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Crypto Credit Cards Dangle Bitcoin Instead of Points; Anna Wintour Steps Down as Editor of American Vogue; Nike Says Its Declines Are Due to Decelerate | | | | | | |
| Good morning. Today, cryptocurrency's latest marketing tactic seems a little off-brand; there's an opening atop Vogue U.S. for the first time in decades; and Nike says its turanround plan is starting to pay off. | |
| |  | | Crypto exchanges are turning to a tried-and-true tactic from the banking world to entice new users. Illustration: Emil Lendof/WSJ, iStock | | | | |
| Coinbase is joining the rush to offer a credit card promising crypto rewards, with cardholders able to earn up to 4% back in bitcoin for everyday purchases, Vicky Ge Huang writes. The card is a lure to attract new Coinbase customers: Only subscribers to Coinbase's premium crypto-trading service will be eligible to apply. The card joins similar offerings from Crypto.com and the Winklevoss twins' crypto exchange Gemini. Unlike with cards that offer cash back, however, the value of crypto rewards can rise and fall sharply given the volatility of the digital currencies. Some industry veterans also say crypto rewards cards clash with the principles that draw many people to digital currency in the first place. "I got into bitcoin in 2012 and a lot of it was about privacy, libertarianism, etc.," said Graham Friedman, head of venture for crypto at Republic, an online investment platform. "And credit cards, by nature, swap your private information across a variety of companies." | |
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| |  | | Anna Wintour arriving at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City last month. Photo: Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images | | | | |
| Anna Wintour is stepping down as editor in chief of the American edition of Vogue after more than three decades atop the fashion magazine, in the role, setting the stage for a younger editor to help shape the iconic publication, Isabella Simonetti and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg report. During her 37-year tenure, Wintour ran day-to-day operations of the American title and grew into a cultural tastemaker, building relationships with major fashion houses and elevating up-and-coming designers. Her face was a staple in the front row of fashion shows around the world, and she helped inspire Meryl Streep's character in the film "The Devil Wears Prada." She made the Met Gala one of fashion's most high profile events. Wintour, 75 years old, will continue to serve as global chief content officer at Vogue publisher Condé Nast and as global editorial director of Vogue. Condé plans to hire a new head of editorial content for American Vogue. Flashback: I visited Condé Nast's old headquarters at 4 Times Square in 2006 to interview Anna Wintour for Ad Age, having tried but failed to put together an outfit I thought she'd approve of. Wintour didn't flash any of the harsh persona depicted in the recently released "The Devil Wears Prada" (a screening of which she attended, wearing Prada) or reveal any concern about her public image. "I learned many years ago to remain completely focused on what I do and not worry about what's being said or what's being written," she told me. "The most important thing is that you work with people you respect, and hopefully they respect you. You do the best job that you possibly can, and then you go home and have dinner with your kids and play with your dog." | |
| |  | | Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and John Galliano attended a show in the 1990s in Paris. Photo: Foc Kan/WireImage/Getty Images | | | | |
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| | | "The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant." | | — Simone Verde, director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, after a visitor posing for a photo backed into a three-hundred-year-old painting. Social-media dynamics are both drawing crowds and leading to damaged art, forcing museums to wrestle with how to protect their collections. | | | | | |
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| |  | | Nike said it expects current tariff rates to pose a gross incremental cost increase of about $1 billion. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News | | | | |
| Nike said it expects the decline in its sales and margins to slow in the current quarter while it continues to clear old inventory and crank up marketing as part of its turnaround strategy, Kelly Cloonan writes. The sportswear brand said it expects sales in its current fiscal quarter to drop at a rate in the mid-single digits from a year ago, moderating from a 12% decline in the previous quarter. CEO Elliott Hill said Nike's current results aren't up to its standard, but its work to reposition the business around a focus on distinct products with key sports should result in improving results from here. Under Hill, Nike has looked to increase its points of contact with consumers, with plans to return to selling directly through Amazon and a focus on reinvigorating its wholesaler relationships after leaning into its direct-to-consumer channel in recent years. One more Nike note: The company said it expects tariffs to increase its costs by $1 billion this fiscal year. It plans to pass through some of the costs with "surgical" price increases this fall. | |
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| |  | | Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk announced a new distribution deal with WeghtWatchers days after abruptly ending its partnership with Hims & Hers. Photo: Shelby Knowles/Bloomberg News | | | | |
| Novo Nordisk plans to expand access to Wegovy through a new deal with WeightWatchers, days after ending a partnership with telehealth firm Hims & Hers to sell the weight-loss drug. [WSJ] Sustainable period-care brand Here We Flo is dropping terms including "plastic-free," "biodegradable" and "eco friendly" from its products. [The Guardian] Anheuser-Busch InBev apologized for a case study about a Cannes Grand Prix winner that bragged about avoiding paying for the music in the campaign. [Ad Age] Sabrina Carpenter's music videos have become a playground for beauty brands. [Glossy] Caterers are trying to fight off fast-casual restaurants that began catering during the pandemic. [WSJ] United Airlines' ad unit is now also selling inventory on the seatbacks in JetBlue planes. [Adweek] Ogilvy Puerto Rico and drugstore chain Farmacias Plaza introduced prescription-bottle labels that glow in the dark. [Dieline] | |
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