Good morning, Players.

Big news today. We have our first ever triple button winner.

Keep reading to find out if it’s you (except for the person who guessed 1 button click. You’ve lost your privileges).

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Oscars predictions

(Full disclosure, I thought the Oscars were this weekend when I wrote this section. Turns out they are next weekend. Didn’t realize my oversight until late yesterday, so we’re just going to roll with it. Consider this your extra early Oscars preview.)

Winner: The Fabelmans (+2900)

I know that Everything Everywhere All at Once (-750) is the huge favorite to win best picture but I have a hunch the award is going to a sleeper this year. The academy is pissed that Avatar 2 director James Cameron keeps making headlines for cranking out CGI monstrosities that make a trillion dollars. So they are going to show their boy Spielberg some love for making an understated movie about movies. The academy is a sucker for some self-referential filmmaking, especially in the era of soulless superhero reboots. So I’m going with The Fabelmans. Book it.

Loser: Jimmy Kimmel’s first slap joke

The Oscars went bland as hell this year and chose Jimmy Kimmel as the host. It makes sense given last year’s slap debacle, but you just know that Kimmel’s first joke referencing the incident is going to be cringe. I think it’s going to be one small one right at the end of the show and we’re all going to collectively roll our eyes and hate it. But it’s going to happen whether we like it or not.

Winner: Viewership

This is a bold prediction but I think viewership is going to rebound this year, reversing a years-long decline in ratings. This is more of a vibes pick than anything else, but if I had to pin it on something, it would be the presence of Top Gun. That movie was the first time people had actual fun at a movie theater in a long while. And the fact the academy nominated it for best picture is going to go a long way.

Loser: Elvis

The movie sucked and Austin Butler’s permanent voice change infuriates me at a molecular level.

LOSER

Teenagers’ mental health

I don’t know if I’m getting old, but everywhere I look online I encounter stuff that seems incredibly damaging to teenagers' mental health.

The latest example is a new TikTok filter called “Bold Glamour.”

It’s a beauty filter that certainly lives up to its namesake turning men and women into too-hot-to-handle versions of themselves. We’re talking lip plumpers, perfect lashes, high cheekbones; Tyra Banks would be proud.

It was hard to scroll through TikTok this week without seeing it in use. But the scariest part of Bold Glamour is how “sticky” the filter is. Most other TikTok filters glitch or wobble a little if you move something in front of your face. But not Bold Glamour. No matter what you do in front of your face, the filter stays glued on, with nary a glitch to be seen.

That’s what is so unsettling. As more of these super filters come out, it’s going to be harder and harder to tell reality from a highly stylized version of people online.

If we thought Instagram filters and apps like Facetune were messing with our brains, these AR filters are about 10x as alarming.

Maybe this is just my old-man-shaking-a-fist-at-the-clouds moment, but it sure feels like a confusing time to be young and online.

WINNER

New drink of the summer

Think back to the spring of 2019. No pandemic, no worries, and most importantly no laws when you’re drinking claws. In the years since White Claw-mania gripped the nation, there has been an explosion in hard seltzers hitting the market. But one has emerged above the rest—High Noons.

High Noons fall into the canned cocktail category because it uses vodka instead of malt liquor like White Claws.

It’s seen explosive growth in recent years to become the biggest hard seltzer by overall sales in the entire category. And on Wednesday, it dropped its first-ever tequila-based seltzer.

It’s a classic case of reading the room—tequila/mezcal is the fastest-growing spirit category in the beverage industry right now. Heck, the Rock is about to sell his millionth case of tequila. If that isn’t bullish, idk what is.

Despite a lot of tailwinds, High Noon Tequila needs to make an impression on consumers quickly or risk getting dropped by retailers. Your local beer and wine shop only has limited shelf space with far too many seltzers vying to grab a spot.

Just ask Truly what happens if you lose popularity—the Boston Beer co-owned seltzer sales fell 22% last year compared to 2021, a shocking drop off for the once category-leading brand.

Now, it’s Friday—go try the new Nooners drink.

WINNER

WFH in the USA

Add remote work to the list of things as American as Apple Pie. According to commercial real estate firm JLL, US office occupancy stands at just 40-60% of pre-pandemic levels. Compare that to 70%-90% in Europe and the Middle East, and a whopping 80%-110% in Asia. While those are some juicy stats on their own, this story has layers.

Neal actually told me this stat on yesterday’s MBD episode and asked if I could guess why the US is working remotely far more often than the rest of the world. I thought it may be a cultural thing where Americans rarely want to give up a freedom once it's granted to them.

But Neal said most experts agree that three things contribute to the trend.

1. Our houses are bigger which makes remote work more comfortable

2. Our commutes are longer, which makes offices less desirable

3. Our labor market is tighter which means employees have more leverage

When you hear it that way, it makes a lot more sense.

READS

5 things I read this week (that you should too)

1. Inside the proton, the most complicated thing you could possibly imagine. (Quanta Magazine)

2. My friend Tommy Clark dropped an awesome case study breaking down how a small auto shop went absurdly viral on TikTok. (Twitter)

3. How the Cocaine Bear was brought to life. (The Ringer)

4. Marc Andreessen wrestles with the effects of quitting alcohol. (Twitter)

5. A comprehensive timeline of all the recent Selena Gomez/Hailey Bieber drama. (Cosmopolitan)

GAMES

My roommate Max made another crossword puzzle he wants you all to try.

It took me 15:43 to complete.

Try it here.

THE BUTTON

We have multiple winners

Not only did one person guess the Button correctly…THREE of you did.

Shout out to:

1. Isabel Jamerson

2. Milos Kujovic

3. Jayson Hyman

Congrats on guessing the correct number of Button pushes.

The final tally was 72.

I’ll reach out later today to help you collect your portion of the $160 prize pool.

And with that, the Button resets.

You know the drill by now—click the button below, then reply to this email with a guess of how many people chose to do the same.

• Current subscribers: 865

• Open rate: 67%

Prize pool: $10

See you next week, Players.