Borkowski Media Trends: The Hawk Tuah Paradox & MORE

PLUS: Kuenssberg's Borisian Blunder | Zara's High Fashion Gambit

The Hawk Tuah Paradox

By all conventional wisdom, we should not still be talking about Haliey Welch. Made famous by the now-infamous “hawk tuah” video, she, like other viral stars of both today and yesteryear, should have faded into obscurity, brief renown achieved and small fortune reaped. And yet, she persists, her continued fame a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

It’s the Hawk Tuah Paradox: we can’t stop talking about the fact we shouldn’t be talking about her anymore.

The admittedly well-named podcast “Talk Tuah with Haliey Welch” is the latest tendril of her success, following on from an appearance at a New York Mets game where she bowled the first pitch. The podcast, which has so far featured comedian Whitney Cummings, country star Dasha, and Welch’s grandmother as guests, is a straightforward talk show, capitalising on Welch’s down-home charm and lack of filter. It has immediately jumped into the UK’s top twenty podcasts, and the top five in Welch’s native country, outranking its ostensible rival Call Her Daddy.

There are a number of takeaways here. The first is that astute management rightly ascertained that Welch’s skill lies in simply talking, and, as such, she has all the makings of a podcast star. There are no legitimate reasons why she shouldn’t be successful in this medium, even if the reasons behind why she has a podcast in the first place are essentially frivolous. It also helps that Welch is young, white, cis-het and exceptionally telegenic, meaning that she is perhaps an easier sell to potential sponsors than Jools Lebron, the face behind the summer’s other big viral hit, “very demure, very mindful.” Welch and her team are to be congratulated for the speed in which this enterprise was put together, and its success.

The second takeaway, however, is that much of the online conversation about both Welch and Talk Tuah lies precisely in its absurdity, in the existential questions of why this woman is famous, and why she has a podcast. A simple search for “Talk Tuah” on X brings up thousands of jokes, mostly memes revolving around unlikely guests, which recently culminated in a tweet showing a fake NPR article declaring that Donald Trump had cancelled an appearance on Talk Tuah as a result of his assassination attempt.

In a world where Trump recently seemed amiable to the idea of appearing on Red Scare, another podcast, this is arch satire – without disappearing down an impenetrably online rabbit hole, one of the hosts of Red Scare, Dasha Nekrasova, later expressed dismay that “The Other Dasha” had been invited on Talk Tuah before herself.

The podcast world is both effectively self-generating and sui generis, an endless cycle of crossover and controversy. The question posed by Talk Tuah, namely “Why should this exist?”, is the key to its success precisely because people feel compelled to answer it, be it in sincerity or jest. In doing so, conversation begins, and if there is any currency in podcasts (besides that all important Patreon income), it is surely the simple act of people talking.

Kuenssberg’s Borisian Blunder

BBC political heavyweight Laura Kuenssberg was forced into crisis comms mode on Wednesday evening, attempting to get ahead of a potential impartiality and chumocracy scandal by admitting that she was cancelling an interview with ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson because she sent him the interview briefing notes “by mistake”.

The public were quick to make their feelings – and their suspicions- clear.

Firstly, Boris Johnson’s premiership was pockmarked, other scandals aside, by his persistent evasion of media attempts to hold him to account, so to let such an opportunity slip was a source of frustration (even though Boris himself seems to have renounced his serious political ambitions by releasing a memoir in which he casts himself firmly in the role of class clown).

Secondly, Kuenssberg has been widely accused of sharing the briefing notes with Johnson on purpose, admitting the ‘mistake’ only when there was a danger that it would be leaked.

In isolation this is a damaging accusation but what makes it more acute is the fact that Kuenssberg is one of a number of BBC presenters (not to mention the Director General) who have form when it comes to accusations of cosiness with the Conservative Party.

In today’s polarised and tribal media landscape, the BBC works had to maintain its neutrality, but Kuenssberg is just one in a long line of senior political figures at the BBC – including inter alia Nick Robinson, Andrew Marr, David Dimbleby, Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Neil- to have close links to, or at least more than an equal share of sympathy for the Tories.

Part of historic criticism of Kuenssberg was her habit, when the Conservatives were in power, of uncritically and unquestioningly quoting ‘government sources’ (often speculated to be figures as senior as Michael Gove or Jeremy Hunt) defending policy positions, making excuses for blunders, or slagging off the opposition. The fact that her notes found their way into an interviewee’s hands, one who the public badly want those who are able to hold to account, will do nothing to dampen these allegations.

Zara's Move to Escape the Fast Fashion Stigma

This week, Zara launched a collection in collaboration with Italian fashion designer Stefano Pilati, celebrated for his role as the head designer at Yves Saint Laurent from 2004 to 2017.

Zara has long been recognized for its trendy, affordable clothing. However, in recent years, the brand has faced significant backlash due to it being labelled as fast fashion. Critics have highlighted unethical practices, including the exploitation of workers, the use of toxic materials in clothing, and the waste generated by its production processes. Zara’s unique business model, which replaces unpopular/unsold items within two weeks, contributes to a high turnover of clothing, which some claim perpetuates the fast fashion cycle.

With the rise of ultra-fast fashion giants like AliExpress and Shein—offering similar designs at a fraction of the price—the fashion landscape has shifted. Why purchase a shirt from Zara for £9.99 when a comparable one is available online for £2.99?

This shift has forced Zara, along with competitors like H&M, to reconsider their approach. As these brands can no longer compete solely on price, they are refocusing on their impact within the fashion industry. Both are transitioning towards higher-end offerings while maintaining their appeal to loyal customers by staying affordable.

So, how does a traditional fast fashion brand remain relevant? By concentrating on what matters most to consumers: staying ahead of fashion trends at accessible prices. H&M has successfully employed this strategy in the past, collaborating with high-profile designers to create capsule collections. These partnerships generate buzz and elevate both the brand and the designer. When done well, it's a win-win marketing strategy.

In the recent Stefano Pilati x Zara collection, the campaign features supermodel Gisele Bündchen posing with the designer in black-and-white photos, wearing stylish blazers. The ads evoke a classic, timeless feel, while the collection remains, in typical Zara fashion, affordable. This collaboration stands out because Zara rarely works with high-fashion designers. It's a strategic move for Zara to be taken more seriously in the fashion industry, and for Pilati, it offers an opportunity to introduce his designs to a broader, more budget-conscious audience.