The Best One Yet - 🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Ralph Lauren is the shining star of American luxury… because they traded out logos.Hot Ones, the chicken wing interview show, sold for $82M… it’s a changing of the guard in media.And Marriott just acquired a chain of glamping cabins… because the mountains are calling, and I must invest.Plus, holiday office parties are going away. Frank from Finance is devastated.$RL $BZFD $MARSubscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, December 16th. Today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. You know, Jack, the Dow is down again. I'm looking at seven straight days of declines. Worst streak for the Dow in four years, man. Although we should point out, the stock market index is still up 3.8% since the election. Funny you should say that. You know what else is up? Yeah. Our voices, baby. We're healthy again, Yanis. We're feeling good. We're feeling good. We're We're covering our voices for you. Thanks for your patience on Friday. Our vocal cords limped through the podcast, didn't they? Although, Jack, I should point out, a lot of people said we sounded sultry, and one person said we were like leather, chocolate, and Cuban cigars in a podcast. Another said it was refreshing to hear a Friday hangover podcast. Someone thought you were Batman, and I want to point out you and Batman have never been in the room at the same time. I've noticed that.

Well, it's good to be happy again. Jack, you are sounding fantastic. Pump to pod with you, P-to-P. Let's hit our three stories. We got. For our first story, the only American luxury brand winning right now is Ralph Lauren. Because Ralph Lauren has replaced their polo logo with the teddy bear. For our second story, it's Hot Ones. The show where celebrities drown in hot sauce, drenched chicken wings while trying to interview. That show just sold for $82 million. Hot ones, it proves

that YouTube shows are as big as cable shows. And our third and final story is Marriott Hotels. They just made a huge bet on glamping. They just bought a glamping chain because the mountains are calling and I must invest. Glamping. Yes. There was an incident. There was an incident. A story for another pod.

But yet, he's before you had that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories to kick off the weekman. Nick and I are pageing it open to Horters Almanac week 249. Oh, the Horters Almanac. Things were running out in this economy. Jack and I have been keeping track for you. This week we are running out of the corporate office holiday party. The office party.

corporate party, the end-a-year, comp celebration, all of it is disappearing. The one where Carol from accounting overshares inside info, she definitely shouldn't have shared. Yeah, and Frank from finances over serving the jungle juice. Here's the news. The recruiting firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas surveys companies on whether or not they're having an office party. Wait, their name is Christmas? The name of the company is Christmas? Yeah, that's a coincidence, I think. Well, what do they discover, Jack? The number of companies that are having holiday parties is at the lowest level since they've been keeping track. Get this, Yeties. In the last 15 years, the number of firms hosting holiday gals is down 30%. In 2007, 90% of companies said they were having a company holiday party.

But this year, just 64% are serving millennial Millie, a little holiday cheer. So why are companies put in the kibosh on the corporate Christmas shindig? Well, Jack, one reason is COVID. Another reason is costs. In this economy, yeah, you'd rather prefer a bonus check to an open bar. But the biggest reason that the holiday office party is going away is apparently Gen Z. Yeah, Gen Z, because people under 30, they aren't into drinking with Frank from finance. They hate alcohol. Call us old fashion, I used to love the holiday office parties I had. I mean, Jack, back when we worked at banks, we could expense taxis anywhere after the office

holiday party. And taking a taxi to home, that was a luxury. I'm pretty sure the whole night was a write-off. And then after a couple drinks, quiet Kathy from compliance told us that she's actually a semi-pro surfer. I mean, Jack, I never busted a move on the dance floor. Kathy did, and honestly, impressed with Kathy. Kathy!

Well, I had no idea. So, besties, the holiday office party. It's on the decline. Pour one out for the overpaid DJ. Your company paid way too much money for. We got a poll going on Spotify. Are you guys having a holiday party or not this year? And if you did have a holiday party, tell us the highlights in the comments.

In the meantime, Jack, three fantastic stories. Let's hit the T-Boy. No, Frank. There's no mistletoe in this space. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast. met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm.

