01.03.25 Newsletter

Meghan Markle is Back on IG, Royal Appointment, Pop-Tarts, and more

Hello!

If you’re anything like me you barely know what day it is and haven’t seen a vegetable in a good week.

Christmas week was an eventful one. We lost my grandmother on Christmas Eve and

Amanda Matta

and I’s new podcast—Off With Their Headlines—dropped on Boxing Day. I’ve unfortunately had my fair share of loss these past 13 months along with some beautiful new beginnings. It’s unfair. It’s also life. I’m looking forward to a—hopefully gentler—2025.

Royal Corner

New Year, New Meghan

In a surprise move, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex returned to Instagram on New Years Day with a black and white reel showing Meghan walking on the beach where she wrote “2025” in the sand.

Somewhere one Daily Mail writer sobbed in relief into the James Middleton dog food he’s been rationing for himself. “300 words on Markle and how this is a swipe at Kate and I’ll get myself a nice fish & chips. Yeah.”

But that’s not where it ends. The Duchess of Sussex also shared the trailer for her brand-new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, which premieres Jan. 15th. The British media is handling it just about as well as you’d expect:

I will have more on the media coverage of this Duchess of Sussex sighting next week in my paid post.

Royal Appointment 12.26.2025

Subject Line: Two things struck me about the Royal family on Christmas Day

Let’s be honest:

This was a recap of the Christmas walkabout that the family does every year. Last year was notable because it was the last time we saw Catherine, The Princess of Wales for months. What I found interesting was this part:

The second thing that struck me, more seriously, was how comfortable the King and Princess of Wales have become – through necessity – with making the topic of cancer part of their public lives.

I was surprised that the writer even mentioned the topic of cancer being a part of Kate’s life. Out of the many head-scratching missteps during her health crisis has been figuring out the wording for what Kate had/has. Different phrases have appeared in the lexicon, “cancer had been present” and then the “precancerous cells” from Rhiannon Mills of ITV, which was later scrubbed after pressure from the Palace.

In some ways the topic of cancer has become more a part of the public life of the Princess of Wales, but it still remains one of the most baffling years—from a PR standpoint—for a public figure or institution that I’ve seen in a long time.

US Politics

Yeah, that about sums it up.

Pop Culture

Capitalism Done Right

Listen…if they’re gonna have these College Bowl Games and sponsors and make money off of college players, you might as well make it as unhinged as possible…and that’s exactly what Pop-Tarts has done for their second Bowl Game.

Front Office Sports sums it up nicely writing:

The most recognizable moment of bowl season last year wasn’t an overtime win. It wasn’t a touchdown celebration. It wasn’t even a fluke play or missed field goal. It was a comedic ritual sacrifice of a breakfast pastry.

You read that right.

Maybe the most exciting part of the game are the memes, tweets, etc. It’s a genius marketing strategy, generating $12.1 million in earned media value for Pop-Tarts, according to Apex Marketing Group.

And really, I’m just here for the tweets. Here are some of my faves:

Have a fantastic weekend,

-Meredith