‘Little treat culture’ – affordable micro-luxuries perceived as mood-boosting rewards or ways to cope with stress – is resonating with Gen Z globally. Being served especially effectively via activations, messaging and merchandising from beauty, grocery, luxury and supplements brands, these controlled dopamine hits will remain table stakes for 27/28. Wellness-oriented pleasures – adding depth to indulgence – present extra mileage.

Seeking diversions from pervasive anxiety about an unstable future, many Gen Zers are favouring escapist entertainment anchored in low-risk, soft-stakes, ‘cosy’ opportunities where they can process emotions, explore otherwise-avoided territory, and find emotionally reliable companionship. Areas ripe for brand backing include gentle ‘otome’ romance, cosy job gaming simulations, New Adult (NA) novels and TV series, and female-gaze audio erotica.

Acknowledging a generation craving catharsis but apprehensive about all-out inebriation (although noting that ‘Gen Sober’ is an inaccurate assessment – see Key Stats), some sports brands are marrying rave culture’s unbridled release with sport's endorphin highs to create Gen Z-attracting activations. This booming culture and its pop-culturally credible edges – activations aligned to music, fashion, art collectives – offer pleasure without recklessness.

While commentary surrounding Gen Z’s decreased alcohol consumption has been overblown (see stats below), a penchant for soft (sober or sober curious) and depressurised socialising is rising in many regions (see also Low-Octane Lean-Ins in Fourth Spaces & Off-Feed Scenes). The best brand initiatives include low- and no-alcohol bars – with cocktail-making classes tailored to both taste and alcohol tolerance – and travel initiatives subverting stereotypically boozy holidays.

For Gen Z, horror has become a key entertainment indulgence – a vicarious lever pulled to introduce an invigorating jolt of deep feeling to cautious lives, particularly frightening content reflecting their socio-cultural anxieties, from internet culture toxicity and terrifying online lore to technological dystopias. We unpack new formats for thrills and ‘challenging’ entertainment across film, TV, gaming/virtual reality (VR) interactivity, micro-dramas and marketing.