That's it's 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea boy city on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

Our first story, Ralph Lauren, is the only American luxury brand that's actually winning right now. But the reason Ralph Lauren is up is their cute, cuddly teddy bear. Yeah, goodchy, goodgie, good you. Now, yeah, news last week, Jack and I told you about the luxury at all, the fancy fallout, the Christian Dior dip. A big reason is China. For years, millions of newly minted millionaires in China have been the driver behind luxury industry sales. But lately, China's government has been discouraging ostentatious displays of affluence. Hey, that everybody's handbag, take it off. Not cool, man. Not cool.

Used to be cool, but not cool. So luxury brands are struggling right now, but we notice that there is one big American exception, and who is that, Jack? Ralph Lauren. Not Ralph Lauren. Okay, I don't know why I called it Ralph Lauren as a kid. I didn't want to call you out. It's just Ralph Lauren.

But yet he is, we notice that shares of Ralph Lauren are popping like a polo shirt collar these days. The stock is up 55% this year to an all-time high. And the earnings last week were hotter than Hansel. Even in China, sales of Ralph Lauren were up 10% last quarter. It looks like Ralph Lauren's red, white, and blue Americana is thriving over there. And the growth driver, according to the CEO, wild. Is their teddy bear? It's their iconic, cuddly cute little Ralph Lauren teddy bear selling it all-time highs.

Now, we need to sprinkle on some context to the teddy bear itself. Jack, can you whip out the history books from the whiteboard over there for us, please? My little brother's name is Teddy. Great name. So I'm highly familiar with the teddy bear origin story. And he's a great guy. So what do we got, Jack? The teddy bear is actually named after President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt.

And the first teddy bear was created 124 years ago. And it's kind of an interesting reason how they came up with the teddy bear, right, man? So Teddy Roosevelt was an outdoorsman and a conservationist, and he liked to hunt bears, actually. He did. There's a couple of bears that he shot at the Natural History Museum in New York City. Yeah, it's like 30 bears. Yeah, not too shabler. But one time, he failed to hunt.

catch a bear. And so some of his cronies like caught a bear and set it up for President Roosevelt to shoot. Would have been an easy shot. But Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot the tied up bear. He's a principal guy. If he was going to shoot it, he'd shoot it in the wild. And apparently some guy took that story and said, I'm going to create a teddy bear stuffed animal and name it after Theodore Roosevelt. Well, decades later, a man named Jerry Lauren collected dozens of those original collectible teddy bears. Jerry Lauren is Ralph Lauren's brother. True story. And in 1991, he convinced his brother, Ralph, to put a teddy bear on Ralph Lauren apparel. Well, that started an annual holiday tradition. Every year, there was a line of teddy bear Ralph Lauren clothing

that you could buy for holidays. Except this year, Ralph Lauren's teddy bear has its own permanent collection. It's a vibe. It is. And it reflects Ralph Lauren's casual luxury brand. Because the Ralph Lauren teddy bear, it's got a sweat around its neck, its hand in its pocket, lean the bag, it's pretty cool in cash. It looks like a guy who's holiday party, you want to get invited to. That's exactly who that teddy bear looks like. Well, last week in New York, Nick and I noticed a bunch of people with Ralph Lauren Teddy Bear merch. On our way to lunch one day, we saw three people in Ralph Lauren Teddy Bear merch, a hat, a shirt, and a sweater. So the CEO says the teddy bear is the growth driver, and Nick and I saw it with our own two eyes in New York City last week. We did.

