And that’s because whoever is behind the Hostess Snacks’ Instagram page is a meme genius. A very kooky, imaginative genius. Or maybe geniuses? OK, it must be a panel of geniuses, eating Twinkies while Photoshopping AirPods onto Twinkies. Right?
The popular pastry-snack company has a very interesting presence on Instagram. They post daily photos of their classic pastries in whacky scenarios to their 123,000 followers, who are literally hungry for the content.
Like a candy shop, their Instagram feed is colorful and full of things the dentist wouldn’t approve of. But it’s also full of images that look like things you’d encounter in a post-birthday-cake fever dream. Regular things, like car tires and snow boots, are rendered to resemble Hostess’s famous pastries instead. And their followers eat it up. Comments from fans range from, “you certainly know how to catch my eye” to light-hearted confusion.
Image: hostess snacks / instagram
After struggling with bankruptcy in 2012, the giant snack company made a splashy return a year later. 100 million Twinkies, CupCakes, and Donettes hit shelves within the first two weeks of their comeback, prompted by public demand. “…Hostess has a very exciting future,” said Dean Metropoulos, the company’s CEO in a press release.
Regardless of the company’s business, the Hostess Snacks Instagram account is thriving. I’d be lying if I said that scrolling through the absurdly wonderful page didn’t invoke both hunger and nostalgia in me. But who is behind it all? The processed-sugar-craving 7-year-old in me needed to know.
A little bit of sleuthing led me to the creative masterminds behind the weirdest corporate page on Instagram. Hostess Snacks works closely with Tattoo Projects, an ad agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, to ensure that their social media presence is as delicious as the Donettes and Ding Dongs they sell.
Buffy Kelly is the creative director and president of Tattoo Projects. I caught up with her about how the Twinkie magic is made for the ‘Gram. She’s been entrusted with the task of creating a “fun brand voice” for Hostess— and along with two other designers— she’s doing just that. She’s quick to mention that it takes a small village to pull the whole operation off without a hitch, though.
“The actual creative work is just one part… don’t forget the strategy, account service, analytics, community management, and client partnership. It’s a huge team effort, and makes the feed what it is,” Kelly told Mashable via email.
Tattoo utilizes monthly content calendars in order to develop a sweet social strategy. Though they focus on their target audience and the products they want to promote the most — obviously Twinkies — they also leave room for spur of the moment ideas based on trend reports.
“We’ll see or hear something cool and text each other in the morning and say something like, ‘Bring your martini shaker and a leaf blower, I have an idea!’” Kelly says.
That’s how they came across the somewhat-dubious Vans challenge. Naturally, the viral trend was ripe for the addition of Twinkies flying through the air. Essentially, the phenomenon began when Twitter user @lanacutherlip posted a video showcasing the fact that no matter how they tossed their Vans shoes, they always landed right side up.
Capitalizing on the trend, Hostess posted this:
Of course this isn’t first time we’ve seen brands leveraging their social media followings to appeal to a younger, more internet-savvy demographic. It’s practically necessary in 2019.
The fast food chain Wendy’s has most famously developed a social media voice that registers with their followers; it’s snarky and quick, easily retweet-able. Sometimes, it’s downright brutal.
Instead of taking the all-too-generic route of emulating Twitter culture, Hostess has developed a unique social media strategy that puts its products front and center without sounding like an echo chamber. The latter of which is more suitable for sharing burger deals, anyway.
Keith Peterfeso, Hostess’s brand director, works directly with the team at Tattoo. He describes the company’s social media presence as “deliciously unapologetically irreverent.” Peterfeso’s job is to oversee everything that Tattoo is producing and to make sure they’re highlighting specific products, especially during the launch of a new snack.
For instance, when Suzy Q cakes were re-released with 50 percent more cake and 50 percent more cream, he made sure at least one post a week was dedicated to conveying that information. Of course, pair that information with Kelly’s vision, and well, it becomes messaging that works on a content crazed consumer base.
“At the end of the year, Suzy Q had grown over a hundred percent from what it had been the previous year,” Peterfeso says. His enthusiasm matches that of the many people buying Hostess Snacks. “We also just put out a great product,” he chuckles.
