Amazon’s Sharks

Amazon’s e-commerce competition show, movie theaters’ long-needed glow-up, Nike’s new CEO

Friday for the people. In what may be the coolest marketing move of the year, The New York Times transformed into the Gotham Gazette yesterday — yes, the newspaper from the Batman universe. The edition was available in places like Times Square and Grand Central Station and was also sent out to all print subscribers, ensuring the new HBO series The Penguin got an extra buzzy debut.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

Amazon Readies Its Own Shark Tank

Courtesy of Amazon

Amazon is set to debut a competition show that allows players to pitch their products to company execs and celebrity judges for a chance at startup stardom — top billing on the e-commerce giant’s site.

Why It Hits: Instagram, TikTok, Amazon… finding a seamless way to mix commerce and entertainment has become the Holy Grail of the tech industry. By mixing a tried-and-true format with a novel approach to platforming promising products, Amazon may have struck gold.

Between the Lines: WSJ describes Amazon’s new show, Buy It Now, as Shark Tank meets the Home Shopping Network.

  • The show, hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, will debut on October 30th on Prime Video.

  • Contestants have 90 seconds to pitch their products in front of a studio audience, who will then vote if the pitch should be presented to a panel of judges.

  • Judges include Amazon execs like ad sales VP Tanner Elton, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, designer Christian Siriano, and pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.

  • Winners will each receive $20,000, prime placement on Amazon’s new “Buy It Now” store, and internal support on how to position their product to attract customers.

Closing Thoughts: The show sounds like a win-win for both entrepreneurs and Amazon. Getting top exposure on the retail giant’s site, especially for smaller companies, is only getting harder and more expensive, so a leg up could be a path to success. On the other hand, Amazon gets a buzzy way to market products on the platform. Coupled with Amazon Live and QR-enabled shows, Amazon may be creating a blueprint for turning audiences into customers.

Together with Superplastic

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Superplastic, who’s done exclusive collabs with Gucci, Fortnite, and Post Malone, just dropped The Bad Sushi collection, and their vinyl sushi figures are #PureEvil.

The goal?

Collect all 14 main characters (and three of the four chase figures) to unlock an ultra-rare bonus character. Discount codes are below.

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Here are the codes because we love you:

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  • TFP-FILTHYHAUL : buy a case of blindboxes and get a FilthE or Lil Ill RhymezlikeDimez Twilight or Original colorway for free

Are you still there?

P.S. Make sure to add the 4th blindbox or the RhymezlikeDimez figure to your cart and then add the discount code.

Movie Theaters Enter the Experience Economy

Pardon our dust // Illustration by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E 3

The eight biggest cinema chains in the US and Canada announced a $2.2 billion upgrade project that will finally modernize movie theaters.

The Big Picture: The reputation of movie theaters having poor projection or being dirty is well known, leading many people to stay home and watch a movie instead of going out. By updating them to modern standards, more people may make moviegoing a habit.

Behind the Curtain: The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) announced that Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus Theatres, B&B Theatres, Harkins Theatres, and Santikos Entertainment are all getting glow-ups.

  • They’ll update 21,000 screens over the next three years, including obvious upgrades like more comfortable seating, and better projection and sound systems, but also more tangential things like unique dining options.

  • And some will even experiment by adding pickleball courts, ziplining attractions, and bowling alleys, turning theaters into experiential hubs, not just places to see movies (though that’s still the main goal).

The Future: Moviegoing is finally trending toward normal after four years of COVID and dual strikes that upended cinema-going habits and led to fewer released movies… but still down 13% from last year and way down from 2019. Still, NATO chief Michael O’Leary told Variety, “across the industry, we’re feeling that perhaps we’ve turned a corner.” If the refurbishments increase ticket sales, expect the typically cash-strapped chains to finally attract some fresh investment.

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DEEP DIVES

  • Read: THR interviews Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che about the show’s upcoming 50th season.

  • Listen: Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss goes into the trenches with screenwriter and novelist Gary Whitta, who details how writing a Star Wars movie was one of the hardest jobs in entertainment.

  • Watch: Bloomberg explores why, after over 50 years, there’s a new race for countries to put people on the moon.

Do you watch Shark Tank?

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70.6% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Has a fear of failure ever stopped you from pursuing a dream?

“It’s becoming too difficult to recover from failures.”

“It’s important to talk to your surrounding colleagues and family, as it’s usually yourself who has the most negative view of your future.”

“If I didn’t sacrifice everything and didn’t care for having stability, etc., I would’ve never made it in Hollywood. You have to be a loner and willing to let go of everything and commit 100% to yourself.”

“I’ve started businesses, gone skydiving, and moved to cities where I didn’t know anyone. Life’s too short to let fears prevent us from taking action.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

❄️ Jennifer Lee is rolling the credits on her tenure as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation so she can focus on two Frozen sequels. Longtime Disney filmmaker Jared Bush will take her place.

🦌 Netflix has another viewership data dump  — Damsel, Lift, and Society of the Snow led in film, while Fool Me Once, Bridgerton, and Baby Reindeer led in TV.

⚽ Soccer star Lionel Messi is launching his own production company, 525 Rosario, for film, TV, and branded content.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

👟 Embattled Nike CEO John Donahoe is stepping down. Retired Nike vet Elliott Hill is stepping in.

👕 Walmart is rolling out an e-commerce tool that lets customers crowdsource opinions from friends before buying a new outfit.

🐊 Crocs has tapped a trio of athletes to be the face (foot?) of the brand’s new Echo Surge sneaker line.

→ Creator Economy

🏛️ MrBeast and Amazon got hit with a wide-ranging, class-action lawsuit over the creator’s Beast Games competition show.

💻 Now, even Substack is getting into the livestreaming game, begging the question if writers are eager to show their faces publicly.

🤖 SocialAI will test if humans want a social platform where chatbots (and chatbots only) will engage with their posts.

Let us know how we are doing...

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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.

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