Glute "activation" prior to squats?

[sebampuerom]

I constantly hear and read people stating that we have to "activate" our glutes doing bridges or some sort of hip extension before doing squats or deadlifts in order to activate the glute muscles and perform better. Some people also tend to say it is better to activate them between sets. Im skeptic about this but want to know to what extent could this be true? Is there any evidence to counter argument this?

[Austin Baraki]

If the glutes were for some reason unable to activate during your first squat rep, you'd be unable to stand back up.