But it’s not all about just posting fresh new memes, Kelly shares that follower engagement is a huge priority. She says they respond to about 6,000 comments each month. And they always manage to turn these quick digital exchanges into friendly banter revolving around the snack-in-question, no matter what people are saying.
Image: hostess snacks / instagram
“It’s our job to create conversations, entertain and engage people with the fun of Hostess,” Kelly said.
Image: hostess snacks / instagram
Kelly notes there’s no shortage of inspiration when it comes to mining Hostess Snacks for content. In a time when pop culture and consumerism are so intertwined, they’ve done a solid job of incorporating memes of the moment into their content rolodex. By doing so, the creative team has cemented their position as a relevant brand in a saturated market.
“There are enough funny ideas around here that we could be posting several times a day,” Kelly said.
Over the three years that Tattoo has been working with Hostess, a cornucopia’s worth of whacky branded content has been posted consistently. Peterfeso says his favorite from the page is an ode to Game of Thrones involving Sno Balls, one of the company’s famous treats. Kelly leans towards the whackier side, citing a photo of a woman with Twinkies for lips as one of her favorites.
But the creative director doesn’t rule out the future of Twinkie content and the multitudes it contains: “Who knows what we’ll come up with this week …”
Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.
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Odell Beckham has taken criticism in the past for his passion overflowing on the field.
Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey doesn’t seem to mind.
“I know Odell is very passionate,” Dorsey told reporters Thursday. “I know he is competitive. I know he can help this football team, and if you get a chance to acquire a guy like that, you know what, take a shot at it. We acquired him.”
The Browns traded a first- and third-round pick along with safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants this week for Beckham, a deal that’s widely been lauded as a steal. Beckham has been an All-Pro and Pro Bowler in three of his first five seasons, though the last two have been marred by injuries.
“We all understand the magnitude of his ability to play the game of football,” Dorsey said.
Odell Beckham Jr @obj
I’m not a Cancer……. I’m a Scorpio sorry for the confusion
Beckham recorded 77 receptions for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns last season while playing in 12 games. He’s missed 16 games over the past two seasons.
Not known to hold off on his opinions, Beckham also made headlines after an interview in which he criticized the Giants offense andwondered aloudwhether the team would be better moving on from Eli Manning.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, the source of most fan frustration, defended the trade Wednesday by pointing to the team’s draft picks.
“With the first-round draft choice, that gives us (pick) six and 17,” Gettlemansaid. “As we continue to build this team, you need draft pick capital. This trade enabled us to do that.”
The Browns will go into 2019 with one of the most formidable offenses in football. Beckham joins a unit that includes franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield, former LSU teammate Jarvis Landry, running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and tight end David Njoku.
Beckham appears to be the final piece in a team that will likely enter the 2019 season as favorites in the AFC North.
First impressions matter, especially when you’re a newly elected animal official.
Lincoln the goat understands this intuitively. The three-year-old goat was recently elected honorary mayor of the small town of Fair Haven, Vermont. On Tuesday, Lincoln was officially sworn into office.
To ring in his first day, Lincoln celebrated by defecating on the town hall floor, according to Burlington Free Press.
Town Manager Joe Gunter came up with the idea of electing an animal as honorary mayor as a way to raise money for a local playground.
Children who wanted to vote had to make a $5 contribution. Lincoln faced stiff competition from more than a dozen candidates, one of whom was a dog who liked to suck pacifiers.
Gunter didn’t exactly reach his fundraising goal — he was looking to raise $70,000 but instead made only $100.
Kids, you’re really going to need to work on your piggy-banking skills if you want to have any political influence. If you’re going to lobby for the things you care about — Earned Allowance Tax Credits, a two-hour homework day, a dog mayor — you need to be storing those nickels.
Alas. Lincoln won his election fairly and squarely, garnering a total of 13 votes.
After swearing in and signing into his office with his hoof, Lincoln proceeded to drop a deuce. And for what it’s worth, I applaud how Lincoln chose to spend his first day.
The ocean has proved to be an exceptionally selfless and dependable planetary companion.
