Peloton has released its 2026 earnings report, and the results are…interesting. Technically, for the first time in the company’s history, they’ve had an actually profitable year. Honestly, I wasn’t sure post-pandemic we’d see the company ever again.

I think most people know Peloton from the COVID-era. There was a very motivated brand of person that panic-bought a Peloton because it was finally time to focus on their health. Ultimately, the stationary bike became a very expensive coat rack, and killed that one guy on Sex and the City, so the brand decline was quite obvious as COVID started to “wind down.”

But none of this explains why there was a sudden jolt of profits in 2026. The earnings report does show that subscriptions grew and equipment revenue fell. That tells me people who have lapsed using their Pelotons circled back, which is a genuinely interesting trend (if that’s what’s happening).

When you think about it, Peloton is ultimately a delivery vehicle (lol) for workout videos. People sign up for the subscription service, and it creates recurring revenue for the brand, and the audience gets a better, funner workout. Even when Peloton stock was really collapsing at the end of COVID, their subscription levels have always remained pretty stable.

One of the biggest mistakes Peloton made was investing in more bikes when they were seeing their huge surge in sales in 2020. They created a huge volume of equipment, and it started rolling out to consumers right when the vaccine was becoming available. That was a timing problem, and I think any founder that was seeing a huge swell in sales would answer that by working to create more volume of their product.

What to Watch

Now, back in 2026, Peloton is fully leaning into subscriptions and their instructors and further building their content catalog.

@onepelotonWe know you know every word😉 Boy Band Week is almost here, bringing a full week of classes set to the chart-topping hits and unforgettable impact of boy bands. Starts August 10. 💚

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But what do they do next? Should Peloton run as a content company and keep spending on content until people (hopefully) start buying? I think if they keep focused on subscriptions, keep making good content, and continue to see declines in equipment sales, then we know for sure the fad of Peloton has officially passed. Maybe when you’re not sheltering in place, it is nice to ride an actual bike outside in real life. Whatever.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

These brands sit in an odd position, they have maximum trust, maximum awareness, and almost zero daily presence.

Marketing doesn't normally talk about these kinds of brands, because most of the time you have the exact opposite problem. A brand’s budget, media plan, content, and agency partners all exist to make an unknown brand known. But what happens after that step?

Once everyone knows your brand and knows it for a specific thing, suddenly you’re stuck. The question stops being “do people know us” and starts being “what do we mean to them?”

Creating Brand Meaning

Some brands live with consumers every day. Coffee (Starbucks), sneakers (Nike), navigation (Google Maps). Other brands live in a single moment, and you only visit them when a specific moment arrives.

That second kind of brand isn’t failing, but they are capped. They can’t grow beyond the single-moment frequency and typically won’t have a presence in wider culture. Nobody really chooses that association, it just sorta happens to them.

But some brands have solved this problem, and it’s worth looking at how they did it:

Dove

In 2004, Dove was a bar of soap sitting in a very packed aisle in the grocery store. They needed to find a way to differentiate themselves from hundreds of other options. To do that, they leaned into messaging and created the Dove Real Beauty platform. It focused on beauty standards for women and how nothing you saw in ads or in magazines was real. It gave the brand a true point of view and a clear platform that they still use today.

American Express

In 2010, American Express needed a way to better align itself with small businesses. To do that, they created a brand new shopping holiday that was the perfect response to the frenzy of Black Friday, they called it “Small Business Saturday.”

Eventually, the holiday stuck, and now you see small businesses and small towns promoting it each year.

Michelin

I’m not sure if Michelin has gotten full credit for their efforts here, but it’s such an interesting play when you make the connection. In 1900, tire company Michelin started publishing a guide to restaurants and hotels working off the theory that they would recommend restaurants and hotels so that people would drive to these places (and eventually need to buy tires).

The Michelin star now holds significant cultural relevance, and chefs actively try to get one (it’s a whole plot point in “The Bear”).

The Pattern

These companies are all functional brands with a specific product and a narrow understanding of their product from their customers. None of them changed what they sold, but they did change their narrative.

Companies that are stuck in a single brand association tend to reach for a roadmap of product updates, but I think the real solution is storytelling. Give people a reason to meet the brand somewhere else, give them the words to understand where you are trying to go.

The other thing all three of these cases share is time. Michelin’s guide took a long time to become culturally relevant. Real Beauty is more than a decade old (but the platform still works and is still used), and Small Business Saturday took years to stick. Narrative repositioning compounds and takes commitment, that’s just part of the process.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

The idea for the brand (according to Mike Cessario, the founder) was that punk and metal musicians who wanted to drink water on stage were hiding it in energy drink cans because plastic water bottles looked lame and ultra L7 in pictures. Healthy products were packaged for people who wanted to look healthy, and nobody made a product for somebody who didn't fit that mold. That's how they got to water in a beer-format tallboy can.

