Netflix, Apple, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, Showtime, Facebook, Disney…there’s never been a better time to create content. Subscription wars are heating up amongst the corporate giants but if you look a bit deeper you’ll find a small army of creative brands investing in content. Shopify, MailChimp, WeTransfer are all delivering gorgeously shot, thoughtful stories. And their goal? To connect with us. That’s right, personalized, relatable storytelling is flying off the shelves and when done right, it’s an influential marketing tool that’s moving us beyond double-taps into full-on purchase mode. I, for one, am totally on-board with this trend and have no doubt more tweets like this will be showing up. In fact, I’m hoping brands will continue to up the creativity and experiment with new formats – perhaps an Everlane or allbirds cartoon teaching kids about sustainability? Or maybe Etsy pop-up crafting shops in airports or The Sill coloring books given out at community gardens? Shift those marketing dollars because eliciting an emotional response through creative storytelling is something I’m willing to pay for. 

They had me at Jim Bakker and Vicente Fox, but Super Deluxe has done it again with Thrift Haul featuring Fat Tony. It’s a competitive fashion show where contestants hit Goodwill Southern California to create the flyest outfits they can. This ep features musicians Jarina De Marco and Antwon shopping for outfits they would wear hungover at work. Winner picks an outfit for the loser to wear on their Instagram.

Fancy knowing what you would look like in your favorite cartoon? Portrait artist Wada can make that happen in the style of Bob’s Burgers, BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty, and plenty more. I don’t know about you, but I think this would make an incredible gift.

I love the feeling I get from watching Toro Y Moi’s latest video You and I. It’s simple, but the color, light, and sound is simply gorgeous. As one commenter puts it, “this makes me want to cook mac and cheese ass naked.” Okay, I’m not exactly sure that’s what I had in mind, but it does have me floating up amongst the clouds and drifting the calm waters of the Pacific.

Last night I caught the documentary The Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs as part of SF DocFest and highly recommend it for anyone that’s into total characters or UFOs. It follows a man who has been filming UFOs in Monterey for years and his unwavering belief in the phenomenon, but also profiles his challenges with family and his own filmmaking. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and just maybe keep your eyes on the sky more often.