With no benefit to itself, Earth’s vast sea has gulped up around 30 percent of the carbon dioxide humans emitted into Earth’s atmosphere over the last century. Critically, scientists have now confirmed that the ocean in recent decades has continued its steadfast rate of CO2 absorption, rather than letting the potent greenhouse gas further saturate the skies.
Their research, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that between 1994 and 2007, the oceans reliably sucked up about 31 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by humans, even as CO2 concentrations skyrocketed to their highest levels in at least 800,000 years. This means the ocean is now absorbing a significantly larger bulk of carbon, amounting to well over 2 trillion tons each year.
“We can regard what the ocean is doing for us as providing a service, by mitigating CO2 in the atmosphere,” said Matthew Long, an oceanographer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research who had no role in the study.
But a weighty question still looms: How much longer can we rely on the ocean to so effectively store away carbon dioxide, and stave off considerably more global warming?
“At some point the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon will start to diminish,” said Jeremy Mathis, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate scientist who coauthored the study. “It means atmospheric CO2 levels could go up faster than they already are.”
“That’s a big deal,” Mathis emphasized.
In stormy waters, scientists prepare to drop an ocean-collecting device into the water.
Image: noaa
It’s a big deal because carbon dioxide levels aren’t just abnormally high, but today’s accelerated pace of heat and carbon dioxide rise is nearly unparalleled on Earth. “What’s important to recognize is the changes humanity is driving at present are commensurate with the most significant events in the history of life on this planet,” said Long. That means — as long as we continue emitting profound amounts of heat-trapping gases — we’ll need the ocean to keep absorbing massive quantities of CO2, so the planet doesn’t grow absurdly hot.
Fortunately, there’s still time. For the next 50 years or so, the oceans will continue to gulp up about the same amount of carbon dioxide.
“[The ocean’s] going to continue to help suck up CO2,” said Josh Willis, an oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who had no role in the research. “It’s like it’s eating at a really big buffet, really slowly,” he explained. “It’ll keep going to the buffet for a long time.”
“The ocean will keep cleaning up some of our mess, but it does that at a price to itself,” said Willis.
As they say, nice guys finish last.
The ocean grows more acidic as it sucks up CO2. “Every additional bit of CO2 the ocean takes up protects us from the worst of climate change but does damage to plants and animals in the ocean,” said Curtis Deutsch, a chemical oceanographer at the University of Washington, who also had no involvement in the study.
“The ocean will keep cleaning up some of our mess, but it does that at a price to itself”
Just how much damage? That’s a hot area of research. Increasingly acidic waters are expected to dissolve the skeletons of big swaths of coral, for instance. But it’s not just acidified waters that critters must worry about. The oceans also absorb about 93 percent of human-created heat on Earth, which boosts the odds of deadly marine heat waves — the type that killed 30 percent of corals in the Great Barrier Reef over just nine months. What’s more, warmer waters have resulted in the loss of oxygen in the seas, which much sea life needs to survive. That’s a triple-whammy of potent environmental threats. “We expect this to have substantial impacts on marine ecosystems,” said Long.
Absorbing CO2 makes the ocean more acidic.
Image: noaa
During the second half of this century, though, the story will change. Marine researchers still expect the oceans to gulp up considerable loads of carbon dioxide, but this ability may gradually start to diminish, noted Long. That’s because ocean circulation — in which deeper, colder waters rise to the surface and replace warmer ocean waters — will be reduced. In short, water near the surface will have absorbed the most heat (as the world warms) and create a layer of buoyant sea. This makes it increasingly difficult for fresh waters from the deep — which aren’t yet oversaturated with carbon — to circulate to the surface and absorb lots more CO2 from the air, Long explained.
These changes, along with ocean acidification, won’t be easily reversed. “We’re essentially baking in changes that will be very long-lived,” said Long.
But scientists don’t expect any extreme or catastrophic disruptions to the ocean’s carbon uptake anytime in the next century, at least. “The ocean would basically have to stop circulating,” said Deutsch. “And that’s just not feasible.”
Temperatures compared to average in 1884. Blues show colder temps.
Image: nasa
Temperatures compared to average in 2018. Yellows and reds show warmer temps.