Cessario launched his brand in Juanuary 2019 with seed funding from Secience Inc, and sold cans through the company’s website. The name was chosen to go against category instinct. “What would be the dumbest possible name to call a water?” is how Cessario posed the question.

What then compounded from there was their non-traditional advertising approach. Liquid Death operates like a small entertainment studio where the content happens to be distributed via the beverage aisle. The output is watched by customers on purpose.

In 2022, they ran a regional Super Bowl spot where a house full of children raged to Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law.”

They convinced Martha Stewart (and her people) to sell a $58 scented candle that looked like a severed hand gripping the Liquid Death can.

In 2021, the company had $45 million in sales and $3 million of that came from merchandise (hoodies, shirts, hats, that kinda thing). That means that customers what the Liquid Death identity to be their identity.

In May 2021, Live Nation made Liquid Death the exclusive water sold at more then 120 of it’s owned-and-operated venues. The tallboy can worked for the concert crowd, and the venues could also tell a sustainability story. Eight months later, Live Nation decided to invest in the brand.

What Liquid Death now owns is a thing a competitor can’t purchase, a audience that treats the brand as a cultural item, not packaging. ANybody can put water in a can (plenty have), but they’ve created a vibe and an identity around the brand.

In March 2024, e.l.f. Cosmetics launched Corpse Paint, a heavy metal makeup collection co-branded with Liquid Death. The first drop sold out in 45 minutes. A second collection showed up in Jan 2026, with six limited-edition lip “em”balms flavored like Liquid Death drink flavors.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

In 2013, Salomon released the XT-6 as a performance trail shoe for elite runners, people who were taking the shoe through 100-mile mountain passes. That was the Salomon customer, and they had reached them.

By 2023, Salomon’s sneaker sales crossed $1 billion. The XT-6 is on the shelves at Saks Fifth Avenue. The shoes are being traded on StockX (up by 202%) in a single year. But the shoe itself, that was mostly the same, still the same product, optimized for the ultra-runners.

In 2016, Salomon hired Jean-Philippe Lalonde from Arc’teryx, and gave him three employees and a simple brief. In essence: Start a Sportsyle division. They had some small successful projects with a small Parisian concept store and a partnership with a Barcelona designer, but it was time to get bigger. Lalonde’s big concept was not to redesign the shoes, but to introduce new colors. The base product remained exactly the same (the XT-6 in black and white), but Lalonde added vanilla ice and lunar rock colors.

This same strategy was followed on other shoes. The base shoe with its strong ultra-marathon features had to remain the same, but small color changes or artistic details could be added. Comme de Garçons bolted a chunky platform to the XT-6 Expanse for its Fall/Winter 2024 runway. Sandy Liang, Salomon’s first female collaborator, released a capsule collection in warm tones. Palace, JJJJound, Kith, and Atmos all worked on collabs (with that same rule, the base show had to remain untouched).

Over time, the different partnerships introduced Salomon to new audiences (streetwear, avant-garde fashion, outdoor lifestyle) that all found that the base shoe was actually just…a really good shoe.

Then things got even bigger when Rihanna wore a pair of Salomons to the Super Bowl.

Rihanna performed in her all-red outfit that included a pair of MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Lows, a $360 collaborative hiking runner that had been released the previous fall. Google searches spiked for the shoe overnight, and Salomon was not aware she would be wearing the shoes.

Salomon now owns a strong position that’s really hard to build. It’s a sneaker that doesn’t really need to prove itself. The XT-6’s lacing system and sole compound aren't aesthetic choices, they are engineering choices made for a specific customer in a specific context, but the gap between intention and adoption seems to have created a moat for the brand between them and their competitors.

Anyone who wants to swoop in and truly compete with Salomon would need a decade making real shoes for ultra-runners that nobody in fashion knows about, then wait for fashion to organically find them, then wait for the cool kids to organically adopt them. It’s definitely a hard-to-duplicate strategy.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Twix’s new campaign features two ventriloquist dummies lip-syncing to Nelly and Kelly Rowland’s hit song “Dilemma.” The whole spot was captured practically, and the puppets were controlled by one ventriloquist. The spot is directed by Dougal Wilson who just wrapped directing Paddington in Peru. More.

