ABOVE THE FOLD | Claire's Discovered ASMR and an F1 Driver Made a Board Game
May 3, 2026: Budweiser, Claire's, and Chivas Regal
Claire’s New ASMR Campaign
Claire’s has launched “A Girl SMR at Claire’s,” a summer campaign targeting Gen Alpha through ASMR-style content and “sensory objects” like squishes. It’s the first major work from new chief brand officer Michelle Goad, who joined in January. The brand was also recently acquired by private equity firm Ames Watson after reports that business in North America was struggling. More
The real story: A mall retailer acquired out of near-collapse is now building campaigns around ASMR and squishes for ten-year-olds. The strategy might actually be kinda sound. One of my fondest childhood memories is getting my ears pierced at Claire’s, and the crusty infection that followed. Rooting for you guys!
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.
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Claire's will forever represent girlhood.