They've even launched a polo bear shop with 500 Ralph Lauren Teddy Bear products. The teddy bear is replacing that iconic polo horse from the polar shirt as the theme of Ralph Lauren. Teddy bear, so hot right now. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ralph Lauren? Don't call it Ralph Lauren. I'm just trying to make you feel comfortable. I want you to feel accepted, Jack. The Ralph Lauren teddy bear has all the ingredients for star IP potential. Yeties, in this moment of nostalgia, brands are realizing that they're actually sitting on piles of valuable IP like it's oil. It started with Mattel, who really, realize that the Barbie doll is way more than a toy. The Barbie doll turned into a movie,

fashion lines, and so much more. Jay Crewe, they just brought back their famous catalog, because that was buried IP. And now Coca-Cola is using their polar bears for way more than just December TV commercials. Well, Jack and I think that Ralph Lawrence Teddy Bear is the next buried IP to be drilled up and scaled out. Our prediction, the Ralph Lauren Teddy Bear is going to get a YouTube series, maybe his own Instagram account, a children's book perhaps. I mean, Jack, In three years, we're probably going to see a live action teddy bear film streaming on Netflix, and we'll be saying we did a podcast on it. All the ingredients are there.

It's time to tap that teddy bear IP. Tap that IP, baby. For our second story, Hot Ones, the interview show done over spicy chicken wings, just sold for $82 million. Hot Ones' huge financial payout shows the changing of the guard in media. All right, Jack, let's open up the cupboards over there. go to hot sauce right now, what do you put in on everything? Boone. Honestly, we've been like, we've been experiencing and experimenting with a lot of hot sauces,

but we're into Boone right now. Boone Chili Crunch really nails the spicy oil to crushed red pepper ratio. I like what you did there, Jack. But Nick, the hot sauces we like don't even register compared to those used by the show, Hot Ones. Because on Hot Ones, they interview celebrities while progressively consuming hotter and hotter and hotter chicken wings. By the end, they're at 10,000 on the sky. Goville scale. Tell me how you got your first Hollywood break while chewing this jalapeno wing.

Tom Holland, Shaquille O'Neill, Sydney, each has recently been tortured with habaneros while being interviewed on hot ones. And here's the news, Yetis. BuzzFeed actually acquired Hot Ones three years ago, but BuzzFeed is struggling. The stock is down 90% and the company is buried in $120 million of debt. So last week, BuzzFeed sold off Hot Wings for a whopping 82 million bucks. BuzzFeed is using that money to pay down debt. This is not a glamorous transaction for BuzzFeed. Now, interestingly, Hot Ones is being acquired by a bunch of creators, actually. The Soros Fund is providing the big money for this deal, but other money is coming from the host of

the show, Sean Evans, as well as Rhett and Link fellow YouTubers. Also, Crooked Media, which does Podsafe America, they just helped acquire Hot Ones. Hot ones, never been hotter. Now, yet is, ironically, to make a great media product, Hot Ones borrowed from the restaurant industry. Here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Chefs in kitchens use contrast to make a dish more flavorful, right, Jack? Like hot and cold contrast, or sweet and sour contrast, or crunchy and not crunchy contrast. But Jack and I have studied hot ones for years now, and we notice that hot ones use his contrast to enhance your attention of the show. They use a pretty classic interview format for this show. Same kinds of questions you'd see on any other interview show.

basic questions. But the host asked those questions while feeding the guest, increasingly spicy food. So by the end, it is painfully unpleasant. It's the only show we've watched with interviews where you have to take a bathroom break in the middle of the guest. Jennifer Lawrence is giving acting advice with buffalo sauce tears coming down her face. That is nice. And that is content contrast. Because nothing makes you more vulnerable. Then when your mouth is destroyed and you've got Spiced Tears coming out. Hot Ones. They didn't reinvent the interview. They just added one new variable. Heat. And it works. By the way, not pro tip. Yes. Don't order habanero if you've never had Habanero. It's the most aggressive of all the peppers and it will destroy your meal. You know,

between this and the Ralph Lauren pronunciation, you're giving great pro tips today, Jack. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Hot Ones? Hot Ones represents a changing of the guard in media. Now, Yeties, Jack and I see three. groups of media in the industry. There's legacy media, new media, and creator media. Cable TV is legacy media. They're in long-term decline. They're profitable, but their business shrinks every year. New media is also kind of in trouble. Fox, Vice, BuzzFeed, all the digital new media is shrinking right now. But creator media is represented by Hot Ones, and Creator Media is eating the rest of the industry. Get this, Yeties. Hot Ones averages 12 million viewers per 30-minute