The Real Story: Wilson definitely has range. This spot definitely stands out, but is a little too close to the scariest episode of Goosebumps for my millennial mind to overlook.

Hinge “All We Need is Us”

Hinge just launched “All We Need is Us” a series of films showing real couples who met on the app. The premise is they’re all doing benign things (cleaning up after a party, weeding a garden, sitting in a park, that kinda thing). The series is part of their “Designed to be Deleted” brand platform that’s meant to address dating app fatigue and AI mistrust among GenZ specifically. More.

The Real Story: Not sure I would call this innovation. I pitched and executed the same idea for Tinder in 2020. A dating app showing real couples that met on their app…groundbreaking.

Here’s the Tinder spot from 2020:

Justworks

HR platform Justworks launched a new campaign with surreal visual metaphors. The work is from Quality Meats and follows a boba shop owner who clones herself so she can do every job in her business, and an architecture studio founder who literally puppets his employees (because he can’t let go). More.

The Real Story: The line “this baby isn’t my baby, my company is my baby” is quite clever. These spots are snappy and fun. Will this work for B2B marketing? Maybe if the LinkedIn ad spend is right…

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

KFC x Johnny Knoxville.

KFC worked with Johnny Knoxville to create a PSA called “Finger Lickin’ Good.” The spot connects KFC’s slogan to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that says one in three firework injuries affects fingers and hands.

Knoxville delivers the safety tips (while barely following his own advice) in a large, very flammable field of grass. The spot also promotes the new Jackass film, so there is a LOT of cross-promotion packed in here.

The Real Story: They hired the guy who’s made a career from injuring himself for their PSA on how not to injure yourself. Kinda dumb, but I love that KFC didn’t go all Americana with it (we would have hated that).

Side note: KFC recently reworked their logo. Looks like they’re really trying to move away from the idea that the Colonel’s bowtie is his teeny tiny body.

Columbia Sportswear "Expedition Impossible"

Columbia Sportswear took out a full page ad in the New York Times to highlight a letter from their CEO Tim Boyle. The letter dared flat-earthers to find the edge of the earth. The prize if they did would be full ownership of the company.

To back the dare legally, they registered an entity called “The Company, LLC” with the Oregon Secretary of State. The fine print of the competition ruled out “a clifftop in Seattle” and “your buddy Dave legally changing his name to ‘The Edge.’”

The campaign took home 10 Lions at Cannes.

The Real Story: This is super clever. I do hope they do a part 2 where Columbia sends a group of adventurers to the “edge of the earth.” Feels like a great opportunity to now get the Columbia products out in the cold to show the vastness of the wilderness.

KitKat "The Heist"

A truck carrying 400,000 KitKat bars was stolen in transit from Nestlé's factory in central Italy to Poland, a few weeks before Easter. The bars were part of KitKat's first season as F1's official chocolate partner. VML London helped Nestlé turn the theft into a campaign. They issued a statement confirming the theft, then launched a digital barcode tracker inviting consumers to check whether their bar was among the ones that were stolen.

The social post pulled 333,000 likes on X and 340,000 on Instagram. The campaign took the PR Grand Prix at Cannes, along with four Gold Lions and four Silver Lions.

The Real Story: I never believed the theft of these bars was real. I still don’t believe it was real. The whole thing feels like a PR stunt. Who knows, but it did help them win awards…

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

The Real Story: Anti-AI is now mainstream, and I do think it’s smart for Polaroid to jump on this wave. Their brand positioning being solidly in the “go offline, put down your phone” space makes sense. The location of these placements is doing most of the work, but the point is that people take a photo and share it on social… wait a minute.

Lyft

Lyft launched “Save the Money,” a campaign built around the fact that only 16.1% of rideshare consumers compare fares before booking. The hero film follows a single dollar bill through the streets of a city, abandoned because no one bothered to check whether Lyft was cheaper. The dollar was animated using practical effects by puppeteer Oliver John Taylor and rig maker Andy Gent, directed by Jeff Low. More

The Real Story: The hero spot is fine, it’s just a bit of a drag. It’s not fun to watch. The OOH with the “cheaper, usually” tagline, now that’s clever!

Yahoo x Denny Hamlin

For the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, Yahoo put Denny Hamlin’s Yahoo Mail address on his race car, his firesuit, and bumper stickers that read: “Have a problem with my driving? Email me.” If you write in, you can win signed memorabilia, and a few will get replies from Hamlin. More

The Real Story: I think this is clever as a format, but I think there’s something deeper Yahoo could be doing with their email service. I see a Yahoo account and assume that person is older, maybe there’s a nostalgia campaign play, or looking at username regret from folks who set up their Yahoo accounts when they were really young. It reminds me of this clip from Jeremy Allen White talking about his old AOL address on Jimmy Kimmel:

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

The Croatia National Tourist Board released a short film called "I Hear It's Beautiful" starring John Malkovich.