Image: nasa
Still, marine scientists emphasize that we must continue monitoring the oceans to ensure the ocean is as dependable as we think it is, and critically, to watch for any unexpected changes amid Earth’s rapidly changing climate. This is no simple task. Collecting this ocean data often involves six to eight-week-long research missions across vast lengths of sea (like Alaska to Hawaii), wherein scientists collect water samples every 10 miles. “It’s timely and fairly expensive,” said Mathis. “But wehave to continue to invest in the science that allows us to go out and do these surveys.”
“Otherwise we’re just flying blind — we just don’t understand,” added Long.
Although the oceans have undoubtedly quelled a significant amount of warming over the last century, they can’t ever be humanity’s total climate savior. There will just be too much carbon dioxide saturating the air, too much for the seas to handle. The ocean won’t stave off radical climate disruption, deadly heat waves, and ruinous damage to crops. In other words, it wouldn’t be good if we ever reach a point where the climate has overloaded the oceans with CO2 and heat. But we would already be in big trouble.
“So it could get worse,” said Long. “But it will already be pretty bad.”
A US flag waves at the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]
The United States has withdrawn all remaining diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Caracas as the crisis in Venezuela deepens.
“Today, all US diplomats remaining in Venezuela departed the country. I know it is a difficult moment for them,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the US remains committed to supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido, who wants to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and hold elections.
“US diplomats will now continue that mission from other locations where they will continue to help manage the flow of humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people and support the democratic actors bravely resisting tyranny,” Pompeo said.
Venezuela: 65 countries support Guaido, while UN backs Maduro (2:00)
A convoy was seen leaving the US embassy in Caracas on Thursday morning and the American flag was no longer flying outside.
Pompeo tweeted earlier this week that the diplomats would be withdrawn because they had become a “constraint” on US policy.
The Venezuelan government disputed Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the US diplomats to leave.
Since January, the US, Canada and several European countries have called on Maduro to step down.
They and others now recognise Guaido, the leader of the country’s opposition-controlled legislative body, as Venezuela’s rightful interim president.
Maduro, however, maintains the backing of around 50 United Nations-member countries, including Russia, China and Turkey.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro demonstrate in Caracas [AFP]
Google published its yearly look at “bad ads” on Thursday, detailing how the company fought bad advertising practices in 2018.
In total, the search giant took down 2.3 billion ads that violated its advertising policies last year. That’s more than 6 million bad ads removed every day.
This number is down from the previous year when Google reported it eliminated 3.2 billion ads from its network.
Google also terminated its relationship with nearly one million bad advertiser accounts and almost 734,000 publishers and app developers — close to double the amount from 2017. The company also removed ads from nearly 28 million webpages and 1.5 million apps.
In the report, Google details specific industries and niches that require specific new ad policies in 2018. The company provides examples such as for-profit bail bond providers, which it bans from advertising through its ad network. Google says the decision was made due to evidence that these providers take advantage of vulnerable communities. The company removed more than 531,000 ads for bail bonds last year.
In total, Google created 31 new ad policies to stop bad ads in problematic areas related to cryptocurrency, ticket resellers, third-party tech support, and local services such as bail bonds and addiction treatment facilities. For example, the company now bans ads promoting addiction treatment services unless the advertiser is a certified addiction treatment provider. It also removed around 58.8 million advertisements for phishing scams from its network.
When it comes to fake news and the political sphere, Google shares that it had verified 143,000 election advertisements in the U.S., thanks to a new policy it rolled out last year. The company took down ads from around 1.2 million pages, 22,000 apps, and 15,000 sites for violating policies related to misinformation and hateful or low quality content.
The company also announced a new policy manager for its Google Ads program in order to help advertisers create ads that comply with its advertising policies.
The internet is full of scam artists and malicious actors searching for targets. Google’s course of action to deter bad advertisers and publishers from its networks is fairly simple: remove their economic incentives. The company seems to be doing a good job at removing ads that break its rules. The real challenge going forward, judging by Google’s updated policies, is keeping up with the evolving ways of these malicious actors.
Mark your calendar and book your flight and lodging because Apple’s just announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will take place on June 3-7.
Like previous years, the multi-day conference, where Apple will likely announce new versions of its software platforms — iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6, and more — will take place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.
