Sam Altman has a new Twitter persona. After the Super Bowl ad disaster and the Anthropic roast, OpenAI bought TBPN and shifted their entire communication strategy. Now Sam is tweeting like an early Twitter founder, doing engagement bait, following people back, and talking about features in short, human sentences. He's leaning into cringe instead of corporate, showing up the same week Anthropic fumbled their coding AI pricing changes. Meanwhile, OpenAI quietly updated their data policy to share user information with marketing partners, formalizing the ad relationships that pissed people off in February. Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are making the same pivot: talking about AI as a tool that helps humans instead of replaces them.

Disney Adults are going into debt. The New Yorker profiled the Disney ecosystem and how they’ve monetized every part of the experience: skipping lines costs extra, airport shuttles aren't free, parking adds up, and limited edition pins bring people back every quarter. The parks change to lean into nostalgia, reverting Star Wars Land from the new sequels back to the original trilogy. But Disney is at an inflection point: when does loyalty turn into exploitation? Right now people blame Disney Adults for overspending, but eventually the backlash could flip toward the company for nickel and diming fans who are psychologically and emotionally attached to the brand.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts this summer and brand activations are already rolling out: Budweiser's "Let It Pour" campaign features Erling Haaland and Jürgen Klopp with bottles commemorating cultural moments for each country, Adidas launched dog jerseys for Mexico and Japan fans, and Lay's created a WhatsApp group chat with Messi, Beckham, Guy Fieri, Thierry Henry, Alexia Putellas, and Steve Carell. The WhatsApp play is smart because it mirrors actual fan behavior: group chats across time zones keeping friends connected during games. But this World Cup feels different. FIFA and US organizers are charging for fan transportation, fan parties outside stadiums, and tickets are more expensive than previous tournaments. Fans are starting to feel nickel and dimed, and brands are hesitant to go all in because football is still a smaller audience in America and the event feels temporary.

The Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing is Brand Playbook 3.0. Barbie invited everyone into the universe with pink everything and unlimited collaborations. Wicked did the same but felt like a cash grab. Devil Wears Prada is more curated: Starbucks created drink orders for each character and had interns deliver them, Cerulean blue appeared in real packaging, a podcast featured ex-stylists talking about working behind fashion magazines, and Meryl Streep wore an Old Navy sweatshirt on Colbert as a wink to the "cerulean" monologue. Brands had to compete to be part of this campaign instead of being openly accepted. The challenge: Devil Wears Prada is niche fashion, not a toy with universal appeal like Barbie. The playbook works when it's curated and rewards superfans, but how many more times can studios do this before audiences turn against it?

We're talking about:

• OpenAI's communication shift: Buying TBPN, pivoting to "AI helps humans" messaging

• Sharing user information with marketing partners the same week Sam is trying to be authentic on Twitter

• Disney Adults, Lego and Mattel doing it right: Catering to the kid inside you without gating families out, and why Disney's leadership needs to decide who they're actually serving

• 2026 FIFA World Cup nickel and diming: charging for fan transportation, fan parties, and higher ticket prices, and why fans feel exploited

• Football is still a smaller audience in America, the event feels temporary, and it's hard to justify going all in

• Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing

• Why this playbook works for female-centered movies: Women make household purchasing decisions, and Hollywood should pay attention to which films drive brand partnerships

• When does this playbook reach its shelf life: Barbie did it, Wicked did it, now Devil Wears Prada, and audiences might turn against it if every movie does the same thing

Timestamps

00:00 Sam Altman's new Twitter persona and OpenAI's communication shift

15:00 Disney Adults going into debt and the engineered ecosystem

35:00 2026 FIFA World Cup brand activations and nickel and diming fans

50:00 Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing and Brand Playbook 3.0

Xbox is doing what almost no brand has the guts to do: going backward on purpose. Asha Sharma lowered Game Pass prices (unheard of), ditched the Microsoft Gaming rebrand, brought back the Xbox name, and revealed a logo that screams early 2000s neon green sci-fi. The "This is an Xbox" campaign? Dead. Fans hated it because it stripped identity from the console itself. Now Xbox is leaning into heritage without making it kitschy, proving that listening to your core audience isn't optional.

Nike, meanwhile, had a terrible week. Their Boston Marathon out-of-home campaign said "runners are celebrated, but walkers are tolerated," and the backlash was immediate. Competitive brands jumped in with inclusive messaging. Nike took it down fast, but the damage was done. The lesson: aspirational marketing works when it lifts people up, not when it makes them feel less than.

Netflix is building a TikTok-style vertical video feed inside its mobile app, turning clips into a discovery engine. They're also integrating six brands directly into Point Season Two, formalizing product placement the way Adam Sandler has been doing for years. The clipping economy is here, and Netflix is making short-form content the front door to streaming.

Tim Cook is stepping down from Apple, and MSN insiders say it's because he fumbled AI. His successor is John Turnus, head of hardware engineering, not software. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman over OpenAI's pivot from nonprofit to for-profit, and Ronan Farrow's New Yorker exposé painted Altman as a pathological liar. AI is reshaping leadership, and even CEOs aren't safe.

We're talking about:

• Xbox's fan-first rebrand: Asha Sharma lowering Game Pass prices, killing the "This is an Xbox" campaign, bringing back the neon green logo, and why going back to early 2000s sci-fi aesthetics is a heritage play that actually works

• Phil Spencer's 2022 Microsoft Gaming rebrand: Made Xbox bland and corporate, stripped identity from the console, and why reversing it was the right move

• Social identity theory in gaming: Xbox fanboys vs. Sony ponies, territorial allegiance to consoles, and why the "This is an Xbox" campaign was hated internally and externally

• Nostalgia as strategy: Pairing the new logo with the original bright green console, Ratatouille meme moments, and why Xbox is the first major brand to go full tilt into nostalgia without being kitschy

• Nike's Boston Marathon disaster: "Runners are celebrated, but walkers are tolerated" out-of-home campaign, immediate backlash, competitive brands jumping in with inclusive messaging, and why aspirational marketing fails when it's condescending

• Adidas winning the London Marathon: Two men broke the sub-two-hour marathon record wearing Adidas, Nike congratulating them but looked weak, and dog jerseys for World Cup teams

• Runners' camaraderie: Distance runners treat everyone like fellow warriors, people stopping to help others cross the finish line, and why Nike forgot that most runners want to beat themselves, not each other

• Netflix's TikTok play: Vertical video discovery feed inside the mobile app, hiring fan editors, and why clips are the front door to streaming now

• Netflix product placement: Six brands integrated into Point Season Two, Adam Sandler's product placement playbook, and why this is better than ads

• Marvel's missed opportunity: Hiring fan editors, creating CliffsNotes shorts for every movie and TV show

• Tim Cook leaving Apple: MSN insiders saying he fumbled AI, John Turnus (hardware engineering head) as successor, and why Apple didn't capitalize on Artemis II astronauts using iPhones in space

• How AI is reshaping leadership at the top

• Revenge of the humanities: AI getting too expensive, human labor becoming cheaper, tech CEOs realizing tokens cost more than people, and why discernment is the skill AI can't replace

• Human-made as luxury: Project Hail Mary's behind-the-scenes content, Andor's practical sets vs. CGI, and why people want to see humans creating art

• Storytelling vs. AI: The Other Bennet Sister adaptation, Pride and Prejudice on Netflix casting concerns, and why AI can echo but can't create something entirely new

Plus: Why founders are expected to tell their stories more and why the most human brand wins

Timestamps

00:00 Xbox's fan-first rebrand and nostalgia play

15:00 Nike's marathon disaster and Adidas winning

30:00 Netflix's TikTok feed and product placement strategy

45:00 Tim Cook leaving Apple and the AI leadership crisis

55:00 Human storytelling vs. AI and the revenge of the humanities

We're talking about:

• Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery

• Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to play background music, share live clips, engineer engagement circles, and the co-founder saying "we can drive impressions on anything at this point"

• Record labels using Memelord: Breaking new artists using videos, secretly putting music behind meme videos, and Jason getting calls from labels because breaking music is hyper-competitive right now (Suno is number one music app)

• Astroturfing 101: Fan pages on Twitter for artists are run by record label interns, phone farms, buying YouTube views, and how the music industry has always worked

• Historical context: MySpace bands figuring out the algorithm, Justin Bieber discovered on YouTube, Taylor Swift building relationships on Twitter/Instagram, and why TikTok is just the next iteration

• Brand fan accounts: Arby's Boys and Not Spirit Airlines pretending to be employees, getting more views than official brand accounts, and why saying things the brand can't say is more effective

• In-house influencers: Staples baddie doing ASMR videos for love of the game, companies realizing people want organic content from regular people, and hiring content creators to get personality without messing up the brand account

• Secondary pages strategy: Jason's been running fake pages for unicorns for a year, allows brands to take more risk, leverage humor without touching the main account, and why memes won't save you if you don't have a good business

• Follower economy is dead: TikTok proved followers don't matter, Twitter still follower-dominated but people complain about not getting access, and why early YouTubers with 3 million subscribers are asking "what do I do now"

• Clipping economy: Movie studios putting summaries of Netflix shows directly on TikTok, Jason investing 10 grand into clipping with 40,000 kids on WhatsApp earning $2 per thousand views, and creativity from the masses beating three in-house editors

• When clipping works vs. doesn't: Great for fame/virality/music/movies, doesn't work for startups (go into your CRM and book calls instead), and companies burning hundreds of thousands on clipping and failing

• Monoculture vs. summary content: Project Hail Mary/The Pit/Game of Thrones getting teaser trailers and fan cams to drive viewership, Netflix shows getting summaries because people won't spend 6-10 hours, and fan cams originally from fans trying to save shows

• Launch video bubble: Everyone copying Roy, agencies doing $10 million a year in launch videos and quote tweets, Jason spending $300 and getting 1.1 million views by editing himself, and why you don't need to spend 50 grand