Malkovich discovered his Croatian roots this year and was formally granted Croatian citizenship, and received his Croatian passport at the team's first public appearance at the World Cup.

The film, directed by 45-time Emmy winner Pete Radovich (who previously directed the Cannes Lions-winning "Teasing John Malkovich"), is a romcom where Malkovich is sent by his fictional agent on a trip to Croatia, visiting Dubrovnik, Zagreb, and the world's smallest town Hum. He spends a big chunk of the runtime refusing to admit he's enjoying himself. His final verdict: "It's not bad. Not bad at all." The film dropped hours before Croatia's World Cup opener against England.

The Real Story: These tourism board films can be very dull, but this is fun, engaging, and once you have some of the backstory about Malkovich discovering his Croatian roots, it makes a lot of sense. Letting him look annoyed the entire time was on brand, and being himself while showing how beautiful Croatia is - this really landed for me.

Nike x Knicks

Everybody and their brother has spoken about this spot at this point, but damn it was good. After the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years on June 13, Nike released a film set to Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." Directed by Josh Safdie (the Uncut Gems guy, and a lifelong Knicks fan), the Wieden+Kennedy spot follows a young fan in a Jalen Brunson jersey racing through the city before finding a sea of New Yorkers celebrating together. It closes with: "Never slept. Always dreamed."

The film was the culmination of a broader campaign called "Always Knicks" that started earlier in the playoffs, when Nike put up portraits by photographer Jonathan Mannion on the billboard at 34th and 7th, outside MSG. The portraits featured a cross-section of Knicks fans, from Spike Lee to a three-year-old.

The Real Story: Josh Safdie was a really cool choice for this, the spot has the energy and frantic-ness of his films. The tagline at the end is gonna bring a tear to any real Knicks fan’s eye.

Molson “Made by Canadians”

Molson is a Canadian beer brand (they merged with Coors back in 2005), known as one of the bigger players in the Canadian market. For this campaign, they hid, gave out, and made available online a bunch of disposable cameras. The idea was to have Canadians capture what it means to be Canadian.

The footage became the brand's Canada Day campaign: skateboarders in an abandoned Halifax pool, someone kissing a fish in Quebec, that sorta thing. The film connects to Molson's long-running "I AM CANADIAN" platform, but this time the definition comes from actual Canadians.

The Real Story: Real people, real images isn’t a new concept, but this execution is really nice and heartfelt. Something about the aesthetic look of a disposable camera’s image will always make me feel nostalgic for my youth, so this one worked for me.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Apple’s new spot, "Clingers" (from TBWA\Media Arts Lab), very clearly takes a stab at Google Chrome’s privacy and data tracking. People in literal chrome suits follow around our hero characters and watch everything they do.

The Real Story: This ad doesn’t convince me that Apple’s Safari browsing platform isn’t doing the same thing. Also, Apple you don;t get to be in on this “ads track everything we do” joke with us. In the class/ai/corporate entity wars, you are automatically on the wrong side. Sorry.

Uber Eats “Who Could Cook at a Time Like This?”

For the FIFA World Cup, Uber Eats launched their “Who Could Cook at a Time Like This?” campaign starring Gordon Ramsey. The creative is from Mother and focuses on Gordon barging into kitchens with a green Uber Eats bag, telling people to stop cooking and order delivery instead so they don't miss a match.

The Real Story: This is fun, but I do think Gordon Ramsey is a (as he would say) wee bit saturated at this point. Also, nothing I’ve ever had delivered via Uber Eats has looked chef quality, more like sat on and nibbled on.

Nike “Rip the Script”

Nike’s “Rip the Script” comes from Wieden+Kennedy Portland and features Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Vini Jr., with cameos from LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott, Lisa, Channing Tatum, Young Miko, and Ted Lasso. Nike is not a World Cup sponsor (Adidas is), but Nike is rolling out a TON of new products during the World Cup.

The Real Story: Nike’s spot was good, Adidas’ was better. They both spent a truckload of money.

I’ve already talked about the Adidas Backyard legends spot 15 times, so I’ll just leave this here…

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

IKEA Sweden (in partnership with agency NoA Åkestam Holst) looked at 20 years of solar data to find the sunniest square meter in all of Sweden. The spot (in southern Gotland) has been marked with a permanent monument, two of IKEA’s Skarpö outdoor chairs built in stone.