episode. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context to that viewer number, please? Late Night Talk TV shows on cable, they get about 2 million viewers per episode. Reality TV, like The Bachelorette, it gets just about 3 million viewers per an episode. And scripted shows on CBS, like Law & Order, they get 5 million viewers per episode. Again, Hot Ones is getting 12 million viewers for a 30-minute episode. More than double those on the shows we just mentioned. Nick, Hot Ones is a YouTube show, a medium that has never gotten the cachet of television. Doesn't get the respect. But Hot Ones mop's up the floor with legacy media in terms of viewership. That's why this Hot One's deal represents a true changing of the guard in media. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, Marriott just made a big bet on glamping by acquiring postcard cabins. Here's what Marriott's thinking. What I think? The mountains are calling, and I must invest. I will, Jack, let's start with an or... origin story. Ten years ago, two guys dreamed of having a place in the woods where they could escape the city. And those two guys, they built six little cabins and plopped them in the woods north of Boston. Just north of Boston. It was glamping. Basically, these cabins offered the same experience as camping, but with a roof, a toilet, hot water, a shower, and probably an electric downcomforter. I could get used to this. They called their company Postcard and they now got

29 locations with 1,200 cabins. All 1,200 of those cabins are surrounded by trees in the forest. Ideally with a view, ideally with some nearby water you can swim in. Now, interestingly, they have a specific growth strategy for this company, Postcard Cabins. Each cabin must be within a two-hour drive of a major metropolitan area. So these cabins are like in the Hudson Valley outside New York. They're not in central Montana, seven hours away from another city. And now the world's largest hotel chain is heading into the great outdoors. Yes. Almost. Here's the news. Marriott just acquired postcard cabins. It's their biggest bet yet on glamping. And here's the key. Marriott sees glampers as having more in common with a

typical hotel guest than with a camper. Yeah, because glampers are not a B.Y.O. toilet paper crowd, are that jack? People who book a hotel with postcard cabins are paying basically the same price as for a hotel room. The dress code is Patagonia puffer jacket. Full disclosure, this is Nick. And glamping's more my style on this jacket. I had a bad experience once, but it turned out the heater was working. on your electric downcomforter. Yeah, I just didn't know how to turn it on. Story for another pod. He has the park ranger to save him because his electric downcomforter wasn't warm enough.

We're not welcome down in that part of California now, Jack. I just want to point that out. Either way, Eddie's Marriott, they noticed this glamp and trend that started with the pandemic and they just referenced it as being a continuing trend. Here's what they said related to the acquisition of postcard cabins. Guests are increasingly interested in nature immersive travel. It's not just postcard that they're investing in. Marriott also announced on Friday a new partnership with Trailborn, which is kind of similar to Postcard.

It's actually complimentary to postcard. Good point, Jack. Because Trailborn offers glamping, but not close to cities, close to national parks. So now Marriott is offering glamping near cities and near Yosemite at the same time. Marriott's stock, it's up 30% this year, so they're basically treating themselves to a couple of new country homes. Marriott, they're going full Grizzly Adams, if Grizzly Adams were a Montclair event. Grizzly Adams did have a beard. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Marriott?

The mountains are calling, and I must invest. Yetis, over the last few years, we've seen massive increased consumer interest in the outdoors. It started with the pandemic, spending on hiking, camping, clamping, it all boomed. Yeti coolers, Canada Goose jackets, stand-up paddleboards. We've covered them all on this pot at all-time highs. Funny enough, Marriott is actually behind when it comes to this trend. Yeah, as Jack and I were researching, we noticed that Hyden and Hiale, Hilton hotels already have glamping investments. And two years before Marriott acquired it,

