Being “Good” Doesn’t Matter for the Grammys
A very girly Galentines + Glossier’s hot locks + our favorite Super Bowl spots
Kaley on the real meaning of monocultural moments
We’re in the middle of a monocultural moment trifecta: a month of nearly back to back monocultural moments for fans of all types: music! (Grammy’s), sports! (Super Bowl), and movies! (The Oscars)
The Grammy’s were deemed “good” this year, with people pointing to entertaining performances (Doechii, Chappell, Sabrina), trophies being awarded to the “right” people (Beyoncé, Kendrick, Chappell and Doechii again), and the appreciated gestures towards helping LA rebuild from the wildfires (QR code fundraising and ad time donated to local businesses affected by the fires.)
The Super Bowl was uneven. A boring game, a thrilling halftime show, and a lot of conversation about men’s fashion choices (Kendrick’s Celine flares and Travis Kelce’s disco suit).
This might be a counterintuitive take from a frequent culture critic, but I’d argue that whether the Grammy’s, Super Bowl, and the Oscars happening in March are “good” is beside the point. And striving for “good” based on an old rubric is a losing game.
Why? Culture is oversaturated and tastes have become too specific. A fractured licensing landscape has made it hard to even access event-related content, tanking viewership. Pair that with bloated runtimes and diminished attention spans and it’s virtually impossible to sit through an event front to back. All of this means “good” is measured differently in 2025:
So what makes culture moments hit?:
Live and accessible: The synchronicity of monocultural moments matters more than the quality. Cultural moments are pretty much the only time the people in my life are consuming the same thing as I am at the same time. The moment being live and easily available to consume across platforms lays the foundation for a successful cultural moment.
A variety of ways in: Like the trail mix casting approach to The Traitors, a successful cultural moment today needs to cast a wide net into the sea of fandoms if it wants a chance to hit. By strategically curating interesting pairings and devoting more time to performances than speeches, the Grammys is always well primed to succeed at this.
Narratives for hungry fans: If you’re a country fan or a fan of grunge or indie pop, last week’s Grammys probably weren’t for you. But for me, and my algorithm, this years’ Grammys were great! My team (pop girlies with a side of resentment-fueled rappers) won. In 2025, “feeding” a fandom doesn’t always mean literally winning an award or a game, but giving them something to talk about. Taylor Swift didn’t win a grammy but fans were nevertheless titillated by the T chain on her thigh being a lyrical easter egg. She then wore the same chain to the Super Bowl where bf Travis Kelce left without a trophy but fans were fed regardless.
Novelty and memorability - Was it “good” when Chris Rock got slapped or the Best Picture award almost went to La La Land instead of Moonlight? No, but it was memorable! Monocultural moments become monocultural because they recur regularly enough to grow an audience. But familiarity breeds contempt (and boredom), so introducing something truly novel or embracing what’s off script is necessary to keep people tuning in - and talking - year after year.
The Opposite of cynical: Men Being Cutie BFFs makes Megan tolerate the NFL
Even though I’m not an NFL fan, I can appreciate that it’s one of the few cultural spaces where [some] men feel they have permission to be in true community with each other. And to quote Nicole Kidman, “we need that all of us.” So I really loved this cutie patootie video of an Eagles fans’ bestie presenting him with a celebratory surprise donut upon their big win.
Super Bowl Marketing: All the ads were AI and all the ads were bad.
If 2024 was the year of the cryptocurrency ad, 2025 was the year of brands using AI to jazz up their big game spots. They were bad and, worst of all, boring. We honestly have nothing else to say about them.
Another big theme: brands looking around at their polarized consumer bases ready to ignite in boycott or fisticuffs over the slightest trigger, and saying with an awkward chuckle, “hey guys, can’t we all just get along?” As our favorite anonymous crabs would say, silence, brand! It made Nike’s unabashedly feminist ad featuring a variety of female athletes standing defiant all the more notable.
As usual, celeb cameos were a dime a dozen. Though the definition of celeb may be getting looser. Megan did not watch (obviously) but still got served in Carl's Jr’s campaign thanks to Alix Earle’s mildly controversial cameo. Like Kaley said above, no further comment.
Kaley’s favorite was Ritz. The cracker brand used their celeb budget wisely. Instead of blindly picking a celebrity endorser out of a hat, they deliberately chose public figures who made sense for the story they were trying to tell: Ritz are salty. (Hey, no one said the story had to be complex!) Aubrey Plaza and Michael Shannon set up the ad as salty curmudgeons and Bad Bunny landed the punchline, leaning into his smiley side.
Must see TT: Alex Consani, model & mathlete
She’s beauty, she’s brains, she’s Alex Consani and in this clip posted for Tory Burch’s TikTok (which has been really on point lately), the Model of the Year subverts expectations by showing off her “gaggy” intellectual prowess. When asked what she would do for work if she wasn’t a model, Alex says she would be a mathematician and then goes on to correctly recite several digits of pi. Her off-the-cuff genius juxtaposed with her signature casual repartee makes for a video so fun I forgot I was watching branded content.
This week in Cool Shiny Culture:
💌Kaley’s cool: Valentines culture has evolved! I’m in LA for February and was thrilled to be invited to Megan’s Galentine’s Day celebration. She asked attendees to bring one thing: valentines. I identify as a childfree nonstationary girlie, and as such, I haven’t been in the market for valentines in literal decades. A Paper Source literally does not see me coming. But what a delight it was to see the creative explosion in valentines in store and at the party. Also Sweethearts taste better than I remembered. Capitalism and consumption really can bring joy sometimes!
🔪🩸Megan’s cool: In an effort to avoid spoilers, I asked Google Gemini to summarize the film Companion and it said it’s about “a couple on a weekend getaway with friends at a remote cabin, which unravels into chaos after a revelation about one of the travel companions.” Here’s what I’ll say: imagine Her, Cabin in the Woods, Ex Machina, Subservience, and Ruby Sparks all rolled into one deliciously costumed horror comedy starring Sophie Thatcher & Jack Quaid. Don’t watch the trailer, just see it because everyone I talked to loved it and wished they’d gone into it with less context.
💋Kaley’s shiny: Watched Best Picture nominee Anora on Amazon Prime. Loved it! It was much funnier than I expected and I fell more than a little bit in love with Yura Borisov (Igor). Me, falling in love with a strong silent type whose teddy bear interior is concealed by a stony exterior? Who would’ve guessed.
🍒Megan’s shiny: As a follow up to lip gloss charms, I had to share these [sold out] Glossier cherry locks. The locks are a way to create awareness for their new Black Cherry collection. You may remember from our Pinterest Predicts edition that cherries are projected to be a huge trend for 2025. And while locker locks might seem random, it’s actually an ingenious way to reach teens specifically. Not only are they a large part of the makeup brand’s audience, they’ll ideally display the merchandise on their IRL lockers, influencing their peers' perceptions of the brand.
Happy full moon in Leo 🌕
Megan & Kaley
P.S. Be our galentine (gender inclusive!) and send this to someone you want to share a celebratory donut with 🍩♥️