snack itself smiles back. System1’s 27 August review evaluates a shorter execution from the same campaign. Source: Goldfish / Mischief / Blinkink; film supplied by Marcus Lim SO.

Analysis 004 · August 2026

More executions. How many ideas?

August brings more control over AI image editing. The creative test is whether that freedom produces a better idea, or simply more versions of the first one.

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Nick Louisson presenting ISBA’s 2026 Gen AI survey, with the original subtitle “Nothing scales better than mediocrity”. — Nick Louisson discusses ISBA’s 2026 Gen AI survey in its 9 July preview. The results, released on 22 July, distinguish widespread use from reported business impact. Source: ISBA.

Analysis 003 · July 2026

Where should the time saved by AI go?

July’s ISBA findings expose a gap between using AI and getting a business result. The next decision is what to do with capacity you can prove you have released.

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The opening screen of Conductor’s 10 June demonstration of its AI Brand Visibility Report Agent in Optimizely Opal. A supplier demonstration is the starting point; a paid trial should follow the work through to a usable result. Source: Conductor / Optimizely.

Analysis 002 · June 2026

What to ask an AI marketing supplier

A paid trial on a real brief can reveal the work, costs and responsibilities behind a persuasive AI pitch. June’s spending evidence makes that scrutiny timely.

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A presenter stands on the Google I/O stage before a screen about shopping on Google, with the event audience visible in the foreground. — Google’s shopping presentation at I/O on 19 May 2026. Its announced Universal Cart rollout is intended to bring more of the journey from discovery to purchase into Google’s products. Source: Google / I/O 2026 press photography.

Analysis 001 · May 2026

A brand still has a job when AI gives the answer

Google’s May shopping and advertising announcements bring more of the buying decision into an AI conversation. Brands need accurate answers and a reason to be chosen.

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