Good morning. Be honest: how many times did you rewatch the Benito Bowl?
Meanwhile, in Milano Cortina, the 2026 Winter Olympics are underway, and the internet has already crowned a few delightfully unhinged main characters. The Games remain what they’ve always been: part elite athleticism, part global spectacle, part extremely online group chat. Sure, there are medals at stake - but with billions watching, the bigger prize is cultural relevance.
Fashion is wasting no time clocking in. For a handful of brands, the Olympics are the Super Bowl of outerwear. Early standouts: Team Mongolia x Goyol Cashmere, Team Haiti x Stella Jean and Team Great Britain x Tom Daley - proof that parade fits can carry as much weight as podium finishes. (Business of Fashion’s The Debrief has more on how the winterwear boom is rewriting the Olympic marketing playbook.)
And if productivity dips between 2-4 pm, you’re in good company. SHRM’s official guidance on Olympics-watching at work? Lean in.
Campaigns
Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments
Also, Valentine’s Day stunts are in full force - Natural Light’s “Lawngerie” for lawn mowers, Angry Orchard’s Ex-Change program, Waffle House x Compartes’ gift box, Hero Cosmetics’ zit-shaped chocolates box - plus Frida’s Mardi Gras stunt.
Culture
Snackable bites of consumer culture
Corporate
News impacting business & the workplace
Commerce
Shopper society snapshot
Connections
Feed intelligence & AI tips
Media Moves & Intel:
Madison Mills, formerly senior markets reporter at Axios, is shifting to a new beat covering AI. She is now senior AI reporter, and she’ll co-author the AI+ newsletter alongside Ina Fried.
Emily Peck, national correspondent at Axios, will be taking over the Axios Markets newsletter from Madison Mills.
Kate Knibbs, senior writer at WIRED, is shifting for a new beat covering prediction markets.
Daniel Miller, formerly staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, is now reporter at Politico in LA covering the intersection of entertainment, media, sports, tech and politics.
Erika Wheless, marketing reporter at Ad Age, is shifting to a new beat covering consumer culture and brand behavior (“how brands respond to the way people actually spend their money and signal values”). Food pitches should be sent to Jon Springer, though Erika will help cover food trends.
Hana Hong, formerly editorial and affiliate director at The List, has left the outlet to pursue freelance opportunities.
Patrick McGuire, formerly global head of factual entertainment and music at Red Bull and head of content (Canada) at VICE Media, launched Soon, a new media company covering “the machines, minds and subcultures of tech’s new frontier.”
Business Insider launched five new newsletters: Work Shift, BI’s guide to workplace and economic trends; Inside Business, inside the companies and business trends that shaping our world today; Driverless, about the next era of driving; Side Hustlers, strategies to learn, build and thrive beyond the 9-to-5 and Desk Confessions, how people are navigating careers, money and meaning in the modern workplace.
Victoria Ibitoye, formerly senior correspondent at MLex, founded The Daily Influence, which covers the creator economy.
Also... listen to this Zero to Well-Read episode on how to read more - and get more out of every book.
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