• What is organic anymore: Finding creators who genuinely love your brand, helping customers create better UGC, in-house employees as subject matter experts, and Project Hail Mary's behind-the-scenes content outperforming Ryan Gosling fan cams

• Proving you're human: Gen Z assumes everything is AI, showing behind-the-scenes proves it's real, and why that's worth money in 2025

• Jason's AMC Instagram Reels event: Rented out movie theater for $3K, 100+ people showed up including big influencers and investors, watched reels for an hour, biggest surprise was everyone booing when they realized something was an ad

• Meta reached out: Instagram columns team contacted Jason after the event, investors are ex-Meta, and why doing something unique gets companies coming to you

• Stop hosting dinners: Tech bros don't even eat (half are on Ozempic), Jason hosted ping pong event and bug horror stories for Halloween, and why the bank everyone copies is burning more cash per month than Jason has in his account

• Platform-specific creators: Twitter discovering social media managers, writing-first platforms (Twitter/LinkedIn) vs. video-first (Instagram/TikTok/YouTube), Jason's team split with Jovian on Instagram/YouTube and another on Twitter/LinkedIn

• Social media manager vs. creator: Morning Brew's in-house writers doing skits, journalists joining in-house teams but bringing their audience (CNBC example), and why they're freer as non-employees

Timestamps

00:00 Geese psyop and manufactured virality

15:00 Brand fan accounts and in-house influencers

28:00 Clipping economy and when it works

40:00 Jason's AMC Instagram Reels event

52:00 Platform-specific creators and trial reels

Guest: Jason Levin – Founder of Memelord Technologies, raised $3M to make memes, hit 100K ARR in 9 months with zero ad spend (@IAmJasonLevin on Twitter)

The big thesis: video is non-negotiable, and showing your work builds trust faster than promises. Zohran Mamdani is fixing potholes and shoveling snow on TikTok while other mayors hold press conferences no one watches. OpenAI bought TBPN to control their narrative after losing the Super Bowl ad war to Anthropic. A24 turned Zendaya's fake wedding into an immersive press tour that overshadowed her real one. And the New York Times cut ties with a book reviewer who used AI, proving craft still matters in elite industries.

We're talking about:

• Zohran Mamdani's competency porn strategy: Fixing 100,000 potholes, paying New Yorkers to shovel snow, talking to street vendors about regulations, and why showing the work beats political theater

• Hot Democrats as the new political playbook: AOC, Graham Platner (Marine running for Maine Senate), Sam Forsag (smoke jumper in Montana), Bob Brooks (firefighter union president in Pennsylvania), and why being good on camera matters as much as policy

• David Plouffe's creator playbook thesis: Obama campaign strategist saying forward-facing video is mandatory for anyone running for office in 2026, and why the JFK vs. Nixon TV moment is now the TikTok president moment

• Why Mamdani's video strategy works: 10-minute shoots, biking around the city, calling into local shows, showing up on Fallon for three minutes, and treating digital as part of the job (not a bonus)

• Eric Adams vs. Mamdani: Fake daily schedule videos vs. real competency porn, and why New Yorkers want to see what their mayor actually does

• Artemis II astronauts as competency porn: Explaining their process in understandable terms without talking down to audiences, and why people are desperate to watch experts do their jobs well

• OpenAI buys TBPN: Sam Altman acquiring the tech podcast hosted by Jordy Hayes and John Coogan, winding down ad business, promising editorial independence, and whether they can criticize OpenAI after the Ronan Farrow profile

• Why OpenAI wanted TBPN: Tech layoffs blamed on AI, bad storytelling about AI replacing jobs, needing a megaphone to reach tech insiders first, and TBPN hosts not being journalists (no gotcha questions)

• Celebrity podcasts as safe spaces: LA Material article on why celebrities prefer podcasts over journalists, Amy Poehler vs. traditional press, Leonardo DiCaprio's first podcast on New Heights, and Aubrey Plaza talking about her husband's death

• Ronan Farrow's Sam Altman profile: New Yorker exposé on OpenAI's CEO, pathological liar allegations, Karen Hao's "The AI Hire" book covering similar ground, and whether Altman is the person we want leading AI

• AI in book publishing crisis: New York Times cuts ties with freelance reviewer Alex Preston for using AI, Shy Girl scandal, Curtis Brown literary agency concerned editors are putting manuscripts into ChatGPT, and why elite industries can't use AI like commodity brands

• Publishing's AI problem: Hachette not catching AI-generated text in a self-published bestseller, underpaid editors cutting corners, and why trust is sacred in literary spaces

• Human-made as a brand position: Apple's "shot through glass" ad, Oxford commas as AI tells, leaving typos in tweets to prove authenticity, and why craft is becoming a luxury differentiator

• A24's immersive wedding campaign for The Drama: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson fake wedding website, Boston Globe announcement, RSVP to Google Calendar, Vogue bridal spread, something old/new/borrowed/blue press tour looks, and doing wedding season publicly while Zendaya's real wedding stays private

• Why A24's strategy works: Small studio competing with Warner Bros and Netflix, making marketing so interesting fans talk about it, and creating immersive experiences (not just press junkets)

• Repurposing content across platforms: Twitter, Instagram, TikTok each getting different engagement moments, and why diversification is mandatory (not optional)

Plus: Why Eli Lilly is sponsoring the New Yorker Festival, Final Destination 405 log truck Easter eggs, and Delve's YC compliance scandal

Timestamps

00:00 Competency porn and hot Democrats: Zohran Mamdani's political playbook

15:00 OpenAI buys TBPN podcast

28:00 Ronan Farrow's Sam Altman profile

35:00 AI in book publishing: New York Times reviewer scandal and Shy Girl fallout

48:00 A24's immersive wedding campaign for The Drama with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson

Guest: Sophie Vershbow – Freelance journalist (New York Times, New York Magazine, Esquire), former social media lead at Random House (@SVershbow on Twitter/Instagram)

Then: Delve. The YC-backed compliance startup sold SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications to hundreds of startups — and now faces an anonymous Substack exposé alleging the audits were fraudulent. The CEO's response contradicted itself in a single statement. Investors quietly deleted their blog posts. Yury explains why shortcut-to-trust brands are the most fragile in any market, and why "AI-powered" is not a business model.

After that: Sora is dead. OpenAI shut it down after six months, $1M a day in losses, and — somehow — one hour's notice to Disney. Yury's take on why OpenAI's Series B scrappiness and its $100B data center ambitions are fundamentally incompatible when you have institutional partners.

And to close: Yury's State of Media Report 2026. The middle tier of tech media is getting squeezed out. Getting on TBPN is now harder than TechCrunch. And the funding round is the last thing a journalist wants to lead with. Sonia and Yury walk through what it actually takes to get coverage in 2026.

00:00 Project Hail Mary, Artemis II & Optimism as a Content Strategy

15:00 Delve: The $300M Compliance Catastrophe

28:00 Sora Is Dead (and Disney Found Out One Hour Before You Did)

33:30 State of Media 2026 & How to Actually Pitch Press

Yury Molodtsov is a partner at MA Family, a PR firm behind campaigns for JetBrains, Miro, and Flipper Zero. He publishes the State of Media Report, an annual breakdown of how press coverage and the media industry are shifting.

This week Sonia sits down with Chi Tuckerel (Head of Social at Beehive, formerly ran Dunkin's social) to break down why AI is losing trust with consumers, how Miley Cyrus willed the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special into existence by promoting it before Disney even agreed to it (stealing a trick from Dolly Parton), and how Beehive is winning creators over from Substack and ConvertKit by elevating user stories instead of just product features.

The big thesis: your voice is your competitive advantage—don't outsource it to AI. Gen Z is rejecting AI-generated content because it feels fake. Hatchet's author lost her book deal because readers felt betrayed. Yahoo brought Cardi B in to make their product relatable instead of leaning on AI marketing speak. Miley used her own platform to build hype and force Disney's hand. And Beehive's strategy is all about amplifying creators' voices, not just showcasing the top 1%. Craft, authenticity, and lived experience are what separate great marketing from AI slop.

We're talking about:

• K-pop Demon Hunters Oscar win: Best Original Song and why McDonald's knows how to tap into culture at the right time

• Project Hail Mary's tech optimism: Record box office, science and technology as hopeful (not dystopian), and why audiences want to root for progress that benefits humanity

• Gen Z's immune response to AI: 78% can identify AI-generated images, CTR dropping 40%, companies switching back to real product photos, and why trust is the new brand risk

• Hatchet Book Group pulling Shy Girl: Weeks of online speculation about AI use, author admitting a contractor may have used AI without her knowledge, readers editing positive reviews to retract support, and why "the contractor did it" isn't a defense anymore

• Retroactive betrayal as a brand risk: Audiences changing their opinion after discovering AI involvement, Goodreads reviews being edited, and why transparency matters more than perfection

• AI's bad PR problem: Dario from Anthropic saying all professional jobs will be gone in five years, layoffs being blamed on AI (even when it's overhiring corrections), and why leadership needs to stop threatening workers with replacement

• Yahoo's Cardi B campaign: "FOMSI" (Fear of Missing Something Important), launching their planner feature, Cardi as a relatable ambassador, and why celebrity endorsements work when they're authentic (not just transactional)

• Why Yahoo is winning on social: bringing craft and humor back, and making people care about Yahoo for the first time in 10 years

• Marketing AI as a feature is boring and why younger audiences don't care about AI as a selling point

• Miley Cyrus willing the Hannah Montana special into existence: Taking Dolly Parton's advice to promote before it exists, using her star power to build hype on red carpets, showing Disney the fan reactions, and forcing them to greenlight it in under four months

• Promote before you build: Pre-announcing creates demand, reactions become data to pitch leadership, and Miley made it impossible for Disney to say no without a cost

