Cristel Russell on Timeless Brand “Hot Girl Summer” in The New York Times

Summer is coming, and with it the yearly onslaught of attempts to label a season that has not yet happened.

Media outlets one-up one another’s outrageous guesses, and influencers compose mood boards for their followers to emulate. Themes pile up on social media, where almost no activity is safe from being named a seasonal microtrend.

For one, there’s the tantalizing possibility of getting the branding exercise right.

“I don’t think you could think about summer without thinking about ‘Hot Girl Summer,’” said Megan Thee Stallion. The rapper, who had released the song in August 2019, conveyed a message of self-assurance with flaming album art and a kinetic beat.

She was awarded the trademark for Hot Girl Summer in 2022.

Cristel Antonia Russell, a professor of marketing at the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University, said she would not be surprised if the phrase continued to be used for years. It reminded her of “Got Milk?” — the 1990s dairy industry advertising campaign — in its simplicity and adaptability.

“It sounds so timeless,” Professor Russell said. “Who doesn’t want to be hot, and a girl, in the summer?”

Read the full article in The New York Times.