The Real Story: It’s a fun off-the-road travel spot and a good photo opp that sneakily helps put IKEA front and center. The Skarpö is under $50, but the time you spent to find the stone versions…priceless. (lol)

Snickers Peanut Butter

Snickers (in partnership with their agency BBDO) put together a focus group of people named Reese (or Reece, or Rhyss, or any variation on the name) and had them taste test Snickers peanut butter.

Beyond the video spots, any Reese in America is invited to sign a public pledge endorsing Snickers Peanut Butter at snickers.com/peanutbutterpledge for a chance at a year’s supply.

The Real Story: Snickers built a campaign around the fact that thousands of Americans share a first name with the rival brand. I wish the spots were just a little bit more wacky and fun.

Paze “It Checks Out.”

Paze, a digital wallet built by a group of US banks and credit unions, launched its first national campaign starring Elizabeth Banks and Gabrielle Union. Created with agency Big Spaceship, the work uses the actresses’ last names as the entire creative concept. “Paze. It Checks Out.”

The Real Story: The entire campaign is the casting. The brief was probably their two headshots and the Paze logo. It’s okay.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

It’s StreetEasy’s 20th anniversary, so they launched a campaign where you can book reservations at NYC institutions for 20 years from now (in 2046). The campaign is called “Reserve Your Future,” and let you make reservations with Russ & Daughters, Roberta's, Playwrights Horizons, and the Guggenheim. MICROSITE.

It looks like it’s a great build on their “be a forever New Yorker” messaging that has been rolling out over the last few months.

The Real Story: A real estate company is trying to get New Yorkers to commit to a dinner reservation two decades from today. In a city where your relationship lasts for 12 days, it feels a bit hard to plan that far ahead. I get it, it’s a beautiful act of faith and committing long-term to a city you love. Either way, it's the only housing ad in recent memory that never mentions square footage (which I can definitely get behind).

Melanoma Focus “The Life Saving Haircut”

UK charity Melanoma Focus launched "The Life Saving Haircut," a campaign that trains barbers to spot early signs of skin cancer on clients' scalps, necks, and hairlines. The campaign includes a handbook that gives barbers enough information to start a conversation when something looks unusual, without asking them to give medical advice. Scalp melanomas are notoriously difficult to detect early, particularly among men who don't regularly check their own skin.

The Real Story: Barbers have been staring at the backs of people's heads for centuries. Giving them a pamphlet of what might look unusual is such a simple and smart idea.

Ferrari Luce

Ferrari just revealed their new fully electric “Luce.” It’s $640k and very fancy. Ferrari shares fell after the reveal, with analysts calling it "the furthest deviation from the brand's ethos we've ever seen." Mark Ritson wrote in Adweek that Ferrari made the same mistake as Jaguar's 2024 rebrand: “dropping every recognizable design code at the exact moment they needed them most.” More.

The Real Story: Ferrari spent five years building a car that looks like it was designed by someone who had only seen a Ferrari in a cartoon movie. The Luce is Italian for "light," which is also what Ferrari's impact felt like this week.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Harry’s launched two new spots, it looks like the goal is to connect with the everyman, while imagining these elaborate fantasy situations. In “Filthy Rich” a man imagines striking oil, building an empire, and losing it all before snapping back to his bathroom mirror. More.

In “Master Craftsman” another man spends years as a woodworking apprentice to finally get it right (all for one nod of approval). I think the disclaimer in the post copy is fun and feels tongue-in-cheek.

Both spots were created by Golden LA and directed by Saman Kesh.

The Real Story: The campaign is funny because the fantasies are too specific and too long. These are not daydreams about being attractive. They are full narrative arcs with character development. I think it works, it feels distinct, and paired with the right blue-collar influencer group, this will feel cohesive and connect with the right audience.

Golden Child “Maple-Bacon Scented OOH”

Golden Child is a new dog food brand that’s already testing out-of-home in Silver Lake, Soho, and Coconut Grove. The billboards are meant to feel like beautiful food photography that you might see for humans.

The twist is, they also made the billboards smell like maple-bacon. That means they would attract dogs (and dog owners).

The Real Story: I think this is really clever, and a great way to bring the customer right to their wild postings. This brand is meant to feel elevated, it’s just a coincidence that their customers are also sniffing and eating trash off the street.

Coros “Fearless”

Watch brand Coros launched their campaign “Fearless” starring Olympic runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and directed by Battery.