“WWDC 2019 will deliver the latest Apple news from the keynote stage and celebrate the breakthrough work of developers who are creating new experiences in areas including machine learning, augmented reality, health and fitness, and more” according to Apple’s official WWDC website.
Tickets for WWDC 2019 start at $1,599 and can be purchased starting today until March at 5 p.m. ET. As always, tickets are offered by random selection due to high demand.
What’s Apple hinting in this WWDC19 image?
Image: apple
New versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS are practically a given. iOS 13 is rumored to include a dark mode to make nighttime viewing easier.
More interesting will be developments for Project Marzipan, the long-rumored initiative that will reportedly let developers port iOS apps into Mac apps without much additional work.
Bringing iOS apps to Mac could stimulate the nearly 20-year-old computing platform in new ways. Though Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineer Craig Federighi strongly denied merging iOS and Mac into a single platform, the company announced at WWDC several iOS apps such as its News, Stocks, and Voice Memos would be ported to macOS.
And though they’re long shots, Apple could also tease the rumored “rOS” (reality operating system) for its rumored AR glasses and perhaps open HomePod to third-party music services.
New hardware?
Though WWDC is traditionally a software-focused conference, it’s possible Apple could announce new hardware like at WWDC 2017.
The MacBook Pros were last updated last July, and despite a new membrane added underneath the third-generation “butterfly” switch keyboards, they’re still not as reliable or ergonomic as the keyboards pre-2016 MacBook Pro.
The iMac is really due for an update with the iMac Pro last updated in December 2017 and the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs last revamped in June 2017.
The MacBook Air and Mac mini got refreshes last fall so we’re not expecting Apple to refresh them so soon.
New iPhones are unlikely to be announced at WWDC as well with Apple usually waiting until September to update them. Ditto for Apple Watch Series 5.
Apple’s rumored to be preparing device refreshes for the regular 9.7-inch iPad, iPad mini, and AirPods, which could all be released before WWDC. New iPad Pros probably won’t be announced until the fall.
The death toll in Syria‘s northwestern Idlib province has risen to 15 following Syrian government forces launched air strikes in rebel-held area, the Syria Civil Defence said on Thursday.
Along with artillery barrages, Russian warplanes struck central Idlib and its rural outskirts with four air raids on Wednesday, resulting in the casualties that included eight children, the Syria Civil Defence – also known as the White Helmets – said.
The attacks, which wounded 49 civilians, targeted the al-Kaseeh neighbourhood, damaging residential buildings, according to the White Helmets, which added that a search-and-rescue operation was underway.
Government air strikes have killed at least 138 civilians this year.
Idlib is largely controlled by Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, which on Thursday vowed to retaliate against the Syrian government forces and their Russian allies.
Syrian forces intensify offensive against rebel forces in Idlib
Government forces have stepped up attacks on the last rebel-held bastion Baghouz since January 2019, despite it being under the so-called de-escalation zones aimed at shoring up ceasefires.
Last September, Russia and Turkey, which backs opposition groups in Idlib, agreed to create a demilitarised zone that put on hold an offensive on Idlib which was dubbed “dumping ground” for evacuees who fled government offensives in other parts of the country.
The 15 to 20km-wide zone agreed upon by Ankara and Moscow was meant to allow for the “withdrawal of all radical fighters” from Idlib, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time, referring to HTS, who remain to be the dominant force in the province.
The last rebel-held enclave in Syria is currently home to nearly three million people, half of whom are internally displaced, and encloses what was once a major commercial highway linking Syria to Turkey and Jordan.
Civilians are bracing themselves for an offensive that humanitarian workers worry could drive millions of refugees into neighbouring Turkey, which already hosts more than three million Syrian refugees.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government cracked down on demonstrators amid a peaceful uprising.
Since the devastating conflict began in 2011, more than 450,000 Syrians have been killed and over six million displaced, according to the United Nations.
Russian forces ‘open corridors’ for Syrian IDPs to return home
2.0 Short-Sleeve T-Shirt
sorry for the confusion
![A US flag waves at the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/3/14/a4fcf6e00a18460cb52fdb85ad718fe0_18.jpg "All US diplomats have left Venezuela: Pompeo")
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