• Celebrities going direct to fans: Miley using her platform to make the special happen, Kristen Stewart buying a theater in LA and doing a PR tour, Sarah Michelle Gellar explaining why the Buffy reboot got canceled, and why stars are bypassing traditional PR

• Beehiiv's social strategy: Chi running the account, interacting with every creator who tags them (not just the top 1%), celebrating milestones/birthdays/writing streaks, and using merch codes to reward community members

• LA Material launch on Beehiiv: pricing tiers named after LA highways (the 10, 101, 405), and why new media companies are choosing platforms that empower creators over traditional publishing models

Timestamps

00:00 — K-Pop Demon Hunters: Oscar win + McDonald's collab

03:30 — AI's bad PR: Gen Z detecting AI images, Hachette's "Shy Girl" scandal

27:40 — Yahoo x Cardi B's FOMSI campaign

34:10 — Miley Cyrus wills the Hannah Montana special into existence

45:00 — Beehiiv's social strategy with Chi Thukral: Tyler's CEO persona, Washington Post response, LA Material launch

Chi Thukral is Head of Social at Beehiiv. Find her: @ChiThukral on LinkedIn / Twitter / Instagram

Follow Sonia: @SoniaBaschez

Subscribe to Meme Team: YouTube: @MemeTeamPod | TikTok & Spotify: @MemeTeamPodcast

Plus filmmaker Nina Lee (@NinaSerafina) joins to go deep on the Sinners marketing campaign, from Ryan Coogler's viral IMAX/Kodak video to fan cams, crew spotlights, and the social strategy behind one of the year's biggest films.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:16 ChatGPT uninstalls surge + the Pope vs. AI sermons

02:43 Netflix opens ad inventory to Amazon audiences

04:29 Disney/Hulu marketing problems and new CEO

06:32 Claude's Ambassador Program and organic growth strategy

18:28 Timothée Chalamet vs. ballet and opera / Marty Supreme campaign

30:58 Twitter exclusive threads and creator monetization

38:30 Sinners marketing deep dive with Nina Lee

1:00:19 Outro

ABOUT THE GUEST Nina Lee is an award-winning filmmaker and social media strategist who worked on campaigns for Sinners (dir. Ryan Coogler) and HBO Max. Find her on Twitter @NinaSerafina and Instagram @NinaSerafinaaaa.

SUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW YouTube: @MemeTeamPod Spotify & TikTok: @MemeTeamPodcast Host Sonia Baschez: @soniabaschez everywhere.

Sonia Baschez and guest Nic Allum (founder/CEO of Cultureland, an LA-based cultural strategy consultancy) break down five marketing moments that went sideways, what went wrong in each case, and the lessons brands should actually take from them.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro + Friend AI necklace ad controversy

5:30 OpenAI vs Anthropic: the Department of War contract and 1.5M user exodus

18:00 AMC Theatres premium seating backlash and the future of cinemas

32:00 McDonald's CEO Big Arch burger video fail (vs. Burger King's response)

42:00 H&M "New York" campaign: multi-generational casting and what's missing

49:30 Key takeaways and lessons for marketers

About the guest: Nic Allum is the founder and CEO of Cultureland, a cultural strategy consultancy based in Los Angeles that helps brands understand and connect with cultural moments.

Subscribe to The Meme Team Podcast for weekly breakdowns of the marketing strategies creating breakout cultural moments.

Connect with Nic Allum: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicallum | Substack: cultureland.substack.com Connect with Sonia Baschez: @SoniaBaschez everywhere | @MemeTeamPod on YouTube | @MemeTeamPodcast on Spotify and TikTok

This week Sonia sits down with Martin O'Leary (head of marketing at Tap Payments, writer of Uncharted newsletter) to break down ChatGPT's boring ad rollout, Google's Pomelli Photo Shoot AI tool turning product snapshots into studio-quality marketing images, F1's Netflix tie-in with Damson Idris, AMC's AI film controversy, and why Spotify's Bad Bunny Billions Club Live event is a masterclass in using CRM data to reward actual fans instead of chasing new customers.

The big thesis: craft still matters more than AI, but AI is abstracting complexity in ways that create new opportunities for builders. ChatGPT's ads prove OpenAI doesn't understand personalization yet. Google's Pomelli tool will make everyone's product photos look the same unless brands invest in distinctive assets. OpenClaw is bringing the future forward by letting one person build what used to require teams. And Spotify is doing what every brand sitting on CRM data should be doing: rewarding top fans with exclusive experiences instead of gating events for clout.

We're talking about:

• ChatGPT ads: Why they're underwhelming, lack of memory integration, missing personalization opportunities, and how they compare to Facebook's data trove

• F1's Netflix crossover: Damson Idris (star of the F1 movie) appearing in the Driver to Survive promo, Apple taking over F1 broadcasting, and Carlos Sainz acknowledging Thea (the girl who created Sparkles the unicorn mascot)

• Google Pomelli Photo Shoot: AI tool turning basic product photos into studio-quality marketing images, targeting e-commerce sellers, integrating with Google Ads and Merchant Center, and competing with Amazon and Shopify

• Why AI product photography risks: Reverting to the mean, losing brand differentiation, DoorDash's AI food photos looking too clean, and why craft + prompting beats automation alone

• Real estate using AI: Justine Moore's observation that realtors are early adopters, creating multiple views of homes (day/night/sunset/party mode), and why it works (showing aspirational living without hiring drone operators)

• OpenClaw phenomenon: Austrian developer Peter Ticksteinberger's open source AI agent, 200,000 GitHub stars, bidding war between Meta and OpenAI, normies buying Mac minis as "employees," and why it's the first AI tool exciting people outside the tech bubble

• How OpenClaw works: Persistent memory across conversations, soul.md and identity files for customization, integrations with Slack/WhatsApp/Telegram/Gmail, and why it's a chief of staff + EA + COO combined

• Designing for agents vs humans: Websites optimized for AI scraping (pricing, specs, structured data) vs brand storytelling, billboards becoming prompts for humans to prompt their agents, and why real-world activations (Super Bowl, Olympics, World Cup) will matter more

• Spotify's Bad Bunny Billions Club Live: Invite-only Tokyo show for top listeners, leveraging Bad Bunny's 28 tracks in the Billions Club, rewarding actual fans instead of gating for clout, and why more brands should use their CRM data this way

• CRM data goldmines: Banks, cable companies, phone companies rewarding new customers over loyal ones, why discount codes only support churners or new users, and flipping the model to reward top fans with exclusive experiences

• AMC AI film controversy: Igor Farov's Thanksgiving short made with Gemini Nano Banana Pro, Screen Vision competition, backlash over AI-generated work in cinemas, and the craft vs livelihood debate (echoes of Snow White in 1937, animation not in Oscars until 2002, Luddites protecting livelihoods not rejecting technology)

• Sam Altman's bad week: Responding to Anthropic's Super Bowl ad with an essay (if you're explaining you're losing), saying humans need training too (tone-deaf in America), and why OpenAI needs a designated hater

• The designated hater thesis: Every company needs someone independent and well-paid whose only job is to say "do not release that crap" (McDonald's AI Christmas ad, Coca-Cola AI disaster, Mount Rushmore metaphor)

Plus: Why F1 movie sequels are in production, Martin's theory that OpenClaw agents will game Spotify's top listener algorithm, and the Don Draper "I don't think about you at all" moment OpenAI should've had with Anthropic

This week Sonia is joined by Trishla Oswal, AI and tech reporter at Adweek, to talk through A24's playbook, Frida Baby's sexual innuendo backlash, the Chase Sapphire x Whoop partnership, and Kalshi vs. Polymarket's competing free grocery stunts in NYC.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:17 - Ring/Amazon pulls Flock Safety integration after Super Bowl backlash

5:49 - Surveillance, privacy, and tech companies giving in to government pressure

7:00 - Fathom Entertainment's 2026 big screen classics lineup

8:42 - A24's immersive wedding campaign for "The Drama"

12:24 - World building in movie marketing and why A24 is beating Disney

21:46 - Frida Baby backlash: sexual innuendo meets baby products

27:25 - Reading the room and why silence makes it worse

31:00 - Chase Sapphire x Whoop partnership

35:25 - Is Whoop the right brand for Chase to partner with?

39:46 - Kalshi vs. Polymarket "grocery wars" in NYC 47:29 - Pop-up culture and prediction market regulation

50:06 - Takeaways and lessons learned

55:41 - Where to find Trishla

Guest: Trishla Oswal is an AI and tech reporter at Adweek covering the intersection of technology, advertising, and culture.

This week we go through every major Super Bowl ad and figure out what worked, what flopped, and what it tells us about where marketing is headed. Marcus breaks down why Anthropic's ad felt like "they were in the group chat" while OpenAI's Codex spot was so abstract most people didn't even know it was OpenAI. We talk about Levi's making their first Super Bowl appearance in over 20 years with "Backstories," a spot that featured nothing but celebrity butts and the red tab. It somehow managed to be the only ad that night where the brand outshined the celebrities. Think Apple's iPod silhouette ads but for jeans.

We get into Coinbase's Backstreet Boys karaoke spot that USA Today gave an F and had people literally flipping off their TVs. But Marcus makes a case that they "broke the brief," and that breaking the traditional Super Bowl ad format is the only way to cut through now that expectations have gotten impossibly high. We talk about Ring Camera's lost dog ad backfiring into a full surveillance state backlash (they're finding one dog per day, Marcus did the math), Google Gemini playing it safe with their closed ecosystem approach, and why movie trailers like Scream 7 and Netflix's surprise Cliff Booth spinoff cut through harder than most of the actual ads.

We also get into my Monsters Inc theory of marketing. We're stuck on the scare floor right now, trying to make people angry or afraid to get engagement. But the laugh floor generates just as much energy. Marcus backs it up with Jonah Berger's research on why we share: biologically, anger and joy trigger the exact same physical response. It's the boring middle where people do nothing.

