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This Milkshake brought 576M views to the yard
From retro tech to Katseye x GAP’s milkshake ad, nostalgia sells.
Doing Well
September 18, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
Advertising isn’t just about good music and cool visuals anymore. It’s about hacking your brain. Gap’s viral Katseye campaign shows how nostalgia, dance, and subtle product cues can turn a TikTok into 576 million views and a shopping spree.
That same push-and-pull between psychology and money is everywhere right now. Holiday sales are slowing, Gen Z is reviving retro tech, and plenty of thirty-somethings are realising it’s not too late to build serious wealth.
Here’s what’s inside:
P.S. If you want to talk through your own finances, you can book a free 1-hour coaching call here ☎️
Gap's recent campaign featuring didn't just go viral. It revealed exactly how modern advertising targets your brain's buying process. Since premiering, their "Better in Denim" campaign featuring Katseye has now reached more than 576 million views across all Gap-owned content. The commercial has generated record engagement across Instagram and TikTok, with over 100 times Gap's usual 2025 engagement rates.
But the real genius wasn't in the numbers. It was in the psychological triggers that made people impulse-buy jeans they hadn't planned to purchase. We break down the three factors that made this ad irresistible.
✅ The nostalgia trap: "Milkshake" wasn't chosen randomly. The 2003 Kelis hit triggers nostalgia in millennials while sounding fresh to Gen Z, maximizing emotional response across two major spending demographics.
✅ Your brain joins the dance: Ever catch yourself unconsciously mimicking a TikTok dance? That's your mirror neurons at work. They’re brain cells that fire when you watch someone else move, making you feel like you're dancing too. No wonder the dance went viral with thousands of recreations.
✅ Product demo without the hard sell: Watching energetic choreography in denim subconsciously signals durability and comfort. The jeans stretch, move, and look good through high-kicks and spins. Your brain processed "these jeans can handle anything" without anyone having to say it.
Your viral-proof spending defense:
🧠 24-hour rule: Screenshot items you want after seeing viral content, then wait. If you still want them tomorrow, consider it
🧠 Question the feeling: Ask yourself "Am I buying this product or the emotion the ad gave me?"
🧠 Set viral limits: Budget a monthly "impulse buy" amount. When it's gone, it's gone
🧠 Remove friction: Delete saved payment info from shopping apps to slow down purchases
🧠 Mute trigger accounts: Unfollow or mute accounts that consistently make you want to spend
Need a change in mindset whenever you shop? We can help you digest your own spending patterns. Book a free call here ☎️
Holiday spending hits the brakes
For the first time in years, holiday retail growth is pumping the brakes. Deloitte forecasts holiday sales will increase just 2.9% to 3.4% in 2025, down significantly from last year's 4.2% growth. Total holiday sales are projected at $1.61 trillion to $1.62 trillion during the November to January timeframe.
The numbers tell a story of consumer fatigue. While disposable personal income is expected to grow between 3.1% to 5.4% this holiday season, that growth is being offset by reality: high credit card and student debt burden on consumer spending and ongoing economic uncertainty.
Your holiday spending prep checklist:
🎁 Start a holiday sinking fund now: Save $50-100/month through November for gifts and celebrations
🎁 List everyone you're buying for: Include approximate amounts before any shopping begins
🎁 Set your total holiday budget as early as now: Gifts, parties, travel, decorations, everything
🎁 Choose your deal days: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and stick to them
🎁 Plan your January recovery: Budget extra for credit card payments in the new year
Have other things you need to prep or save for? We’ll help you come up with a plan. Book a free call here ☎️
Gen Z is paying $1 per photo in the smartphone era
While everyone's obsessing over AI cameras and 200-megapixel phones, Gen Z is lining up to buy cameras that produce grainy, small photos for a dollar each. Fujifilm's instax announced it exceeded 100 million units sold worldwide in April, with the company reporting record sales four years running.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha are starved for the kind of nostalgia that millennials have. They desperately want to have something happy to look back on before the world got so digitized, but they can't. That's why they flock to film photography and more tangible hobbies.
Why retro tech is trending:
📸 Scarcity creates value: Limited photos force intentional moments instead of endless scrolling through digital galleries.
📸 Physical memories feel more real: Users like that they can "touch their memories" instead of storing them in the cloud.
📸 Authenticity beats perfection: There's no AI, no editing, just a moment captured in time without digital manipulation.
📸 Screen fatigue is real: Being constantly online is exhausting and not as much fun as being in a moment with friends
It’s not too late to build serious wealth
Scrolling through finance TikTok in your thirties can feel demoralizing. Everyone seems to have started investing at 22, and you're wondering if you've already missed the boat. Here's the reality: you haven't.
Your thirties might actually be the perfect time to start building wealth. You're likely earning more than in your twenties, you understand your spending habits better, and you have enough life experience to make smarter financial decisions.
The math still works in your favor:
Want to build the financial foundation that makes investing possible? We'll help you organize your money so you can actually invest consistently. Book a free call here ☎️
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