The spot has Ingebrigtsen running alone through a dark forest while he’s chased by a zombie version of himself. The watch appears organically within the video, which (according to Battery) is meant to capture the internal pressure that only serious runners understand.

The Real Story: Most running watch ads are selling the idea that data makes you faster. This one is selling the idea that running at the highest level is psychologically horrifying. It's the fear of regression made literal and put into a forest. The watch barely shows up, which I think is smart. The storytelling here is unique, which I can appreciate.

Bud Light “Grill for America”

Bud Light’s new spot “Grill For America” stars Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith. The gag is that Manning has only focused on his grill set-up, so the rest of his house is still under construction. The larger campaign is tied to America’s 250th anniversary and includes patriotic packaging, a grilling sweepstakes, and a partnership with Folds of Honor.

The Real Story: Manning has become one of advertising's most reliable performers by playing the same character in every single spot. It works, it’s on brand, it’s not very innovative. (Anything in partnership with America’s 250th feels like a flop anyway.)

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

The Real Story: Hint made an ad for water that is trying to be campy. The spot itself is a bit boring, but the rollout on social was quite clever. Teasing the new flavor with bottles that look like blurred nudes, showing a convo about charges on the company card on OnlyFans. It’s fun, and it does all fit together.

I do (however) think the first water brand to actually get their flowers on r/hydrohomies is gonna be the real winner here.

Sesame Street x Fox Sports x FIFA

FIFA, Fox Sports, and Sesame Workshop are all partnering on a project for the 2026 World Cup. The Sesame Street characters will appear on Fox’s soccer coverage in May, June, and July. The Count will count teams, games, and fans. Oscar will host a segment called “Trash Talk.” Grover is hosting something called “Broadcast Bootcamp.” All of the creative is coming through the Jim Henson Company’s creative studio. More.

The Real Story: Had a genuine chuckle at the idea that Oscar the Grouch will be doing sports commentary. He lives in a trash can and hates everything (and has thoughts on soccer).

Andrex “Push Like You’re Pooing”

Andrex launched their campaign “Push Like You’re Pooing,” the third installment of its “Get Comfortable” brand platform. This time around, the focus is on tackling the fear of pooping during labor. Research showed 75% of women are afraid they will poop during childbirth, even though it’s a sign the right muscles are working. The spot features real pregnant ladies, and was created by FCB London (it’s their last campaign with the brand before the account moves to McCann). More.

The Real Story: A toilet paper brand made one of the most useful pieces of maternal health communication this year. I think that’s worth a slow clap that builds to a taseful round of applause.

OpenTable x Mother’s Day

Open Table and their agency 2045 installed a giant receipt in Melbourne called “The BillBoard.” It tallies the unpaid labor of motherhood with line items like: being carried for nine months, checking under the bed for monsters, and being loved infinitely. At the end: You’ll never settle the bill, but you can pick up the next one this Mother’s Day. More.

The Real Story: A restaurant reservation app was making everybody cry in a mall last Sunday. I guess making people feel a bit guilty will get them to act (but maybe only if it’s about their mom?)

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Adidas’ new “Backyard Legends” short was directed by Mark Malloy, created by Lola USA and produced by Smuggler. It’s the center of their campaign for the 2026 World Cup. Timothee Chalamet plays a neighborhood organizer assembling a pickup team to take on the local reigning champions (who haven’t lost in 30 years). Chalamet’s team includes Messi, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Trinity Rodman, and Bad Bunny. Beckham, Zidane, and Alessandro Del Piero also appear as de-aged younger versions of themselves via CGI. More.

The real story: This ad probably cost mid-eight figures, but that might have been worth it. Not because ads with big names are good, but because everyone in this spot is part of the storytelling, and nobody’s time is wasted. The short film format works really well here, and the fast clip of the storytelling keeps you watching. I will be referencing this spot to anyone that doubts the power of strong story and visuals being worth the spend.

Jelly Belly “Bean Appetit”

Jelly Belly launched its new campaign “Bean Appetit” with the goal of repositioning the brand as gourmet. The project includes curated collections like Endless Summer, Farmstand Fruit, and Signature 10, along with new packaging, a redesigned website, and a series of digital shorts comparing flavors to the things they’re meant to be in real life. More.

The real story: I get this is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but in no universe do I believe my Jelly Belly jellybean will taste like fresh strawberry jam (and that’s okay). The “contains no real fruit” disclaimer isn’t doing much to help their case either. I love the look of this campaign. I think the “collections” concept makes sense. I would have preferred they went nostalgic. I want to watch someone enjoy the ‘90s and eat Jelly Beans (or maybe that’s just projection). I also don’t love “Bean Appetit.” After that viral meme, I can’t see “bon appetit” as anything other than “bone apple teeth.”