We wrap with why monoculture events are expanding beyond the Super Bowl. The Olympics in LA in 2028, the World Cup this year, F1 races where AI companies like Google and Perplexity are already attaching themselves to teams. If you're a marketer or a founder trying to figure out where brand advertising is going, this one's for you.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro 0:23 - OpenAI vs Anthropic/Claude: The Super Bowl AI Ad War

4:10 - Market Leaders vs Challengers: The Drake vs Pusha T Rule

18:27 - The Monsters Inc Theory of Marketing

24:25 - Levi's "Backstories": Celebrity Butts and the Red Tab

32:00 - Coinbase Backstreet Boys: USA Today's Only F

40:36 - Google Gemini: Safe Play or Missed Opportunity?

44:57 - Ring Camera: How to Accidentally Advertise a Surveillance State

56:54 - Super Bowl Movie Trailers: Who Showed Up and Who Didn't

1:10:27 - Takeaways: Break the Brief & the Future of Monoculture Events

ABOUT THE GUEST: Dr. Marcus Collins is a marketing professor at the University of Michigan School of Business, bestselling author of "For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be," and co-host of the podcast "From the Culture." He's spent his career making ads for brands like Nike and Apple, and was named one of Advertising Age's 40 Under 40. Follow him: @marctothec

The big thesis: brand wars are back, and they're funnier than ever. Anthropic spent millions to dunk on OpenAI's ad strategy with satirical "what we won't do" spots. Pepsi dragged Coke's polar bear (and AI Christmas ad) through the mud with craft storytelling and a Coldplay cheating meme. Disney chose a parks CEO over a content executive, signaling experiences are the new moat. And Kellogg's spending Super Bowl money on Raisin Bran fiber jokes proves GLP-1s are reshaping food marketing.

We're talking about:

• Anthropic's "Claude Cerebral" Super Bowl ads: $7-8M spend to announce they're NOT doing ads (with a caveat), satirical AI prompts serving cringey sponsors (height-boosting insoles, cougar dating apps), and Dr. Dre's "The Difference" as the ultimate OpenAI diss track

• Why Anthropic's positioning themselves as the ethical AI: Mac vs. PC energy, "we're not like OpenAI" messaging, luxury creative audience targeting, and the transparency play ("if we change our mind, we'll tell you")

• Pepsi's Coke polar bear heist: No AI (direct shot at Coke's AI Christmas disaster), Coldplay cheating meme integration, therapist couch reveal, craft storytelling over AI slop, and reviving the Pepsi Challenge

• Brand wars as positioning strategy: Anthropic vs. OpenAI, Pepsi vs. Coke, crowded markets forcing brands to stake territory by calling out what they won't do

• Wellness invades Super Bowl: Kellogg's Raisin Bran (first Super Bowl ad in 15 years), William Shatner poop jokes, GLP-1s reshaping food trends, fiber searches up 70%, and gut health as the new protein

• Why Raisin Bran is risky: Celebrity ads = brand recall vs. product recall, proof vs. promise (Shatner's health as evidence fiber works), and competing with protein cereal startups

• Disney's CEO pick signals experience-first future: Josh Damaro (parks CEO) over Dana Walden (content president), Disney Experiences worth $205B vs. content's $47B, Bluey Disneyland announcement, and AI as "always second to human creativity"

• Disney's luxury pivot: Pricing families out vs. widening access, competing with ski trips and Europe vacations, perpetual engagement loops (Moana movie → doll → park → hotel → Moana 2), and Netflix can't build theme parks in decades

• Stripe Press's "Maintenance of Everything" rollout: Patches, rags, Kintsugi-inspired book design, influencer gifting, and craft as marketing moat

• Sydney Sweeney's Siren rebrand disaster: Sweetgreen logo vibes, "is it Siren or Third?" confusion, bra fit criticism, detached "no apology" messaging, and men vs. women reading the launch completely differently

• Granola's rebrand miss: Vomit green, Dreamcast swirl logo, "we spent hours on this" admission backfiring, and rebranding too early when traction is just building

Plus: Why Monster's Inc marketing theory (laughter beats screams) is dominating Super Bowl 2025, Budweiser's nostalgia play, and how Ro's Serena Williams ad fits the GLP-1 wellness trend

guest: Jiya Jaisingh – Fractional marketer and communicator with 10+ years in health and social impact (LinkedIn: Jiya Jaisingh, website: jiyajaisingh.com)

marketing takeaways:

1. Use competitor missteps as positioning opportunities (Anthropic leveraging OpenAI's ads, Pepsi dunking on Coke's AI)

2. Staking what you won't do is a position in crowded markets (Anthropic's "no ads" stance attracts luxury creative users)

3. Transparency buys goodwill for future pivots (Anthropic's "we'll tell you if we change" caveat)

4. Humor beats rage bait—Monster's Inc theory wins (Anthropic, Pepsi, Raisin Bran all going comedic)

5. Craft storytelling cuts through AI slop (Pepsi's real polar bear vs. Coke's AI disaster)

6. Disrupt category expectations (wellness brands crashing junk food's biggest event)

7. Proof beats promise in health marketing (Shatner's vitality vs "fiber will help you")

8. Experiences are undervalued brand moats (Disney betting $205B parks business over $47B content)

9. Perpetual engagement loops = no off-ramps (Disney's Moana universe across movies, parks, merch, hotels)

10. Know your ICP before launching (Sydney Sweeney's Siren confused men and women, no clear target)

11. Don't rebrand when you're just gaining traction (Granola's vomit green misstep)

12. Cultural trends reshape categories fast (GLP-1s forcing food brands to pivot to wellness)

The big thesis: video is eating everything, but evolution kills platforms faster than brands. Substack's adding TV despite writer backlash. Mamdani's turning local government into video content. The Post is importing tabloid energy to LA. Timothée Chalamet's Oscar nom proves sustained campaigns beat one-off moments. And all of them are wrestling with the same tension—preserve your identity or chase growth.

We're talking about:

• Oscars 2025: Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme nomination, A24's $120M+ domestic box office record, why Hollywood insiders are rewarding movie marketing and indie craft, and F1's technical innovation nods

• Apple's awards strategy: Why technical mastery (not just storytelling) is their differentiator from Netflix and Warner Bros

• IMAX theater expansion: Do premium experiences justify higher ticket prices? Is dynamic pricing the solution?

• Southwest's brand suicide: Eliminating open seating and free checked bags after private equity buyout, losing their only differentiator against United/Delta, and the budget airline death spiral (Spirit bankruptcy)

• Substack TV launch: Shifting from "home for long-form writing" to "home for the best long-form work," TikTok-style feed, video posts, and why they're speedrunning the creator monetization playbook

• Substack's ad problem: December 2025 sponsored ads rollout, creators managing their own sponsors, and why video without monetization makes no sense (YouTube wins by default)

• Platform vs. brand evolution: Why writers are mad at Substack for adding video, but the New York Post gets celebrated for expanding to California

• Heated Rivalry phenomenon: HBO's queer hockey romance hitting escape velocity, straight men posting TikTok reactions, stars carrying the Olympic torch in Milan, and why escapism + representation + great timing = cultural moment

• Why Heated Rivalry works: Intersecting queer romance + professional hockey, female and queer audiences as jet fuel for pop culture, straight male viewership driven by emotional intelligence and sports authenticity, and NHL welcoming women to games (Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce playbook)

• Zohran Mamdani's video blitz: Snow removal, public bathroom openings, pre-K classes, sanitation content, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and why competency porn beats political theater

• Crisis comms as brand building: Over-communicating and using expected failure as a spotlight on city employees

• New York Post's California expansion: Eight-week rollout, billboards in SF and LA, Yeasty Boys food truck wraps, coffee sleeve promos, and whether conservative tabloid energy translates to Silicon Valley's rightward shift

• Media landscape shifts: LA Times dominance threatened, Page Six celebrity gossip tailored for Hollywood, Dodgers welcoming the Post (owner is mega Trump donor), and whether this is a profit play or a political mouthpiece

• Why the Post's rollout missed: Marketing written by New Yorkers for Californians, lack of video strategy, and whether readers want California coverage or New York politics refracted through conservative lens

Plus: Why Monster's Inc is a marketing metaphor (laughter beats screams)

Guest: Mark Stenberg – Senior media reporter at Adweek, author of On Background newsletter (@markstenberg3 on all platforms)

Marketing takeaways:

1. Video is non-negotiable—Substack, Mamdani, and HBO all betting on it (even when core audiences resist)

2. Platforms face more friction than brands when evolving (Substack writers vs. New York Post expansion reception)

3. Sustained campaigns beat one-off moments (Timothy Chalamet's months-long Oscar push paid off)

4. Competency porn works—showcase the work being done, not just the outcomes (Mamdani's snow removal TikToks)

5. Over-communicate during crises to turn expected failure into brand wins (Mamdani using attention to spotlight city employees)

6. Escapism + representation + timing = cultural phenomenon (Heated Rivalry during hockey season, Winter Olympics, geopolitical bleakness)

7. Female and queer audiences are pop culture jet fuel—don't ignore them (NHL learning from NFL's Taylor Swift moment)

8. Brand differentiation is sacred—don't sacrifice it for short-term revenue (Southwest losing open seating)

9. Positive emotions are more sustainable than rage bait (Monster's Inc Marketing Theory)

10. If you're expanding a brand, preserve voice but tailor execution (New York Post's California challenge)

The big thesis: attention isn't enough—you need the right attention, in the right format, at the right time. Twitter's chasing Substack instead of fixing moderation. Webflow's satirizing AI hallucinations with a punchable-faced character. Netflix is turning celebrities into content creators and building experiential tarot pop-ups. DoorDash is ditching the $7M Super Bowl ad for integrated social campaigns. All of them are fighting for the same thing: sustained engagement, not fleeting impressions.

