18 November 2023 - Saturday Squiz

An old favourite with Angas Park

If there’s one thing we learned this week, it’s that a little bit of ingenuity goes a long way… This Saturday, if you have an ad you can recite from memory, a bird doppelganger, or anything else you want to share with us, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

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🤷‍♀️ IDK: Whether the Jim’s Beauty logo is the best thing we’ve ever seen…

This week's top stories

In a heavy week of news, the CSIRO's spin on the ARIA’s red carpet gallery was a hoot…

1. All eyes on Gaza - Israeli troops raided Gaza’s largest hospital in a move condemned by the United Nations, Arab states and human rights groups. And there are new concerns the situation in the Palestinian territory will worsen after communications went down yesterday - the UN says it makes aid efforts “impossible”.

2. Trimming the infrastructure fat - Cue outrage from state premiers after the Albanese Government took an axe to 50 projects across the country. Melbourne’s long-planned airport rail link survived the cull, but there is some argy-bargy about how it would be funded.

3. New visa rules for released immigration detainees - 84 detainees were released from mandatory detention following last week’s High Court ruling. That saw legislation setting down strict visa conditions rushed through the federal parliament.

4. Go go green and gold… - Woo hoo… The Aussie men’s cricket side made it into Sunday’s World Cup final against host nation India. Spoiler alert: there will be some bleary-eyed peeps about on Monday…

5. Another twist in the Optus saga - Was the Optus network meltdown caused by a software upgrade by parent company Singtel? The Singaporeans say nah-ah… It made things a bit awks for CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, who was grilled by a Senators about that snafu yesterday.

Picture of the week

It was one thing to find out that Jim’s Group - best known for its mowing franchise - was launching a new arm called Jim’s Beauty. But the logo was another thing altogether… The idea is that franchisees will provide at-home services like facials, lash extensions, eyebrow treatments, bridal packages, hair, teeth whitening and nail treatments. It’s uncertain if waxing services will be provided under the original Jim’s Mowing brand…

Question of the week

The question: What’s your favourite Aussie advertising jingle, and why?

The story: The ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ sun safety jingle from the 1980s was one of the audio recordings added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry for 2023.

Tony Pratt, the golden age of government advertising - “I loved the ‘Have a Go’ jingle from the late 1970s - so much so that I can still sing it today. Looking back from a 2023 perspective, commissioning a TV advertising campaign with a jaunty jingle does seem a quaint way for the government to tackle the nation's economic woes!”

Isabel Redwin, still the best health ad we know - “My favourite ad to sing was ‘Vitamins and Minerals’ from the early 80s. With such great lines as ‘I’m Vitamin E, I’m good for your corpuscles, take a lot of me, and I’ll get into your muscles’, it was strangely addictive…”

Aaron Mason, the one phone number we still remember - “My favourite Aussie jingle is the one for the Reading Writing Hotline. One-three-double-Oh!-six-triple-fiiiiiive-oh-six! Need I say more?”

Squiz Recommends

Reading - It’s been a hot minute since the Barbie movie was all anyone was talking about, and we haven’t heard much from director Greta Gerwig since then. In her first sit-down interview in months, Gerwig reflects on the movie’s success, co-parenting with her director partner Noah Baumbach, and trying not to “internalise the pressure to live up to something”.

Summer ready* - In a pair of sustainable sneakers from Cariuma. Their classic and colourful kicks are cult faves and come in premium leather and canvas. With over 40,000 5-star reviews and a thumbs-up from Vogue and GQ, they make an excellent gift (hint, hint, nudge, nudge...). Squizers, you can grab 20% off here.

Watching - As promised yesterday, we have many doco recommendations for you to get stuck into this weekend… We found the new Netflix series about singer Robbie Williams compelling, alongside Evacuation - a 3-part series about the British military’s evacuation mission to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. And we enjoyed the first episode of a new HBO series about David Holmes, the stunt double for Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe who became paralysed after an accident during the production of the final film. Something for everyone…

*This is a sponsored recommendation

In the kitchen

The pavlova is an old favourite for sure. But if you're up for pav done different, this apricot and thyme recipe is one to add to your repertoire with sweetness and a touch of tartness. Yummo... The key ingredients are in the baking aisle of your supermarket.

What we Squized this week

Your Squiz Shortcut to the business of Taylor Swift (part 2) - Last week, we talked about Taylor Swift’s road to the top. So in part 2, we take a look at why her music resonates with a wide audience, how she’s set the business side up for success, and we’ll break down her estimated $1.1 billion net worth. Read it/listen to it here. 

And introducing our 2023 Women and News Report - Last year, we published a report about how women are consuming news, how they’re feeling about the world and how they value news, and now we have a follow-up… The main takeout: we’re feeling pessimistic, but it means women are more inclined to seek out high-quality news and information. Check it out here. 

Squiz the Week

Saturday - A by-election in ex-Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' seat of Mulgrave. Schoolies Week begins. And the first of 2 AFLW semi-finals between the Adelaide Crows and the Sydney Swans kicks off at 7.45pm (AEDT). There’s something for everyone there…

Sunday - The AFLW semis continue with Melbourne up against Geelong at 3.05pm. And the men’s ICC Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia bats off at 7.30pm

Monday - Immigration Minister Andrew Giles gives a keynote address to the 2023 CEDA Migration Forum at 10.20am. US President Joe Biden turns 81yo, and because of him, we also found out Peng Liyuan, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife, also has a birthday…

Tuesday - The Reserve Bank releases the minutes from its November board meeting. And Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen addresses the Lowy Institute at 6pm

Wednesday - It’s an early start for football fans as the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers between the Socceroos and Palestine starts at 1.00am. And Bruce Lehrmann's defamation trial against Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 is due to start in the Federal Court

Thursday - The Bureau of Stats releases its data on Australia’s population projections until 2071. And the Walkley Awards are announced tonight

Friday - And get ready to be inundated with emails from every brand you’ve ever transacted with as the Black Friday sales kick into gear

Let’s get Squizzical

Reckon you know which frontbench position former UK PM David Cameron was appointed to in a surprise political comeback this week? Have a crack…

Double-Tapping

Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc this week offered their personal reflections on their colleague/friend Matthew Perry’s death at 54yo. Schwimmer’s 80s-themed throwback was the last to drop, and you can take a look at all the tributes here.

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