What got people talking this week — 5 August

Originally published on O2’s Workplace on 5 August

1. The Olympics are so exciting! The team have smashed so many records and it’s arguably been the most inclusive to date.

• Sky Brown, 13, became Britain’s youngest ever Olympic medallist with skateboard bronze
• Swimmer Duncan Scott became the first British athlete to win four medals at a single Olympics
• Team GB finished on the podium in all four BMX competitions in Tokyo, despite UK Sport’s decision that only male BMX riders would be supported after the Rio Olympics. BMX is one of seven new events introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
• Laurel Hubbard and Quinn are the first openly trans athletes to compete in the Olympics

What’s been your highlight so far?

A special shout out must go to Russian Evgeny Rylov who insisted on wearing a cat-mask to the medal ceremony and a lovely reactive tribute to Alex Yee in his hometown of Brockley.

2. Following the success of their partnerships with BTS and Travis Scott, McDonald’s are teaming up with influencer and US rapper Saweetie, introducing the Saweetie meal to its menu. Featuring ‘Saweetie ‘N Sour’ sauce and encouraging customers to mix up their meals.

Unlike traditional celebrity endorsement, McDonald’s have worked with Saweetie to create a concept that aligns with her love of interesting food concoctions.

The impact of these limited edition collabs is massive. McDonald’s sold out of the beef, bacon, onions, and lettuce needed to make the Travis Scott Meal a week after its launch, and paper bags from the BTS Meal are going for $20 on eBay. McDonald’s credited the BTS Meal for helping sales grow 25.9% at US restaurants last quarter in a jump that beat analysts’ expectations.

With 12.3 million followers on Instagram, 17.5m monthly Spotify listeners and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Saweetie sounds like a great candidate for McDonald’s latest rollout.

McDonalds in the US also launched their new loyalty programme — giving away points to all who have engaged with any McDonald’s tweet ever.

In the UK, music artist AJ Tracey has partnered with McDonald’s for his Summertime Shootout video. To mark the launch of the McSpicy, the chicken burger and a branded McSpicy van will feature in the promo video.

3. Reality TV

• Strictly Come Dancing has started to announce its line up, including TV chef John Whaite as part of the first all-male partnership. Whaite follows in the footsteps of boxer Nicola Adams, who was the first to have a same-sex partner on the dance show last year.
• I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Here! is returning to Wales in 2021. It’s normally held in the Australian jungle but returns to Gwrych Castle in north Wales due to Covid restrictions.
• ‘The X Factor’ is ending after 17 years. The announcement comes as Simon Cowell gears up to launch a new series titled Walk The Line. Described as a musical gameshow, the six-part series is set to premiere on ITV later in 2021.

4. Rihanna is the now the wealthiest female musician in the world

Forbes revealed she is worth $1.7 billion.

But her fortune isn’t largely from her music, it’s also largely a result of her cosmetic brand Fenty Beauty. She launched the brand in 2017 with a dream to create a cosmetics company that made “women everywhere [feel] included”. (A lot of women felt there were no lines out there that catered to their skin tone so the company answered that need).

She owns 50%, with the French luxury conglomerate LVMH and also a 30% stake in the lingerie line Savage X Fenty.

Fun fact, the brands are named after Rihanna’s real name, Robyn Fenty.

Bonus

• Ikea launched a famous meatball scented candle

• KFC and Hotels.com have announced a pop-up chicken themed hotel room, House of Harland. Chick it out here

• Barbie revealed the latest doll in their Role Model range, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert for her work co-creating the Oxford vaccine. As well as Prof Gilbert, Barbie is honouring five other women in STEM around the world who are modern real-life heroes of the pandemic.

• TikTok is testing Stories with select creators. Just like on other platforms, TikTok Stories will be live for 24 hours.
• American Airlines adds TikTok to free inflight entertainment
• Manchester United launched their new away kit with a visual incorporating 40 youth players “Class of ‘32”. Nice idea to shine the spotlight on future superstars!

• An influencer sold her love as an NFT for $250,000 and is going to have dinner with the mystery buyer
• Sainsbury’s, Compare the Market, The National Lottery and more come under fire in Led by Donkeys’ latest campaign for advertising on GB News and paying Nigel Farage’s salary
• Ariana Grande is the latest star to perform in Fortnite — Fortnite Presents the Rift Tour kicks off today
• Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” passes one billion views on Youtube, with rickrolling to thank for the video’s long-term success