We're talking about:

• Twitter's $1M long-form content prize: Why it's the wrong pivot, UK revenue down 58%, Substack already owns this space, and why moderation (not content length) is the real advertiser concern

• Webflow's AI Guy campaign: Personifying flawed AI with a "punchable face," satirizing hallucinations and LLM jazz, why it's social-first, and how they're building a liminal world of characters (not just one-off ads)

• Netflix's tarot campaign: Teyana Taylor's 4-minute film featuring 10 show worlds (Bridgerton, Avatar, Stranger Things), 104M owned social impressions, Grand Central pop-up, custom tarot cards, and capitalizing on the Secret 9th Episode conspiracy

• DoorDash skipping Super Bowl 60: Strategic pivot to social campaigns, competitors Uber Eats and Instacart running spots, and why $7M ads are door openers (not destinations) unless you nail the second-screen experience

• Why Twitter's identity crisis is killing it: Long-form content doesn't fit the platform, threads hit 400M users, and Elon's algorithm whims are driving creators to Substack

• Webflow's casting process: Finding Richie Moriardi (CBS's Ghosts), the "punchable face" brief, and why improv masters make better brand characters than scripted actors

• Netflix's multi-touch strategy: Why the hero film is just the opener—experiential pop-ups, custom merch, and social extensions are where the ROI lives

• Super Bowl ads as conversation starters: Serova's Michael Cera campaign, Instacart's Dumois teasers, and why the drum beat matters more than the 30-second spot

• World-building as brand strategy: Salesforce's Astro and Cody characters, Webflow's liminal space, and why personification creates community (not just awareness)

Plus: Why Claude is the ethical AI people are loyal to, how Stripe and Ramp are stealing movie marketing playbooks, and why craft beats AI slop when you're trying to stand out

marketing takeaways:

1. Know your brand identity—don't chase trends that don't fit your platform (Twitter forcing long-form is a miss)

2. Satirize the pain point, don't ignore it (Webflow's AI Guy makes hallucinations relatable)

3. Build worlds, not one-off campaigns (Salesforce's Astro/Cody, Webflow's liminal space, Netflix's tarot universe)

4. Integrated strategies beat isolated tactics—hero video is the opener, not the destination

5. Super Bowl ads are door openers—you still need the second-screen social strategy to win

6. Use strategic decisions as marketing moments (DoorDash announcing they're skipping Super Bowl got them more press)

7. Steal from other industries, not your competitors (Ramp's CFO in a box = Severance's Apple TV stunt)

8. Personify your product's flaws to make them relatable (AI Guy is overconfident and wrong, just like real AI)

9. Experiential + merch = lasting brand equity (Netflix's tarot cards, Timothy Chalamet's jackets)

10. Listen to your audience—they're telling you what they want (Twitter users want moderation, not newsletters)

We're talking about:

• Netflix's power play: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's viral interview, the historic profit-sharing deal for 1,200 crew members, and why Netflix is betting on video podcasts (Ringer, Barstool, iHeart exclusives)

• DoorDash's fake scandal: How an anonymous post alleging "desperation scores" went viral, why people believed it, and how CEO Tony Xu's rapid-fire response across all channels killed the narrative before it became a meme

• Shopify's UCP announcement: Toby Lütke going direct on Twitter to explain Universal Commerce Protocol, using his MRI scan tweet to prove he's deep in AI, and why founder-led comms beats corporate accounts

• Tailwind CSS's $2M turnaround: How AI killed 35% of their revenue, the founder's authentic podcast confession, and why Google, Vercel, and others stepped in to sponsor them without being asked

• Why Netflix is diversifying into podcasts, using celebrities as content creators, and positioning itself as YouTube's biggest competitor (not HBO or Disney)

• The precedent-setting artist equity deal: How Affleck and Damon forced Netflix to share real numbers for the first time, and what it means for Hollywood's future

• AI-generated evidence as the new crisis threat: Fake Uber Eats badges, 18-page science papers, and why journalists are struggling to verify leaks in the AI era

• Building in public when things go wrong: Why authenticity during failure builds more trust than celebrating wins

Plus: Why Leonardo DiCaprio is doing podcasts now and how Emily Henry (romance author) became Netflix's secret marketing weapon

guest: Yury Molodtsov – Partner at MA Family (@y_molodtsov on Twitter/X, molodtsov.me)

marketing takeaways:

1. Own the asset, don't rent attention (Netflix using celebrities, authors, podcast hosts as content creators)

2. Move fast in a crisis—DoorDash killed the fake scandal in hours by going CEO-first across all channels

3. Founder accounts are superior to corporate accounts (Toby's MRI tweet became a trend, Shopify's UCP announcement got more reach)

4. Authenticity during failure builds trust (Tailwind's podcast confession turned into $2M in sponsorships)

5. Infrastructure plays beat feature wars (Shopify positioning as the rails for AI commerce, not building another assistant)

6. Manage reputation proactively—people will believe negative stories about you if you've burned goodwill

7. AI-generated evidence is the new crisis threat (fake badges, fake papers—journalists can't verify leaks the old way anymore)

8. If you ask for money you get advice, if you ask for advice you get money (Tailwind didn't ask, community showed up anyway)

9. Building in public works both ways—share the struggles, not just the wins

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Welcome and Introducing Yuri Molotsov from M.A. Family
• 00:00:19 Netflix's Content Diversification: The Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Interview Strategy
• 00:03:03 Netflix's Groundbreaking Profit-Sharing Deal with Artist Equity
• 00:05:06 Netflix Transparency and the Hollywood Power Dynamics Shift
• 00:07:55 Content Marketing Lessons: Storytelling Over Product Features
• 00:09:49 Netflix's Big Bet on Video Podcasts
• 00:16:31 The DoorDash Fake Scandal: When AI-Generated Evidence Goes Viral
• 00:17:25 DoorDash's Crisis Response and the Reputation Problem
• 00:18:46 AI-Generated Misinformation and the Future of Corporate Scandals
• 00:25:35 Shopify's Universal Commerce Protocol: Toby Lutke's AI Commerce Vision
• 00:26:56 The Power of CEO-Led Communications: Toby Lutke's Twitter Strategy
• 00:31:29 Tailwind's Two Million Dollar Turnaround Story
• 00:33:18 Authenticity as a Viral Strategy: When Vulnerability Becomes Strength
• 00:37:16 Building in Public: The Good, The Bad, and The Authentic
• 00:40:45 Key Takeaways: Content Ownership, Reputation Management, and Authenticity

• 00:00-14:25 — Netflix's content play: Matt Damon/Ben Affleck interview, profit-sharing deal for 1,200 crew, video podcast strategy (Ringer, Barstool, iHeart), Emily Henry as marketing asset

• 14:25-32:26 — DoorDash fake scandal: Anonymous "desperation score" post, CEO Tony Xu's crisis response, AI-generated evidence, why people believed it

• 32:26-44:10 — Shopify's UCP announcement: Toby Lütke going direct on Twitter, MRI scan tweet, agentic commerce bet, founder-led comms vs corporate accounts

• 44:10-end — Tailwind CSS $2M turnaround: AI killing 35% revenue, founder's authentic podcast moment, Google/Vercel sponsorships, building in public during failure, key takeaways

The big thesis: attention-at-any-cost marketing is dying. Rage bait burns goodwill (see: Cluely, Friend AI). Empathy wins. Nostalgia works. Craft beats AI slop. And brands that give audiences a voice—not just content to scroll past—are the ones building lasting equity.

We're talking about:

• Grok's AI image scandal: non-consensual deepfakes of women and children, Elon's tone-deaf response, and why the UK government had to step in

• Polymarket refusing to pay users who bet on Venezuela invasion—and what it reveals about who gets to decide "truth"

• Chevrolet's "Memory Lane" holiday ad: 778K YouTube views, organic TikTok reactions, and why nostalgia + empathy = sustainable brand love

• Stranger Things finale backlash: Duffer Brothers leaving plot holes, fans writing their own endings, and the Game of Thrones-level risk of letting down your community

• Cadillac F1's Hot Ones strategy: using YouTube influencers over traditional press to reach younger American audiences (5-10M views per episode)

• Why gambling proliferation is a societal red flag: athletes getting harassed, people betting on recessions, and dopamine addiction replacing empathy

• The pendulum swing coming in 2026: analog, craft, experiential, and emotional marketing replacing AI slop and Machiavellian tactics

• Monsters Inc as a marketing metaphor: laughter (positive emotion) generates more sustainable energy than screams (rage bait)

Plus: Why Netflix theatrical windows matter, how Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme campaign proved experiential beats traditional ads, and Christina's plea for Budweiser Clydesdales at the Super Bowl.

guest: Christina Garnett – Author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships, community strategist, fandom marketing expert (@ThatChristinaG on Twitter/LinkedIn/Threads)

guest perspective: Christina brings deep fandom + community lens—talks Stranger Things conspiracy theories, why rage bait conditions audiences for the worst behavior, gambling as dopamine farming, and the sociological shift from treating humans as NPCs to rebuilding empathy. She's bullish on analog, nostalgic, and emotionally intelligent marketing and wants brands to stop rewarding bad actors.

marketing takeaways:

1. Empathy beats rage bait for long-term brand equity (Chevy's nostalgia ad vs. Clueless burning goodwill)

2. Positive emotions are more sustainable than negative ones (Monsters Inc laughter is better than screams)

3. Create annual traditions people look forward to (Chevy holiday ads, Budweiser Clydesdales, Stripe activations)

4. Go where your audience is—not where you want them to be (Hot Ones, podcasts, YouTube over the traditional press)

5. Personality beats credentials (Cadillac letting Bottas wear American Speedos, F1 drivers on Hot Ones)

6. Fandom is co-creation—give your audience a voice or risk losing them (Stranger Things fan theories, AO3 rewrites)

7. Craft, analog, and experiential marketing cut through AI slop (theatrical experiences, merch drops, breadcrumb campaigns)

8. Don't let the loudest voices pivot your whole product—but listen enough to build buy-in

9. Month-long campaigns beat one-day launches (movie promo playbook applies to tech: teasers, influencers, premieres, method dressing)

• 00:00-06:38 — Yellow Card x Good Charlotte collab, millennial nostalgia, 21 Pilots TikTok lore, analog comeback

• 06:38-23:35 — Grok AI scandal: non-consensual deepfakes, child exploitation, Elon's bikini response, UK government intervention

• 23:35-32:26 — Polymarket refusing Venezuela invasion payouts, who decides truth, gambling as recession indicator

• 32:26-44:10 — Chevrolet \"Memory Lane\" ad: 778K views, nostalgia + empathy, annual traditions, McDonald's vs. Chevy

• 44:10-55:25 — Stranger Things finale backlash: Duffer Brothers leaving plot holes, Vecna Lives conspiracy, fandom co-creation risks

• 55:25-end — Cadillac F1 Hot Ones strategy, Leonardo DiCaprio on New Heights, month-long campaigns, takeaways + where to find Christina

In this episode, Sonia and the team cover:

• Marty Supreme / Timothée Chalamet (w/ Mark Stenberg) – The lookalike contest, the Statue of Liberty stunt, and meta-marketing done right.

