#5 Gum

[duplexide]

you don’t suppose pepsico decided to start distancing itself from gamer culture because of well, to put it lightly the last few years of major gamer streamer misconduct? By which I mean the pedophilia and nazi shit that made it to mainstream news.

Gamers have never had an upstanding reputation. IDK what's going on in the world of streaming, but back in the 2000s "gamer" called to mind 12 year olds virtually shooting eachother while shouting out every expletive known to man. So I don't think streamers are the reason.

That's the short answer, but people seem to like hearing my thoughts on consumer aesthetics on here, so I'll rant a bit more on the subject.

Regardless of how ethical gamers were viewed as in the 2000s-2010s, products like axe, 5 gum, and mountain dew exploded when targeting them as a demographic. It served as kind of a dark, edgy inversion of the sterile white apple aesthetic that dominated the mainstream, and we got some genuinely cool branding out of it.

Up until recently this had naturally evolved into a sort of loud, maximalism, trading its subdued, serious edge for something more colorful and ironic. It's practically a parody of edge, but it's so fun and zany it's hard to dislike this direction.

I really thought that THIS style would embody the 2020s, that this paired with things like Fortnite and blindbox toys would kind of characterize the era for its distracting, vapid, disposable, post-postmodern irony. This has all felt like a logical reaction to the sterility of 2010s design.

However, now it seems we're taking an abrupt U turn into a sort of conservative, retro 70s throwback era of design. It seems like corporations are trying to appeal more to boomers and hipsters in an attempt to broaden their appeal. These rebrands strike me as decisions made out of fear, corporations retreating into their shells.

I don't know if this is WORSE than the sterile minimalism of the 2010s but I DEFINITELY hate it.

So, this devolution is likely not due to controversies with gamers specifically, but more like an attempt to reject modernity and revert back to what's "safe" during uncertain times. I think corporations now are generally trying to seem more "evergreen" and "timeless" within an increasingly unstable corporate landscape and hypercritical social culture. This comes at the sacrifice of their edge and ambition to evolve.

[browngonzo888]

[chickthiccs]

Jackson Storm looks like 5 gum

[lunarsorcerer]

[g4zdtechtv]

THE PILE PRESENTS: X-Play - Holting Out for a Hero (11/27/12)

A hero who covers the latest press event for some game that’s gonna get a 2 out of 5.

[howlingday]

How it feels to chew 5 gum

AN ANIMALISTIC STIMULATION AS YOU CHEW

New 5 Gum; Stimulate Your Senses .

[420sharky770]

[chainsawmanfan]

chat

why do gum companies use sugar alcohols

ive had two pieces in like the past 48 hours but now my stomach is all rumbly

kinda sucks cuz i have a pack of five gum and 38 pieces of grape icebreakers

honestly i'd much rather they just use sugar because that won't upset my stomach

[carkrash]

the gum companies need to step it up and compete w the vape companies cmon now please

[eatfriesandsleep]

THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO CHEW FIVE GUM

🖐️🍆

[spherey]

i'm literally chewing 6 pieces of 5 gum just to feel something in my stuffy nose

[sweaterbob]

how it feels to chew 5 gum w meech

[corrodedparadox]

[hyunpic]

hyunjin | 2025 season’s greetings - the street kids

[mochiajclayne]

I get it. Gear 5th is fun, whimsical, and the breathing epitome of freedom. He's ridiculous and fights with an infectious smile. But the thing is, Gear 5th visuals look so unsettling. Luffy's red eyes are glowing in the dark and trust me, you don't want a pair staring at you in the middle of the night. Moreover, Luffy doesn't blink in that form (what I observed, at least) so it's like a glowing pair of red eyes staring at you intently while smiling and occasionally laughs in between. It's powerful, too, and it's even an understatement--if you're not gutsy enough, the haki will knock you unconscious. It's strong to the point that it could change the topography where Luffy fights. It's so ridiculous to the point that the ultimate factor of maximizing Gear 5th lies on whimsy. And boy, was it eaten by the perfect person.

[shenanisketches]

Gum and Ulala for the Newgrounds Dreamcast collab.