ChatGPT Self-Serve Ads Are Here

OpenAi opened its self-serve ChatGPT ads manager to all US advertisers on May 5 (no longer requiring the $50k minimum spend). Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP teams have all been onboarded. Expansion into the UK, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico are coming soon. More.

The real story: Three months ago, ChatGPT ads didn't exist, now they are (supposedly) pulling in $109 million a month. The format so far is a bit underwhelming, it’s a favicon placement that leaves a lot to be desired.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Vue x Taika Waititi

Vue Cinemas released “Feel It Forever,” its first brand campaign since 2020, directed by Taika Waititi (and agency Hijinks). The short film follows people heading to the movies with lines of fictional characters. Shot in New Zealand and London, it’s now rolling out across the UK, Ireland, and Europe. More

The real story: They didn’t need Taika Waititi for this, but I will be re-watching Jojo Rabbit this afternoon.

Budweiser: FIFA World Cup 2026

Budweiser has officially gotten in on the FIFA action with its “Let It Pour” campaign created by Grey Global. The hero film features Erling Haaland and Jurgen Klopp and will run across more than 40 countries. When the team learned that Haaland’s father, Alfie-Inge, played in the 1994 World Cup, they wrote him into the spot, turning it into a father-son moment inside a beer ad. More

The real story: “Let it Pour” as the tagline is quite clever, and the “Wanna meet my Dad” line is quite cute. This is working for me, and Budweiser doesn’t feel like it’s forcing it.

Chivas Regal x Charles Leclerc

Chivas Regal and Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc have launched SE!ZE, a strategic board game co-designed with British game designer James Wallis. The game has 16 pieces to match Chivas Regal 16, and accompanies a co-created whisky blend. The campaign was created by agency Baby Teeth, positioning the whisky as something you’d actually sit down and spend time with rather than photograph once and post. More

The Real Story: Most celebrity liquor partnerships stop at putting a face on a bottle. Leclerc designed a board game with 16 pieces because the number matched his car and the whisky. That’s an obsessive detail (or a very good brief). The look of the game is also quite cool. You’ll definitely see this out on the table (unplayed) at some very insufferable F1 fans’ upscale apartments.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

UPDATE May 2: Rachel Sennott did make it to the Met Gala. Some parts of the internet seem to think this ad got her there. I wish I still existed with that level of whimsy and excitement. Marc Jacobs knew Rachel was going to the Met…but it did spark a big blue dot trend:

@holdensmith962Mhm mhm let me not forget my pale blue dot #PopCulture #popculturenews #foryou #metgala #rachelsennott

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Marc Jacobs partnered with Rachel Sennott to write and star in “The Scene,” a social series for its pre-Fall 2026 campaign. The episodes follow Rachel around Manhattan, with the same vibe as her series “I Love LA’s” finale. It’s part of the brand’s broader move toward what it calls “social entertainment.” More

The real story: Marc Jacobs hired an actress-screenwriter to make a vertical video series (they’re so hot right now) about getting to the MET, which is already more plot than most brand content manages (so good on ‘em). Their social team now has to be “editorial, multi-hyphenate people,” which is a polite way of saying everyone’s job just tripled.

Casper

Casper returned to advertising for the first time in 4 years with “Daymares.” Three darkly comic films showing uncomfortable and relatable daytime stress: a birthday party with a creepy mascot, a packed elevator, and a frozen video call. Each resolves with the quiet nighttime relief of a Casper mattress, with the tagline “Goodnight, Day.” The campaign marks Casper’s first major brand push since the company was sold to Carpenter Co. in 2024. More

The real story: Four years of silence, a sale to a mattress conglomerate, and Casper resurfaces with spots about how terrible your day is. “Goodnight, Day” works as a tagline and as a reasonable summary of the brand’s last half-decade.

Powerade

Powerade launched “Power Your Fate,” its global World Cup 2026 campaign. The film features Lamine Yamal and Rodrygo Goes. The campaign is “social-first” and will run across social, digital, outdoor, TV, and OLV, plus stadium branding and fan events. Powerade also partnered with street portrait artist Devon Rodriguez to create custom art on Powerade Squeeze Bottles. More

The real story: Powerade’s World Cup campaign is “social-first,” which somehow ended up meaning they made a TV spot and also cropped it for vertical. The Devon Rodriguez bottle art is a nice, thoughtful touch, but I can’t find the artwork posted anywhere. Everything else is the standard pre-tournament playbook.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Kotex launched “Art’s Missing Period,” a campaign from Ogilvy Singapore that confronts the absence of menstrual blood across centuries of art history. The work collects pieces that were rejected, censored, or kept from public view and presents them together, making the pattern of exclusion super, SUPER obvious. Physical installations were placed outside major museums, with a virtual gallery, documentary, and QR codes with a wee bit more context. More

The Real Story: Museums have rooms full of battle wounds, martyrdom, and severed heads, but menstrual blood was apparently crossing the line. One of my absolute favorites from the year so far. The companion documentary flew under the radar, and it’s definitely worth a watch (it’s linked below).