• Stripe's Black Friday Mini City (w/ Kushaan Shah & Amanda Natividad) – A handmade, 8-foot miniature city with 15 buildings, live-streamed over 24 hours. Why craft beats AI.

• Morgan Wallen's Tour Announcement (w/ Cristin Culver) – Morse code Easter eggs, coordinated stadium social posts, and a masterclass in knowing your fans.

• Zohran Mamdani's NYC Scavenger Hunt (w/ Amanda Natividad & Martin O'Leary) – How a political campaign got 2,000+ people to show up for chai and a selfie.

• Astronomer + Gwyneth Paltrow (w/ Amanda Natividad) – How Maximum Effort turned a kiss cam disaster into a viral comeback.

Plus: Why Ramp and Stripe are making fintech exciting, what Coca-Cola got wrong with their AI Christmas ad, and the through-line across every great campaign this year—getting people to participate, not just watch.

0:00 – Intro: Why we're doing an awards show

1:35 – Marty Supreme / Timothée Chalamet

17:12 – Stripe's Black Friday Mini City

32:26 – Morgan Wallen's Stadium Tour Rollout

41:18 – Zohran Mamdani's Scavenger Hunt

44:10 – Astronomer + Gwyneth Paltrow

We're talking about:

• Why Amazon shipped a $99 Advent calendar in custom foam inserts (and what that signals about their beauty ambitions)

• The end of de minimis tax and how it's reshaping K-beauty imports, counterfeits, and brand trust

• Sephora's loyalty program collapse: why 500-point rewards vanished and millennials are jumping ship

• Costco's rotating J-beauty drops, Trader Joe's SKU ruthlessness, and the rise of "box season"

• Amazon vs. Sephora vs. Saks Fifth Avenue: who's nailing the unboxing experience (and who's phoning it in)

• How Amazon's using logistics mastery to court American beauty brands—and whether they'll share customer data

• The millennial beauty gap: why there's no one merchandising to women in their 30s and 40s

• Gen Z's plastic surgery trend, buccal fat removal regrets, and whether "aggressively natural" is the next aesthetic shift

Plus: Why full-size beats samples, how TikTok unboxings are the new product review, and what gourmand fragrances have to do with Ozempic.

guest: Julie Fredrickson – Managing Partner at Chaotic Capital, retail expert, beauty substack writer (@almost_media on Twitter/X, nicepackaging.substack.com)

guest perspective: Julie brings deep retail and merchandising expertise—breaks down SKU strategy, 3PL logistics, counterfeit challenges, and why Amazon hiring Christine Beauchamp (former Ann Taylor) signals they're serious about taste. She's skeptical of Sephora's down-market shift and bullish on craft packaging as brand positioning.

marketing takeaways:

1. Packaging = brand promise (Amazon's custom inserts telegraphed \"we're luxury-ready\")

2. Curation beats assortment (12 full-size K-beauty products is better than 24 Sephora samples)

3. Loyalty programs die when you pull rewards from top spenders (Sephora's 500-point disaster)

4. Use operations as marketing (Amazon's 3PL pitch to beauty brands = trust signal)

5. Sampling tiers matter: trial vs mini vs full-size creates different conversion paths

6. TikTok unboxings are your real product reviews—design for that moment

7. Tastemaker positioning requires constant curation (Sephora lost it, Amazon's claiming it)

We're talking about:

• Why McDonald's pulled their AI ad in 24 hours (and why Disney chose the worst week to announce their OpenAI deal)

• "Slop" being named word of the year and what that says about 2025

• Substack launching sponsorships after years of being ad-free—is the dream over?

• Pinterest Predicts 2026 vs. Pantone's boring white color choice

• The viral WSJ article about chief storytellers and why AI can't replace human narrative

• A24's fake engagement announcement and Spielberg's cryptic Times Square billboard

• Kim Kardashian x Fortnite: actually genius or completely unhinged?

Plus: actionable takeaways for marketers trying to cut through the noise.

1. 00:40 – McDonald's AI Ad Disaster & Disney-OpenAI Partnership

2. 03:46 – 2025 Words of the Year (Slop, Rage Bait, Parasocial)

3. 05:12 – J.Crew Pop-Up & the Rise of Experiential Marketing

4. 07:38 – Substack Launches Ads: The End of Ad-Free Newsletters?

5. 19:22 – 2026 Trend Reports: Pinterest Predicts vs. Pantone's Flop

6. 24:30 – Chief Storytellers: Why Companies Are Hiring for "Vibes"

7. 36:30 – Movie Marketing Masterclass: A24's Fake Engagement & Spielberg's Mystery Billboard

8. 41:51 – Kim Kardashian x Fortnite: Genius or Chaos?

9. 49:55 – Marketing Takeaways Recap

The spotify wrapped vs granola crunched comparison is the meat of it—spotify's getting 500M shares but losing trust bc people think the data's cooked and taylor swift's juicing the numbers. granola launched a privacy-first year-end review that actually felt accurate and personal, proving that substance beats viral metrics for long-term brand equity. they tie this into nvidia hiring a merch director and palantir's cult following, arguing that founder personality + quality merch = walking billboards that signal community membership (the "if you know you know" factor).

Closes on rage bait marketing being a dead-end strategy despite easy engagement. paul graham called it scammer shit, and they show how companies like clueless and friend ai burned goodwill chasing attention instead of building product. the counterpoint: wholesome marketing, craft, and participatory events (percy jackson's fountain billboard, stripe's mini-city) are winning bc people are exhausted from doom scrolling. big thesis: attention economy thinking misses that not all attention is equal—optimize for trust and positive emotion, not just impressions.

• F1 Marketing Moves (00:01 - 09:14): Cadillac F1's Super Bowl livery reveal strategy, Apple TV's F1 deal, and Carlos Sainz's wholesome unicorn helmet story

• Spotify Wrapped vs Granola Crunch (14:04 - 26:37): Why Spotify's losing trust while Granola nails year-end reviews

• Merch as Marketing Strategy (29:24 - 43:00): Nvidia hiring a merch director, Palantir's cult following, and why founder personality matters

• Out of Home Evolution (44:16 - 52:30): Percy Jackson's fountain billboard and creating participatory marketing events

• The Rage Bait Problem (55:25 - 1:22:48): Paul Graham weighs in, why companies like Clueless are burning goodwill for engagement

The episode dives deep into Shopify's multi-channel BFCM strategy: Harvey Finkelstein's Twitter thread crowdsourcing merchant recs, a TBPN-sponsored broadcast featuring brand founders live, and projecting their real-time sales dashboard onto the Las Vegas Sphere. Then they dissect Stripe's hand-built miniature city live stream—15 buildings, motorized trains, 100+ customer Easter eggs, zero AI—and why unscalable activations create more buzz than Super Bowl ads.

They also tackle Target's flat Stranger Things partnership (retro Doritos vs. Aldo's exclusive heels), the shift from desktop to mobile shopping enabling impulse buys, why 67% of BNPL users don't plan to pay on time, U.S. credit scores dropping for the first time in a decade, and what all of this means for marketers trying to win attention in 2024.

key topics:

• Shopify's Black Friday strategy: Harvey Finkelstein Twitter thread, TBPN broadcast with founders, Las Vegas Sphere activation

• Stripe's hand-built miniature city live stream (craft vs. AI, customer Easter eggs, model makers)

• Black Friday 2024 breaks records: $14.2B spending (up 6%), first-ever $1 trillion holiday season

• Buy-now-pay-later explosion: $1B+ in BNPL volume, 67% don't plan to pay within terms, worst kind of debt

• U.S. credit scores dropping: largest decline since Great Recession, high interest rates + inflation + student loans

• Mobile overtakes desktop for shopping: impulse buys, Instagram ads, always-on commerce

• Target's Stranger Things partnership falls flat: retro Doritos, generic merch, missed experiential opportunity

• Aldo's Stranger Things heels as a better brand collab example (exclusivity, task-oriented shopping)

• Why unscalable = memorable: Stripe, Ramp, Anthropic pop-ups vs. traditional B2B ads

• Craft as brand positioning: Stripe Press, Apple's glass logo, Barbour's Wallace & Gromit vs. Coca-Cola AI

