APG Sideways
About our guest: June Findlay
I’m a multi-hyphenate: writer, speaker, marketer, foodie, radio/TV talking head, sh*t-talker/disturber. I’m not your typical strategist--but that is my superpower. My specialty is combining my knack for knowing what people (*not* marketers!) care about and vast cultural knowledge + sensitivity to lead campaigns that make money and start conversations.
These days, I’m a brand + content strategy consultant at Little Kernel Communications, my freelance practice, where I guide businesses to find their identity through strategy + storytelling. IRL, you can find me writing my newsletter, cooking + baking, or vibing out to music, either live or from my playlists.
Brilliant Weird Best
Planners are curious folks, so we asked June to tell us the most brilliant, weirdest and best things she’s come across recently.
BRILLIANT: Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Mayoral Campaign
In a past life, I studied political communication. IMHO, many campaigns are boring; they don’t address the changes needed + felt by everyday people. Enter Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic mayoral candidacy in New York City, shocking many in the political “old guard”. He’s captured hearts, minds + votes because he meets people where they are, naming + understanding their problems and realistic solutions to solve them. His team produces excellent content that speaks plainly, is visually stunning and is relatable. It’s a strategy that everyone, whether they’re in politics or not, needs to study + use for years to come.
WEIRD: Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday Meme
The unintentional meme that boosted a brand. After the Jet2Holidays social team posted the ad to TikTok in 2024—2 years after the original on YouTube—users uploaded 124K videos of dangerous/funny situations during a vacation or chaotic behavior related to airplanes, using the ad’s soundbite as a comedic juxtaposition of the content and the upbeat tone of the ad. Even Jess Glynne, whose song is featured, got in on the fun. What’s cool to me is that these videos made the brand memorable far beyond the UK where it would have otherwise been just another generic travel ad. The internet remains undefeated.
BEST: Nike “One of A’Kind”
This one is already on my list for best of 2025. Nike is an expert at taking advantage of cultural moments; here, capitalizing on the explosive popularity of the WNBA in recent years and one of its most-loved stars, A’ja Wilson, for the A’One shoe. Tapping into sentiments of Black girlhood, Black American basketball culture, A’ja’s personality, and many other things that make women’s basketball great (shoutout to coach/legend Dawn Staley making an appearance), this ad is just so FUN, and I miss that these days. I’ll take a size 10 in Topaz Gold.
Top Guilty Pleasures
Not all of our consumption habits can be academic. That's why we asked June to give us the sources to her creativity.
The world is stupid, ridiculous and messy as hell; a little escapism is what my overthinking brain craves, and Beyond the Gates delivers. The show centers on the Duprees, a prominent family in an affluent community, and ALL of their drama. While it’s groundbreaking in many ways—it's the first new soap opera to air in 25 years, and the first to feature a Black family as the main cast—it's also really good at giving camp, drama, comedy and all the things that I loved when I watched The Young and the Restless growing up.
IMHO, the blind item is a dying art (they’ve been around since 1892!), but thanks to TikTok (and DeuxMoi, sigh), it’s been given a resurgence in pop culture. I’ve always admired the word gymnastics required to talk shit about celebrities in a way that doesn’t get you in legal trouble. Enter Crazy Days and Nights, one of the longest-running websites dedicated to said art. I *love* guessing who’s responsible for things I ultimately do not care about, but am thoroughly entertained by, right before the names are revealed (a break from tradition- other sites don’t do this).
Wired Magazine’s “Tech Support” video series
I love learning about random things, and YouTube continues to be a place where it consistently happens for me. My recent obsession: Wired’s “Tech Support” Series, which sees subject experts answer questions from people via Twitter and Reddit. I especially love to watch them after finishing a TV show or movie containing subject matter I’m ready to go down a rabbit hole for. My favourites: Bill Nye the Science Guy on science, Andre Mack on wine, Lauren Ginsberg on the Roman Empire, Ruth Ben-Ghiat on authoritarianism, Tony Maietta on Old Hollywood.
This month on Slack
Been MIA on the APG's Slack Channel? No worries! Catch up on all the buzz with our latest and greatest links right here!
Labubu: Gen Z’s Cutest Gambling Fix
Contributor – Trevon Daley
Trevon breaks down the rise of Labubu, the oddly cute, oddly ugly collectible dolls dominating Gen Z’s attention—and wallets. Originally created by artist Kasing Lung and inspired by Nordic mythology, the thrill comes from the blind box format: you don’t know which character you’ll get until you open it, and some rare dolls resell for thousands. For a generation priced out of real gambling, this is the next best hit.
Contributor – Cameron Fleming
Cameron muses that navigating the complex politics of managing clients and colleagues is an important part of the strategist's role. He estimates that this political dimension takes up roughly 85% of the role, with only 15% dedicated to thinking directly about consumers and selling. But that's not a bad thing--"politics is just what happens when two or more people try to do something."
Contributor – Ivan Chernopyatko
Ivan says what we’ve all been thinking: long-form LLM text feels like uncanny valley (= eerily close to human, but not quite human). Even when it’s well-styled and adopts a casual voice, something still feels eerily off. Though English isn’t his first language, he can still feel the unease. As he puts it, “pattern recognition doesn’t lie.” Note: Uncanny Valley Syndrome is a potential side effect of reading too much LinkedIn in one day.