On x Zendaya

Zendaya and On dropped their first co-created collection on April 16, backed by a short film from Spike Jonze called “Shape of Dreams.” The film is set inside “The Dream Lab.” The collection, developed with stylist Law Roach and On’s product team, has sneakers, parachute pants, and bermuda shorts. On signed Zendaya in 2024 and has been steadily using her to push their brand deeper into lifestyle territory. More

The Real Story: Hiring Spike Jonze to shoot your athleisure drop is one way to tell people you’re not a running shoe company anymore. The film does more work than the clothes need it to, which is probably the point.

Nespresso

Nespresso debuted “Vertuo World” on April 14, a global campaign introducing Dua Lipa as the brand’s newest ambassador. She joins George Clooney, who has fronted Nespresso for 20 years and will still appear in future brand activities, though the spotlight is clearly shifting. The move targets Gen Z, nearly half of whom prefer sweet, iced coffee. Nespresso CMO Leonardo Aizpuru called it a “new creative era” for the brand. More

Twenty years of George Clooney, and now they need someone who actually drinks iced coffee. The “new creative era” language is doing a lot of heavy lifting for what is functionally a demographic pivot.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

OpenAI’s ad pilot hit $100 million in annual revenue in two months. The platform opened to advertisers this month. 600 brands have already bought in with a $50 CPM floor. Ads show up at the bottom of ChatGPT answers on the free and Go tiers. The ads are labeled, separated, and theoretically not influencing responses. More.

The real story: The company that promised to save humanity from AI risk is now running a mid-funnel ad business. The “ads don’t influence answers” disclaimer is doing a lot of heavy lifting. I give it a year before ads become the main profit driver on their P&L.

Google Has an Ultimatum for Advertisers.

AI Max for Search campaigns is now available to everyone. It’s basically where Google’s AI generates your ad copy, your landing page, and your keyword list. Google says it performs 14% better on average conversion lift. But, if you’re still running exact and phase match only, your ads will not show up in AI mode or AI Overview placements (at all). More.

The real story: Google isn’t offering a new AI feature, this is an ultimatum. Opt into AI search or become invisible.

Dyson’s Best Product Launch Was a Joke.

Dyson’s April Fools’ campaign, the “Beauty Pet Range,” featuring an Airwrap for cats, an Airstrait for horse manes, and a Supersonic built for poodle volume, got a lot of attention in early April. The joke landed because Dyson’s real product line is already specific enough that pet grooming tools felt like an actual next step. More

The real story: The best April Fools’ campaigns aren’t pranks anymore. They’re market research content. Dyson now knows exactly how much demand exists for premium pet grooming, and they didn’t spend a dime on a focus group.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.

Absolute Vodka and Tabasco have teamed up on a chili-pepper-infused vodka. The launch campaign was created by W+K London (it was their first project after winning the Absolute global account), and was shot in the volcanic fields of Reykjavík. The volcanoes erupt Bloody Marys instead of lava, and it’s set to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” More

When the creative is good, the product almost doesn’t matter. Almost. The cheesy millennial in me loves this campaign.

Six Flags x Travis Kelce

Six Flags has named Travid Kelce as its newest brand ambassador for 2026. He’ll show up across digital content, broadcast posts, and in-park marketing. He also invested as part of the deal, joining Jana Partners and acquiring a roughly 9% stake in the company. More

The celebrity endorsement-to-equity pipeline is actually one of the most honest things happening in brand partnerships right now. If you won’t buy the stock, why should I buy the ad?

Walmart x Vizio

Walmart and Vizio Smart TVs are now partnering. You log in to your Walmart account on your TV, linking what you watch to what you buy. L’Oréal is a launch partner with a QR code-to-purchase flow. More

Retail media has been creeping towards this slowly. I guess it’s convenient. It’s also very creepy.

If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.

'Everything is Advertising' | Part 1

Every Monday, Below the Fold talks through the stories behind the brands.

Below the Fold.

Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.

The Business of Advertising.