Toniq

 Companies measure output, revenue, and efficiency; they rarely measure well-being. And when they do, it’s framed as a checkbox or a survey, not a systemic intervention.

The thing is, curiosity isn’t just about finding answers. It’s about forming questions you didn’t even know you could ask. It’s about the surprise of noticing something you hadn’t thought to notice, or realizing there’s more to the story than the answer on the screen.

Every time a brand launches a new campaign, publishes a post, unveils a logo, or even tweaks the shade of blue on its website, it is doing exactly what the writer does when they hit “send” on a manuscript or the actor does when the curtain rises.

 How does a brand be authentic when the calibration is busted? How can a brand tell the truth when the very word is in flux? If the bedrock vocabulary we live on—authentic, transparent, values, truth—has been excavated and repoured by a hundred different hands, how do we set a foundation that will hold?

 But now? Now, every story sticks, every headline lives forever, and bad publicity doesn’t just sell tickets — it can burn your whole tent down.

I know that many denizens of the Friday office feel the same and so, for them and for the unknown woman who just tried to put me in her grocery cart, mistaking me for a container of cottage cheese, large curd, I have come up with this, a Monday v. Friday brain Survival Guide.

Do brands need to abide by the rules of decency? Are there seven words that advertisers must never use? What makes or breaks the word choices brands make?

Why, in an age of unprecedented connectivity, are some of us turning to machines for the empathy and understanding we seek from other humans?

Taking a stand can differentiate a brand in a crowded market. When every product looks and sounds the same, taking a principled position can make a brand memorable.

This got me thinking: we talk about brands as if they were people. What would some brands, on their last legs, order for their last meal?

Some brands hit the point where tweaks and small updates aren’t enough. They need a full reset—a moment where they burn it all down to rebuild stronger, clearer, and more true to themselves.

Brands are supposed to stand for something. But too often, they stand near something. Next to it. In the vicinity of meaning, but never quite touching it.

As we explore this growing cultural shift, we’ll examine the fine line between tapping into timeless appeal and inadvertently alienating your audience.