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Vol 136: Columbia dares flat earthers 🌍

Case StudiedBetting the company on a conspiracy theory p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Brands tend to avoid internet conspiracy communities. After all, mocking a fringe group or appearing to take its side can carry some serious potential downsides.  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Brands that do lean into conspiracy communities or online subcultures tend to play it safe. But we recently saw Columbia Sportswear go fully in the opposite direction. This week...
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The marketing moves that defined the week

Campaigns of the week 📺Rare BeautyThe blush that outlasts every suitor p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Rare Beauty named Off Campus star Ella Bright as its first-ever brand ambassador. Bright fronted a new campaign called "Made You Blush," built around the brand's best-selling Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. The campaign video features a string of men who try, and fail, to make Bright blush. They cycle through charm, jokes, and grand gestures, before she declares that only one thing...
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Vol 135: Budweiser: One second ads sparks strike 🎵

Case StudiedA Grand Prix and a copyright loophole p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Brands have always borrowed music to sell products. In the streaming era, that borrowing got a lot more aggressive, and award shows have gotten more generous about rewarding it. p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Budweiser leaned further into that shift than most beer brands. It's one of the most active live music sponsors of any consumer brand, pairing Spotify tie-ins and free...
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Boldest bets in marketing this week

Campaigns of the week 📺AnthropicAnthropic shares the hard questions p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Anthropic released a new film, officially titled "Hope in Hard Questions," created with agency Mother. Directed by Myles McAuliffe, it’s the latest chapter in Anthropic’s ongoing "Keep Thinking" campaign. The spot opens with footage of a burning house at night as various voices ask questions like, "Can AI be trusted?" and “Who’s gonna hit the brakes if we need to?” Then, more h...
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Archive. Vol 70. Poppi: From your kitchen to acquisition 🥤

This feature was originally published on March 26 2025. Occasionally we like to share previous editions of Case Studied to bring you some of our favorite stories you might have missed.Case StudiedGut health gone viral. p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Let’s take a moment to reflect on two major trends.  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } The first is gut health. It’s hard to say why this subject exploded in popularity but social media certainly helped its cau...
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This week's smartest moves in marketing

Campaigns of the week 📺HyundaiAtlas steals the halftime show p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Hyundai brought its Boston Dynamics robot Atlas onto the pitch at a World Cup Round of 16 match, having it deliver the match ball and perform goal celebrations from stars like Erling Haaland. It's the first live integration of a humanoid robot into a World Cup match environment, and the debut builds on Hyundai's "Next Starts Now" campaign platform, which has been showcasing the brand'...
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Vol 134: Audible: Love at first listen 🎧

Case StudiedWhen a genre has a moment p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Romance novels have always had a devoted fan base. But in the last few years, something shifted.  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Gen Z started showing up in numbers, #BookTok exploded in popularity, and romantasy (fantasy with a romantic core) started dominating bestseller lists. As a result, publishers doubled down on limited editions and creator partnerships. Streaming platforms buil...
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This week's moves in marketing

Campaigns of the week 📺DoorDashThe "intern mistake" that was never a mistake p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } During New Zealand's Group Stage match against Egypt on June 21, DoorDash tagged rapper T-Pain nine times in a series of World Cup posts on X, appearing to confuse him with New Zealand defender Tim Payne. T-Pain played along, asking DoorDash if they were okay and predicting "the intern is gonna sht a brick when they realize." The “mix-up” was all planned: DoorDash had...
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Vol 133. Skims: Campus rush 🏫

The Brief p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Skims launched in 2019 as a shapewear brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede. Since then, it's added an apparel line and posted revenue growth of 438% over three years.  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Like many other consumer brands, Skims recently began focusing more on college Greek life. p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Why? One word: RushTok. p span[style*="font-size"] { line...
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Biggest moves in marketing this week

Campaigns of the week 📺VerizonThe least telecom-looking telecom ad p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Verizon released a second spot for its Simplicity Plan, this one a sharp creative departure from the Dr. Evil and Yo soy Betty, la fea campaigns running simultaneously. Titled "Simplicity is Sexy," the one-minute black-and-white film stars Stephen Kalyn aka the breakout lead of Prime Video's hit hockey romance series Off Campus. It was directed by Bardia Zeinali, the same direct...
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Claude: Ads about ads 📺