Walmart had already partnered with postcard cabins for an outdoorsy retail situation. So actually, Marriott's not a leading indicator on glamping. It's a late lagger on glamping. Because nature-forward urbanites like Nick is a market willing to pay and figure out how that here works after the fact. The mountains are calling and I must invest. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week. Ralph Lauren is leaning into its Americana style and showcasing their teddy bear. The stock is up and the Ralph Lauren teddy bear has got untapped IP potential. It's giving Paddington. For our second story, it's hot ones. The YouTube show just sold for $82 million to a group of creator-driven media companies. And the deal, it represents a changing of the guard in media. And our third and final story

is Marriott. They just made their big bet on glamping. You can book cabins near the cities or near the National Parks. The mountains are calling, and I must invest. As long as it's got a 1,000 thread count. But yeties, this pot's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Sam Altman have all now donated $1 million each to Trump's presidential inauguration. It's not just that. Apple's Tim Cook and Google Sundar Pichai have both visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort this past week. And actually represents an attempt by big tech to have a fresh start with Donald J. Trump. It's also a financial bending of the knee by these CEOs to the president-elect. And second, watch your face because Samsung and Google are

partnering for smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. This is the same partnership that offered the first alternative to the iPhone 15 years ago. Well, now instead of smartphones, they're going to be offering cheaper alternatives to the Apple Vision Pro. And finally, the government of the city of Tokyo in Japan is testing four-day work weeks. Get this, to increase the birth rate. This city's 160,000 government employees may choose one day off a week to have a little fun out there. Their hope is that the added flexibility

and better work-life balance will result in more baby-making. Japan's had 16 straight years of a shrinking birth rate, so they're hoping one more date night may change the course. Or one more day with the baby in the future. Yeah. Like one more day a week they can spend at home. Wednesday. It's the new Friday.

Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because Monday's mean trivia. Here's the question. What candy actually began as an alternative to smoking cigarettes? Or Jack, ask differently, what candy was started to help you quit smoking cigarettes? It's a wild question. And the answer is our next episode of the best idea yet, which drops tomorrow. That's right. This candy, it tried to take your smoking habit and pivot it to sweets. What candy was it? guess in the comments, and we'll tell you the answer tomorrow, because we're going to go deep on it on our show, the best idea yet.

Yetis, you look fantastic over there. And if you're getting ready for the company holiday party, go easy on the jingle juice this year. That's a mouse pad, not mistletoe. And if you're looking to start a convo and Frank from finance, just tell them to H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have it had the best one yet? And sure, I'll look at pictures of your kid. This pod, it's how you get a promotion. So Jack and I, we'll see you tomorrow.

And before we go, a congratulations. to our legendary Yeti coworker Rachel Hauer, who just completed an Ironman in New Zealand. She's literally on the other side of the planet right now and ripping 70 miles like nobody's business. Congrats from the T-Boy team, Rachel. And Orande Smith is turning 51 years old, happy birthday down in Spotsylvania, Virginia.

I want to go to Spotsylvania, by the way. It sounds pretty cool. Coolest town name I've ever heard of. And Little Moss Faye Herbitts just turned one year old over in Brooklyn. Congratulations to the parents. Moss. It always grows on the right side of the tree. North of Williamsburg.

And Shrey Nalesh Rout. This guy is a fact factory. He's listening every day. Great to have you with us, Shrey. And a huge shout out to Jordan Gatitis, a Keynes, Knicks, and Steelers fan on the east side who hosted Nick and me as VIP guest to the Knicks game. We loved hanging with you, Jordan.

Thanks for the invite. Hey, and congratulations Ashley, too, on having the best wedding yet. Coming up next year, you guys are the Earls of ESPN. And reminder, if you're wondering who to blame for Nick and me having no voice Friday, it's kind of Jordan's stuff. Yeah, it's kind of Joe. We did a lot of talking, a lot of podcast recording. And last week, we asked the Yetis for alternatives to gingerbread houses, and they sent us some great options like charcutorice allets. Also, the candy can condo. I can

buy it into that. And the peppermint penthouse, we're into that too. Thank you, AdWon, Nike. And to anyone else, celebrate something today, make it a teabloat. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. One time I ordered burgers with jalapeno. Sorry, with habanero. I was humiliated. I had to go to the bathroom several times for my face. Do you need a napkin?

I need the fire department.