• Making customers your marketers: organic reach, spotlight merchants, extend activation shelf life

guest: Kushaan Shah - Lifestyle Marketing at Superhuman (formerly Grammarly), writer on Substack (@kushaanshah on Twitter/X)

guest perspective: Kushaan brings a B2B SaaS lens—talks about TBPN as the new TechCrunch, brand halo effects, task-oriented behavior vs. high-traffic browsing, and why happy customers extend marketing ROI. He's bullish on experiential unscalable activations and skeptical of partnerships that don't create unique value (Target/Stranger Things). Also shares insights on Superhuman's rebrand from Grammarly and building an end-to-end productivity suite.

marketing takeaways:

1. Spotlight your customers—they'll extend your reach organically (Shopify merchants, Stripe's customer Easter eggs)

2. Unscalable beats scalable when everything looks like AI slop (hand-built city vs digital renders)

3. Craft = brand positioning in the AI era (Stripe Press, Apple glass, live-streamed model making)

4. Brand partnerships need unique value, not just co-branding (Aldo exclusive heels vs Target retro Doritos)

5. B2B can be experiential and cultural (Ramp's Kevin stunt, Stripe City, TBBPN as status symbol)

6. Mobile-first = impulse-first; design for task vs. browse behavior

7. YOLO/FOMO marketing: create experiences people can't miss, not just products they can buy later

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Welcome and Introducing Kushan Shah from Superhuman
• 00:02:19 Shopify's Black Friday Takeover on TBPN
• 00:07:03 Shopify's Las Vegas Sphere Activation
• 00:11:22 Black Friday Shopping Records and Economic Trends
• 00:12:27 The Rise of Buy Now Pay Later and Consumer Debt
• 00:17:00 Mobile Shopping Revolution
• 00:21:45 Amazon vs Shopify: The Battle for E-commerce
• 00:25:39 Stripe's Miniature City Campaign
• 00:34:55 The Value of Craft in Marketing
• 00:39:29 B2B Marketing Doesn't Have to Be Boring
• 00:41:06 Stranger Things x Target Partnership Analysis
• 00:48:08 What Makes Effective Brand Partnerships
• 00:59:05 Key Takeaways for Marketers

• 00:00-02:51 — Intro + Kushan on Superhuman rebrand (Grammarly → productivity suite)

• 02:51-14:25 — Shopify's BFCM blitz: TBBPN broadcast, Harvey's Twitter thread, Las Vegas Sphere

• 14:25-23:38 — Black Friday spending records, buy-now-pay-later explosion, credit score collapse

• 23:38-42:01 — Stripe's hand-built miniature city: craft vs. AI, live stream, customer Easter eggs, B2B experiential marketing

• 42:01-end — Target's Stranger Things partnership critique, Aldo heels as better example, key takeaways + where to find Kushan

main thesis: communities beat celebrities, craft beats slop, and giving your audience a voice beats shouting at them with ads.

key topics:

• timothée's marty supreme marketing turning movie promo into cultural participation

• apple tv fumbling pluribus marketing despite vince gilligan attachment

• hulu's qr code apples for abbott elementary (physical media comeback)

• elle fanning hunger games casting as fan service done right

• shopify president's black friday thread strategy (crowdsourced recommendations)

• miu miu's handcrafted anti-ai website aesthetic

• lionsgate hiring tiktok creators for in-house fan cams

• the shift from brand awareness to community buy-in

• why netflix/hulu finally stopped dmca-ing fan content

• advent calendar quality wars (sephora losing, amazon winning with korean skincare)

guest: kaleigh moore - freelance seo/aeo content writer for saas companies, retail contributor at forbes (@kaleighf on twitter/x, kaleighmoore.com)

guest perspective: kaleigh brings software/saas marketing lens throughout—talks surprise-and-delight moments, secret handshake marketing, first-mover advantage, crowdsourcing content strategy. she's obsessed with pluribus, advocates hard for fandom-first approaches, and makes the case that production houses need to treat audiences like content partners not consumers.

marketing takeaways:

1. novel placement beats ad spend (apples in grocery stores beat billboards)

2. listen to your audience but don't let the loudest voices pivot your whole product

3. executives as community builders not just figureheads

4. unscalable = memorable when everything else looks like ai slop

5. fan involvement creates buy-in (casting, merchandise, experiences)

6. physical/tactile marketing cuts through digital fatigue

• timothée chalamet's marty supreme marketing (merch pop-up, $250 jackets) - 0:00-3:33

• apple tv's pluribus marketing struggles - 3:33-6:33

• hulu's abbott elementary apple sticker campaign - 7:16-15:44

• lionsgates's elle fanning hunger games casting (fan involvement) - 15:47-24:17

• shopify president's black friday thread strategy - 34:36-42:01

• miu miu's anti-ai website design - 43:12-53:05

• marketing takeaways roundup - 53:51-1:03:13

Key themes throughout: the shift from performance-based to culture-based marketing, the importance of experiential and memeable marketing for audience engagement, timing as brand positioning, and how video-first platforms (especially YouTube) are reshaping media consumption and creation.

• [00:02-05:49] ChatGPT's Group Chat Feature - Discussion of ChatGPT's new group chat feature launched in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, allowing up to 20 users to chat together with AI assistance for planning trips, splitting checks, and keeping tabs on decisions.

• [08:01-23:35] Timothée Chalamet's Meta Marketing for Marty Supreme - Deep dive into Chalamet's 18-minute satirical Zoom call with A24's marketing team, the blurring of reality/satire, experiential marketing tactics (blimp, Wheaties box, Regal Cinemas event), and how he's creating memeable moments to build cultural relevance.

• [23:35-36:16] Steph Curry & Under Armour Split - Analysis of the 12-year partnership ending, Under Armour's failures in reading cultural shifts, product missteps, the CEO's Trump endorsement controversy, and what this means for athlete endorsement deals going forward.

• [36:16-47:51] Disney's AI-Generated Content Strategy - Discussion of Disney+ letting subscribers create AI content using Disney IP, concerns about brand safety for parents, comparisons to other brands' AI strategies (Coca-Cola vs. Barbour), and whether this aligns with Disney's legacy brand identity.

• [48:01-1:05:50] YouTube as the Next Media Incubator - Mark's reporting on YouTube becoming the premier platform for new media companies, creators leaving legacy outlets for YouTube, monetization advantages, dynamic ad insertion, and the platform eating podcasting/audio content.

00:00 Cracker Barrel's Logo Controversy
02:43 Williams F1 Campaign and Community Engagement
05:04 Tame Impala's Unique Concert Experience
07:16 Anthropic's Zero Slop Pop-Up in NYC
09:59 Taylor Swift's Impact on the Wedding Industry
21:22 Taylor Swift's Wedding Soundtrack
23:03 K-Pop Demon Hunters Rise
25:41 Halloween Costumes and Cultural Representation
26:39 Marketing Strategies for K-Pop Demon Hunters
31:49 Cultural Trends and Brand Opportunities
34:48 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Taylor Swift x KitchenAid? How brands are borrowing her orange aesthetic to drive hype — without her even collabing.

OpenAI’s first brand campaign + "agentic commerce." What instant checkout inside ChatGPT means for small businesses, DTC, and the future of discovery.

The unicorn that won F1. How a fan’s sticker turned into a viral, feel-good growth story.

Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. Why skipping a U.S. tour but taking the halftime stage is a masterclass in distribution strategy.

From fan whimsy to AI-powered shopping carts, this episode is full of smart plays marketers need to watch.

Our guest Caitlin Rease (San Antonio Spurs' content creator) breaks down how sports teams are evolving their content game. She shares insights on their viral food art schedule release and the challenges of real-time social content creation—where you've got minutes, sometimes seconds, to capture and share moments.

We dig into how traditionally male-dominated spaces like the NBA are finding creative ways to engage female audiences (partially inspired by the Taylor Swift effect in the NFL). Nike's shift from "Just Do It" to "Why Do It?" shows how even iconic brands are rethinking their approach for Gen Z's more purpose-driven mindset.

The key theme throughout: Successful modern marketing requires both speed and cultural awareness—whether you're running social for the Spurs or rebranding Nike's 37-year-old slogan. It's about finding authentic ways to connect with new audiences while keeping your core base engaged.

Segments:

0:00-4:30: Sundance and Streaming: Redford's legacy meets modern movie marketing

4:30-7:00: Hot girl walks and treadmill screenings: Gen Z fitness trends

7:00-13:30: Emmys recap: timer drama & award show evolution

13:30-22:06: Scrubs to tuxedos: Figs' Emmy night innovation with Noah Wyle

22:06-30:00: Nike's gen z pivot: from 'just do it' to 'why do it?'

30:00-55:16: Behind the viral food art: Spurs' schedule release innovation

55:16: Takeaways

Guest: Caitlin Rease, Content Creator for the San Antonio Spurs

Key Insights:

• sports teams adapting content for female audiences post-taylor swift effect
• real-time social media challenges in sports coverage
• cross-demographic collaborations in sports marketing
• importance of storytelling in social media, especially with 3-second attention spans

Marketing Takeaways:

• calculated risks can unlock new audiences
• unexpected collaborations can refresh standard content
• know your base but don't be afraid to expand
• timing and cultural relevance matter

Chapters:

00:00: The new logo for Austin, TX; OpenAI's hiring platform; HBO

09:30: Reese Witherspoon's missed opportunity to discuss the future of AI and filmmaking

18:03: No seriously, THIS is why women should be using AI...

23:50: What went wrong at Builder.ai

35:30: Humane's outcome

38:39: Apple Vision Pro (and their content misses)

41:35: Instagram finally gets its own iPad app and here are the specs.

45:11: You can pin your own comments on your IG posts!

46:42: Threads' clever logo watermark on iPhone app screenshots

47:54: Apple's new iPhone Air announcement just dropped.

Follow Cristin Culver: https://x.com/CristinCulver

Follow Sonia: https://x.com/SoniaBaschez

Follow Amanda: https://x.com/amandanat

Learn more at memeteampodcast.com.

