If you’ve followed Chicago commercial real estate lately, you’ve heard it again and again: The Loop is in trouble. Vacancy is up. Foot traffic is down. Major tenants have pulled back or pulled out.

Loop Earplugs have gone seriously viral in recent months, taking over many a TikTok feed. The brand retails in more than 150 countries and has sold over 15 million products since it launched in 2016.

But this was a very good omen: these supporting players aren’t just representing archetypes — they feel real-life enough that theguy who plays Thought 4 was nominated for a Tony. (That would be ...

This article is part of our series Battle of the Brands, in which we compare category-leading products to their counterparts to determine which are actually worth your money. I have a confession to ...