Case StudiedRaising the question  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Some of the most memorable brand campaigns are about saying something, not selling something.  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } We saw this in 2004 when Dove launched its long-running Real Beauty campaign that challenged the beauty industry’s unrealistic, harmful depictions of women and girls. In 2011, Patagonia took out a full-page ad in the New York Times on Black Friday with the headline...
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This week's boldest moves in marketing

Campaigns of the week 📺NikeNew York finally exhales p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } With the Knicks winning their first NBA championship in 53 years, Nike dropped a 39-second spot within minutes of the final buzzer. Created by Wieden+Kennedy and directed by filmmaker Josh Safdie (a lifelong Knicks fan who was courtside for much of the playoffs), the film follows a young fan in a Jalen Brunson jersey sprinting through the streets of Manhattan. He arrives at Madison Square Gard...
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Archives: Vol 18. Insights from Liquid Death’s VP of Marketing

This feature was originally published on July 8th 2025. Occasionally we like to share previous editions of Case Studied to bring you some of our favorite stories you might have missed.Meet Greg Fass p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Each week, we sit down with a marketing leader to learn more about their career, insights, and accomplishments. This week, that marketing leader is Greg Fass, VP of Marketing at Liquid Death. p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Greg...
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The week's biggest swings in marketing

Campaigns of the week 📺NikeA studio full of football stars, no script p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Nike launched "Rip the Script," which the brand describes as its largest football campaign in years. Timed to the 2026 World Cup, the centerpiece is a film set inside a fictional Hollywood mega-studio where Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Vini Jr. abandon their scripted roles and play on instinct. Legendary footballers including Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho,...
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Clay: Mastering executive LinkedIn content ✍️

Today's edition is sponsored by HubSpotHubSpot's customer platform includes all the marketing, sales, customer service, and CRM software you need to grow your business.Case StudiedCracking the content code p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } More and more companies are building out executive content programs. But what benefits are the brands seeing from it?  p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } For some organizations, the answer is clear. HubSpot has leaned on its...
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What’s shaping marketing right now

Campaigns of the week 📺Chili'sLizzo said yes to the jingle p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Chili's tapped four-time Grammy winner Lizzo to co-write and co-produce a new version of its iconic Baby Back Ribs jingle. The campaign debuted on YouTube and features Lizzo preparing to serve ribs, using kitchen tongs as a makeshift microphone, and playing a custom flute designed to look like a Baby Back Rib. She also recorded a full a cappella rendition of the original jingle. The cam...
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Vol. 130 Grubhub: The do-over meal 🍕

Today's edition is sponsored by Influ2Influ2 is a contact-level ABM platform that addresses a reality traditional account-based marketing tools ignore: people make decisions, not accounts.Case StudiedYou snooze, you get a second chance p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } When food delivery apps want to reach college students, their first instinct is usually discounts. Think; $0 delivery fees, free first orders, money off for signing up. It’s a playbook about as predictable as a 2...
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Bold bets, AI moves, and creative collabs

Campaigns of the week 📺CoinbaseThe ad that rewards a second look p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Coinbase's latest 60-second spot, "Hidden in Plain Sight," uses looping visuals with repeating patterns. The repetition is hard to catch at first, which is the point. The ad is built around the idea that the financial system is so entrenched that most people have stopped noticing its flaws altogether. Made in-house by Coinbase Creative Studio and directed by Steve Rogers, the vide...
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Vol. 129 Hellmann's: A garlic-scented novel 🧄

Today's edition is sponsored by ImpressiveWe're a performance agency that works with ambitious brands - the ones done settling for stagnant strategy and slow-moving agency partners. Free GEO Action Plan inside for Vendry readers.Case StudiedA flavor that needed a second act p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Using limited-edition packaging is a proven enough tactic to bolster an underperforming product. But for this method to be effective, the packaging has to realllllly stand...
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Vol. 128 BERO: Loyalty from first launch 🍺

Today’s Case Studied is sponsored by pb+j... the people in today's Case Studied 👇We're the DTC cheat code that CMOs/VPs of $20M+ multi-channel brands secretly whisper to their colleagues (except when they put us in case studies). We turn vendor chaos and spotty results into a turnkey growth system through our signature full-funnel, KPI-guaranteed, performance-based, no-scope partnerships.Case StudiedRewarding fans wherever they buy p span[style*="font-size"] { line-height: 1.6; } Most loyalt...
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