In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at four stories to think about next week, including: Waymo Wranglers, Penny-Less Dining, Charity vs. the Economy and the Quiet Privatisation of the Analog.
In addition, we have ads from: Crunch Fitness, PureGym, Nike, Rocket Mortgage and Apple.
// Stories of the Week:
1.) The Art of Waymo Wrangling.
From delivery bots to Waymos, more and more robots are operating (and breaking) alongside our daily lives. With it comes a greater support staff of humans who help keep them going, filling in cracks in an automated system from closing Waymo doors to tipping delivery bots back on their wheels. So what happens when the support network becomes more formalized?
As the Washington Post covers below – apps like ‘Honk’ which summon tow trucks to help Waymos still see users post social content that capture a ‘Wall-E’ in trouble vibe, but in the future will broken automated goods become more like e-bikes? The risk of a mass breakage event for the automated goods all around us, leaves us on the precipice of both realizing how many robots we interact with daily and seeing their potential for becoming e-waste on the streets.
The result of such an event could be far ranging: inspiring greater regulations on their use (similar to cities fighting where Lime and other bikes and scooters can be dropped), shifting views towards e-waste potential, shaking confidence in the technology and pushing the quiet support network helping them run further to the forefront. We may be one network breakdown from seeing Waymo Wrangling as the next big side hustle.
2.) The Problem with ‘Penny-Less’ Dining
With the US quietly stopping penny production earlier this year, the shift to cashless transactions seemed inevitable. However, restaurants may be the holdout preventing the penny’s retirement. In fact, in a piece we published earlier this year, we assumed that a US shift away from cash should even maintain $.99 pricing in the face of potential price rounding (if other countries are anything to go by).
However, recent news from the National Restaurant Association estimates that, as 1 in 4 restaurant transactions are still cash based, a transition away from the penny could cost businesses $13m a month. Is hospitality a long term sticking point to phasing out the penny, or do restaurants have work to do in incentivising consumers away from cash?
3.) End of Year Charitable Giving vs. the Economy
Are charities looking for a traditional end of year boost facing harder economic headwinds? With 45% of Americans saying their financial security is getting worse and 57% believing we’re undergoing a recession, economic negativity may be affecting how we give to charity.
New research from the AP NORC – Center for Public Affairs Research shows a mixed picture when it comes to charitable giving. While 64% of Americans reported giving to charity in the last year, only 18% planned to do so again in December (alongside 6% of the population that hasn’t donated yet, but plans to). Despite being the most charitable month traditionally, economic concerns seem to have limited end of year giving intentions, compared to 2023 data which showed 64% of Americans planned to ‘give back’ during the holiday season. The decrease has already manifested with a smaller start to December, as only 12% of the population donated to charity on ‘Giving Tuesday’ (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving).
Amongst those that did give, domestic causes and organizations looked to have benefitted – with 42% saying they gave to a cause that ‘helps those in the US in need’ vs. 22% for an organization that provides ‘disaster relief’ and 13% for an ‘international aid organization’. 45% said they personally gave to an individual in need they knew personally – underscoring a more internal focus to US charitable giving. 2025 may have seen a narrative shift – from healing the wider world at the end of the year to helping neighbors and those around us during ad hoc times of need.
4.) 2025’s Quiet Privatisation of the Analog
After nearly 400 years of delivering letters, the Danish postal service PostNord has announced it is stopping letter delivery as of December 30th, 2025. Amongst a greater ‘digitalisation’ of communication in the country, letter writing has decreased by 90% in the last 25 years. Danes will still be able to send letters, a legally required right, through a delivery service called Dao, though letters will need to be dropped off at a Dao shop or collected at home for an additional fee.
The decline of physical post in countries around the world mirrors the shift away from other physical services, from in person banking to metro cards. However, assuming these ‘analog’ services die in a digital world is too extreme. Instead, as seen with PostNord and Dao, the private sector looks to offer physical alternatives where government and public services have stopped. From contactless payment (and OMNI) replacing Metro cards in NYC to talk of privatising the USPS – analog preferences create a market opportunity, but can we count on private offerings to be a reliable and accessible substitute for what came before?
// Ads You Might Have Missed:
1.) ‘Feel More’ – Crunch Fitness:
The end of the year sees looming fitness resolutions and a competitive time for gym brands to try and recruit. While competing on the budget end of the gym market, US brand Crunch Fitness has tapped into 90s nostalgia for its 2026 new year campaign – tapping Hype Williams to direct, soundtracking using Montel Jordan’s ‘This is How We Do It’ and featuring a visual style that aims to reclaim its status as the ‘OG 90s Gym’.
The campaign maxes out on the 90s nostalgia prevalent in 2025 advertising while trying, in their words, to provide a ‘Friday night houseparty’ style vibe. For a brand that competes on price, tapping into an aspirational time of year can be challenging – but in a world of run club dating and Hyrox cruises, can nostalgia convince new customers to come spend their evenings in a different type of club?
