Linked List: June 19, 2026

Friday, 19 June 2026

Another One for the ‘Sorry, We Used to Be Crap’ Truth-in-Advertising File: Carlsberg Beer ★

Ben Chapman, reporting for The Independent in 2019:

After 40 years of advertising its lager as “Probably the best beer in the world”, Danish brewer Carlsberg has confessed that the famous slogan may not be true. Reacting to falling sales and increasingly harsh comments from drinkers about the taste of its beer, Carlsberg has launched a new recipe along with a more honest approach to marketing.

The campaign declares: “Probably not the best beer in the world. So we’ve changed it. Somewhere along the line, we lost our way. We focused on brewing quantity, not quality. We became one of the cheapest, not the best.”

As part of the new ad campaign Carlsberg is sharing negative comments about the old beer including, “Carlsberg tastes like stale breadsticks” and another comparing it to “drinking the bathwater your nan died in”.

I drank a Carlsberg once. Once.

‘What’s the Deal With Old Guys and Giant Glasses?’ ★

Early adoption of new technology is generally considered a young-person thing, but maybe Snap Specs will turn that notion on its head. Direct sales in retirement homes?

Trump Mobile T1 Phone Is a Gold-Painted Two-Year-Old HTC U24 Pro ★

NBC News:

The Trump Mobile T1 phone, originally marketed as “Made in the USA,” is nearly identical to the two-year-old HTC U24 Pro, a phone made by the Taiwanese company HTC using Chinese parts, according to a technical analysis the repair-guide and parts company iFixit conducted in partnership with NBC News.

That report is paywalled, but NBC News’s five-minute video is on YouTube, and iFixit has a full teardown report of their own. The only thing that’s surprising is that the Trump T1 doesn’t cost much more than the HTC-branded one ($500 vs. $470).

Fox to Buy Roku Streaming Service in $25 Billion Deal ★

The Wall Street Journal on Monday:

Fox Corp. said it is acquiring Roku in a deal valued at around $25 billion, making a major bet on the future of ad-supported streaming. The deal — Fox’s largest to date — brings together a media company known for its live news and sports programming with the biggest provider of streaming platforms for connected TVs.

It will add scale to Fox’s streaming business, currently home to free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi, which the company bought for $400 million in 2020, and subscription-based Fox One and Fox Nation.

In addition to distributing other streaming services through connected TVs and devices, Roku has its own ad-supported Roku Channel. The combined company will better compete with the likes of Amazon.com and Netflix for ad dollars.

I’m late to comment on this, but this seems stupid. Roku sucks. I know they’ve got a 25 percent or so share of the smart TV interface market, but no one is attached to Roku. The entirety of their market share is people who don’t care. That’s not worth $25 billion. Shit platforms seldom last, and the ones that do last achieve monopolies. I think Roku’s share is going to slip, not grow.

Snap Launches Ad Campaign for Specs Starring Michael Caine ★

“They’re about power, aren’t they, and the bloody powerful blokes who wear them.”

Maybe I’m all wet and these things are stylish, no matter what they do to your ears.

Jerry Seinfeld Tries Out Snap’s Specs ★

“Hey buddy, nice frames.”

Seinfeld’s father tried them out too.

Domino’s Admitted Their Pizza Tasted Like Cardboard ★

Re: my post on Verizon flat-out admitting their business practices have resembled a scheme from Dr. Evil, Domino’s did something similar regarding their pizza a while back. This 2021 story for Inc. by Jeff Haden describes the turnaround.