Essay tracing how the phrase “Marketinggg👏” shifted into a backhanded compliment and its role in online marketing culture.

Good morning everyone. Extremely rare Saturday letter today.Today’s letter includes: a type of media scammer I didn’t know still existed, $350k face lifts, the movie screening I’d attend tonight if I had no plans, and some sad news for Sweetgreen shareholders. We’re talking about private jets and brand trips in the Feed Me chat:This morning I spent some time looking at the latest launches from Paige Lorenze’s brand Dairy Boy. The first was a photo of colorful fleeces with over 200 comments, including several along the lines of “UM PAIGE PUT ME ON PR NEOWWWWW.” Translation: “Please add me to your gifting list so I can post a fleece selfie for free.”Another post was a short film showing a new Dairy Boy ice cream truck. The video shows Paige herself driving the truck through the countryside as a swarm of young women appear out of fields to chase her down. Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’ plays in the background, and Paige eventually pulls over on the side of the road to pass out ice cream cones to the group.I will be shocked if this ice cream truck isn’t a huge hit for the brand. The top comment reads, “Marketinggg👏.” Other comments include “I love your marketing so much” and “Your creative director deserves a raise (it’s probably you).” On a video Dairy Boy posted last week – also in collaboration with filmmaker RJ Bruni (whose resume includes Porsche and Ralph Lauren) – one of the 2,000 comments reads, “Wait who ever wrote this script is genius and I absolutely LOVE the marketing it’s pure gold!!”Comments on posts from Topicals, Astronomer, Telfar, Dairy Boy, and Rhode.This sort of feedback is everywhere now. A comment on a recent post from Unwell, Alex Cooper’s hydration drink, reads “The marketing is always 💯.” A comment on a reel from Telfar’s recent bag-on-the-street campaign proclaims it is “one of Best overall marketing lines since the beginning.” A commenter on Astronomer’s video of Gwyneth Paltrow post-Coldplay couple wrote, “Need to know what marketing girly pitched