2.) ‘Feel Pure Gym Good’ – Pure Gym:
Alternatively, UK fitness brand Pure Gym has taken a more outcome based approach – honing in on the feeling you get after the gym vs. showing anything inside of it. Using a fiber optic ghillie suit and a Parliament Funkadelic soundtrack – Pure Gym aims to own the post workout high without talking about the post workout high. Despite being much more competitive territory, with everyone from Orange Theory to Hydrow (and their previous ‘Hydrow High’ work) aiming to associate with a post exercise endorphin rush, the ad avoids the traditional cliches of sweat soaked high fives. The choice to avoid a litany of interior shots potentially acknowledges that at a budget price point – how you feel afterwards is more important than what’s on offer inside the gym.
3.) ‘From Anywhere’- Nike:
Coinciding with the release of Caitlin Clark’s Nike clothing capsule on Christmas Day, the brand has released a supporting ad ‘From Anywhere’. Featuring the Kelce brothers, Travis Scott, Michael Che and Lisa Bluder – as well as soundtracked to Peaches’ 2006 ‘Boys Want to Be Her’, the ad launched during holiday NBA games and puts Clark at the centre of basketball culture, while also spanning wider culture.
‘From Anywhere’ means more than just her shots – it signals Clark’s star power expanding outward from the WNBA into music, comedy, and mainstream celebrity. In the run-up to a 2026 shoe unveiling, Nike reminds everyone that Clark is a celebrity on and ‘anywhere’ off the court.
4.) ‘Room to Dream’ – Rocket Mortgage:
US financial brand Rocket has continued its use of the NFL to talk about home ownership in a new ad featuring the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs. Launching on Christmas Day during Netflix’s coverage of the NFL, the ad, developed in house and featuring Jahmyr’s recreated childhood bedroom on the 50 yard line of the football field, is notable for how it positions home ownership.
In the face of rising costs and a sense of impossibility, Rocket has shifted from the moment of purchase, or even celebrating the sense of home, to chasing the dream – implicitly acknowledging it might be far away for many. It trades aspirations for relevance, but runs the risk of making modern homeownership look as likely as playing in the NFL.
5.) ‘Quit Quitting’ – Apple:
Most New Year’s resolutions fail – something Apple is using to promote its Apple Watch in a series of short videos. In a series of three ads, reminiscent of Reebok’s ‘Belly Going to Get You’, runners are chased by beds, bar stools and reclining chairs – all aiming to make the January 9th date where most resolutions die a reality. The tone is more direct than many more hopeful New Year’s ads, but in the process it sees the brand take a tone that’s more hard nosed fitness and grind than technology and hope.
As fitness tracking is still one of the wearable category’s most compelling uses – mirroring other fitness brands may be an apt move to both capture new customers and remind those wearing Apple watches of its value in a post holiday indulgence time frame.
// Sunday Snippets
// Marketing & Advertising //
– Coca-Cola brought the holidays to Filipinos abroad with a streaming radio station delivering ‘Sounds of Home’ [Culture]
– Airbnb donates £300k to help UK families go on their first holiday [Charity]
– TaxSlayer unveil Calvin the Calculator to front a new campaign, just in time for US tax time [Finance]
– Rolex’s pre-owned watch program sees the brand try to beat resellers at their own game, while recognizing market dynamics [Business]
– Inside why KFC has such a legendary presence at Christmas in Japan [Culture]
// Technology & Media //
– Sean Choi’s fantastic annual calendar of events and cultural moments has launched for 2026 [Culture]
– Meta acquires agentic AI startup Manus [AI]
– More than 20% of the videos shown to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’ a new study finds [Social Media]
– New York to require warning labels on infinite scrolling social media [Social Media]
– Google may soon allow you to change your gmail address [Media]
– Why won’t the film ‘Megalopolis’ just go away? [Cinema]
– Can Meta’s plans to win back teens work? [Social Media]
– The ‘cozy web’ shows up at New Year’s with users posting 2025 ‘achievements cakes’ [Social Media]
// Life & Culture //
– Are Gen Z the most ageist generation? [Culture]
– In the face of economic worry, ‘thriftmas’ had a resurgence this holiday season [Culture]
– When did ‘Theatre Kid’ become an insult? [Culture]
– Fitness brand Hyrox announces a fitness themed cruise [Health]
– Disney’s greatest frenemy: day drinking around the world at EPCOT [Entertainment]
– Did you really celebrate the holidays if you didn’t make a gingerbread house out of chicarron? [Food]
// Finally, Thank You…
It’s because of the support of people like you that 2025 has been such an amazing year for Sunday Strategy, my consultancy New Classic and myself! Let me (and New Classic Santa) be the last to say ‘Happy Holidays’ and the first to say ‘Happy New Year’.
From reading to comments, projects and any other type of support – you’ve made the last year what it was. Thank you and here’s to hoping we spend more time together in 2026!
// Until Next Sunday
As always, let me know what you think by email (dubose@newclassic.agency), website or on LinkedIn.
You can also listen to an audio summary and discussion of each week’s newsletter on Spotify. We’re also on TikTok!