Key moments:

00:00 Intro

00:10 Lego's Tom Holland campaign

04:20 Sabrina Carpenter vs Tommy from Arkansas

17:52 YouTube's new Hype feature

28:29 The Long Walk's treadmill theater experience

00:00 Introduction to the Meme Team Podcast

01:07 Zohran Mamdani's Innovative Politic Campaign

03:39 K-Pop and Theatrical Releases

07:14 The Resurgence of Movie Theaters

13:43 Cracker Barrel's Rebranding Controversy

17:33 The Impact of Branding Changes

20:50 Gen Z Trends and Cultural Shifts

32:15 The Role of GLP-1 Drugs in Weight Management

37:22 Authenticity in Celebrity Endorsements

40:11 The Contradiction of Perfection vs. Imperfection

44:00 The Impact of GLP-1 Drugs on Food and Fitness

45:41 Marketing Strategies in Film: The Case of 'Weapons'

01:02:59 Takeaways

Guest: Martin O'Leary - Irish tech marketer who accidentally ended up in fintech in DubaiFollow Us:Martin: @MartinolearySonia: @SoniaBaschezAmanda: @AmandaNatPodcast Socials:YouTube: @MemeTeamPodSpotify: @MemeTeamPodcastCall to Action: Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe for more insights into the world of marketing and virality!

Chapters

00:00 Taylor Swift's Impact on New Heights Podcast

02:09 The Power of Podcasting for Artists

04:49 Taylor Swift's Personal Insights and Fan Engagement

06:35 The Business of Music and Artist Ownership

09:02 Easter Eggs and Fan Relationships

09:45 Navigating Fame and Personal Life

12:21 The Art of Marketing and Album Rollout

16:30 Takeaways

🎧 Subscribe for more takes at the intersection of marketing, culture, and the internet.

Follow Us:

Sonia: @SoniaBaschez | bendgrowth.co/yaas

Amanda: @AmandaNat | amandanat.com

Podcast Socials:

YouTube: @MemeTeamPod

Spotify: @MemeTeamPodcast

Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe for more insights into the world of marketing and virality!

Follow Us:

Sonia: @SoniaBaschez | bendgrowth.co/yaas

Amanda: @AmandaNat | amandanat.com

Podcast Socials:

YouTube: @MemeTeamPod

Spotify: @MemeTeamPodcast

Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe for more insights into the world of marketing and virality!

Amanda and Sonia discuss various aspects of modern marketing, including how to track success in PR, the shift from sponsored content to organic outreach, and the significance of human skills in an AI-driven world. They also explore nostalgia marketing, the future of movie marketing, and the recent split of Warner Brothers and Discovery.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro + Astronomer's Temporary Spokesperson

05:05 Controversy in Advertising: Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle

15:00 Navigating Cultural Sensitivity in Marketing

23:00 The Impact of AI on Media and Marketing Strategies

31:31 Tracking Success in PR and Marketing

39:35 AI Skills and the Changing Landscape of Marketing Roles

46:02 Nostalgia Marketing: Reviving the Past for Modern Audiences

52:19 The Future of Movie Marketing and Re-Releases

01:00:21 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:

Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschez

Amanda Natividad - @amandanat

More about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

More about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

More about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

• The astronomer scandal and its lessons for crisis management.
• The end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and what it means for late-night TV.
• Delta's AI pricing strategy and its potential impact on consumer trust.
• Rebranding efforts by Goodreads and Range Rover: What works and what doesn't.

Chapters:00:00 Introduction 02:01 The Astronomer Scandal15:31 The Late Show Cancellation30:01 Delta's AI Pricing Strategies45:01 Rebranding Efforts from Goodreads and Range Rover58:01 Key Takeaways01:05:01 Closing RemarksFollow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschezAmanda Natividad - @amandanatMore about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.coMore about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.comMore about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Meme Team Podcast

01:02 Banter of the Week: Andrew Cuomo's Casting Call

05:24 AI Slop: YouTube's New Monetization Policies

11:23 The Rise of AI Influencers

18:47 The Future of Digital Identity and AI in Marketing

20:36 AI as a Tool for Marketers

23:41 The Evolution of Formula 1

35:41 Apple's Strategic Moves in Sports Broadcasting

43:53 Building for Culture Over Numbers

45:59 Apple's Strategic Growth in Sports Media

47:35 Liberty Media's Marketing Success

48:34 The Evolution of Movie Promotional Content

54:06 The Role of Influencers in Modern Media

01:00:57 Attention vs. Influence in Marketing

01:06:27 Authenticity in Celebrity Marketing

01:12:22 New Chapter

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:

Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschez

Amanda Natividad - @amandanat

More about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

More about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

More about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

Vincenzo Landino - @vincenzolandino⁩

More about Vincenzo and his newsletter: bizofspeed.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschezAmanda Natividad - @amandanatMore about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.coMore about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.comMore about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

Chapters

00:20 Tom Cruise Promotes the F1 Movie

02:02 Red Lobster's New Menu03:05 Cluely's Wild Ride and Marketing Lessons

14:03 Meta & The Rise of Zero-Click Content

22:36 Influencer Marketing in Sports

25:25 Empowering Creators: Ownership in Marketing

27:35 Building Buzz: The Art of Speculation

28:02 Canva's Innovative Out-of-Home Advertising

36:17 Creativity in Campaigns

39:15 Key Takeaways: Lessons from Marketing Campaigns

47:19 Fun Update!

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:

Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschez

Amanda Natividad - @amandanat

More about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

More about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

More about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Sequel.io⁠, the only platform that lets marketers host webinars directly on your website. You can see what your audience does on your site before, during, and after your webinar — giving you better data for retargeting and sales management. Learn more at ⁠Sequel.io⁠.

- Athlete - brand relationships have changed and we're here for it

- Uber Eats is competing to own all the verticals so they can compete with Waymo.

- Deloitte wants you to know how hard their people work, but at least it's FOR you.

- What are wedding content creators??

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠

Sonia's consulting firm: ⁠bendgrowth.co⁠

Amanda and her newsletter: ⁠amandanat.com⁠

Meme Team: ⁠memeteampodcast.com⁠

Our sponsor: ⁠Sequel.io

This episode is brought to you by Sequel.io, the only platform that lets marketers host webinars directly on your website. You can see what your audience does on your site before, during, and after your webinar — giving you better data for retargeting and sales management. Learn more at Sequel.io.

- We break down what Taylor Swift reclaiming her masters teaches marketers about community marketing, and creators about ownership.

- Hailey Bieber sells Rhode for $1B — but don’t call it a brand-building masterclass. It’s a story about product-market fit, aesthetic timing, and great hiring.

- Instagram’s 3:4 update isn’t just a layout change — it’s a signal. We talk platform-native content and what marketers should be testing now.

- Thoughts on Oura’s “Give Us the Finger” campaign. We discuss the clarity, the targeting, and the wink to their next growth segment.

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠, and Instagram

Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

Our sponsor: Sequel.io

• Google I/O: What the AI announcements mean for marketers

• Dyson's new vacuum (and how the Coanda effect works!)

• The AMAs nobody went to: Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish won, but didn't go. Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton performed... but didn't do it live. And people hated on Jennifer Lopez.

• Red Lobster's and Joey Fatone's $19.99 in 1999 moment. (Can you send us Cheddar Bay Biscuits?)

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠, and Instagram

Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

• Is Tom Cruise the last movie star and... one of the best marketers? (Hear us out.)
• Duolingo purges its TikTok and Instagram and comes back... with a bizarre video. (Presumably to win us back after its AI-first disaster.)
• All-American Rejects playing in your backyard. (We wish.)

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠

Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

• Sesame Street is now available on Netflix (but still on PBS!)
• Uber's route share announcement gets bungled (it's really not a bus!)
• HBO finally drops the "Max" (it's cleaner)
• Is everything going to become an AI chatbot?

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠

More about Sonia's consulting firm: https://www.bendgrowth.co/

More about Amanda and her newsletter:

https://amandanat.com/

• Apple Vision Pro and Bono (it's like they're trying to make 'fetch' happen)
• Skechers doubled down on this one audience segment — and got to a $9.4 billion valuation
• Final Destination's brilliant guerilla marketing (but if I see a truck with logs on the freeway, I am taking the next exit)
• Pope Leo XIV (is this America's big marketing opportunity?)

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X

More about Sonia's consulting firm: https://www.bendgrowth.co/

More about Amanda and her newsletter:

https://amandanat.com/

• Duolingo declaring itself 'AI-first'
• How everything is content (and why this sucks)
• The magic of Lego F1 cars
• Rivian doubling down on community with its new ad campaign
• AI and Mark Zuckerberg
• KIND — and why a cringe moment outshined their thoughtful rebranding

Preorder Christina Garnett's new book: Transforming Customer–Brand Relationships

Follow all of us:

Christina Garnett (@ThatChristinaG): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Follow us:

Meme Team Podcast (official website)

@soniabaschez on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

@amandanat on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Follow us:

⁠Meme Team Podcast⁠ (official website)

@soniabaschez on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X⁠

@amandanat on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X

The conversation emphasizes the importance of storytelling, authenticity, and understanding audience truths in effective marketing.

Takeaways:

• Rory McIlroy’s win resonated due to his long journey and underdog status.
• Trend jacking should focus on authenticity and not self-promotion.
• Nike’s ad for McIlroy celebrated his achievement rather than the brand.
• Marketers should tap into universal truths to connect with audiences.
• Luxury brands often face misconceptions about their manufacturing processes.
• Consumers should be informed about the brands they support.
• Authenticity in thought leadership is crucial for engagement.
• Storytelling is a powerful tool in marketing strategies.
• Brands should prepare content for upcoming viral moments.
• Effective marketing is about understanding and addressing audience needs.

Sound Bites:

“People love an underdog.”

“Learn from the universal truths.”

“Show up in the way that you are.”

Follow us:

Meme Team Podcast (official website)

@soniabaschez on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

@amandanat on LinkedIn and Twitter/X