Rich, poor, influential, unknown—we all poop. It’s the one great equalizer of humanity. But at a mega-crowded event like Cannes Lions, finding a bathroom when you need it most can be challenging, especially if you’re out and about.

Stuck at home during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, a whopping 70% of Americans began cooking for themselves—a 50% jump over the prior year. For the sake of those whose culinary acumen didn’t rise above scrambled eggs and turkey sandwiches, New York Times Cooking editor Sam Sifton penned a piece that recommended a new brand of Sichuan chili sauce that, he said, you could confidently spoon over anything—a sauce so complex and robust that “you could spread that concoction on a mitten and be very happy with your meal.”

In the summer of 1993, readers of the Los Angeles Times opened their papers to a startling bit of news—and for once it wasn’t about wildfires, mudslides or Michael Jackson. “Work clothes worn by dad and other unhip people are now all the rage among some youths,” ran the headline. And while the story mentioned the likes of Sears and Kmart, it was mostly about Carhartt.

The night before his 16th birthday, Rick Barrack camped out at the DMV in Louisville, Ky., to get his driver’s license first thing in the morning. The eagerness to get behind the wheel of his prized silver-and-red 1979 Chevrolet Camaro didn’t end there—he was pulled over for speeding on the very first drive. “That was quite the christening of my first automobile,” he laughed.

Fri Forjindam knew New York wasn’t for her after experiencing her first blizzard. After her master’s, the Columbia University theater graduate moved to sunny Los Angeles and continued to pursue her acting dreams. To pay the bills, she landed a gig as an executive assistant at Thinkwell Group, the global design and production agency behind experiences such as the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and Ski Dubai.

As influencer marketing has grown into a multibillion-dollar business, influencer trips have evolved into bigger and more lavish affairs, with brands looking to outdo their rivals.

Around this time in 2023, Bud Light started a marketing firestorm when it partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and then seemed to distance itself from the relationship amid backlash. The fallout continues to smolder.

When creator Robyn DelMonte—who shares marketing ideas with her 650,000-plus followers on TikTok—walks into a meeting with a brand, it’s not uncommon that only half of them have TikTok on their phones.