ABOVE THE FOLD | "Go Jump in some Water Before the Data Centers Drink it All"
June 29, 2026
Polaroid
Polaroid launched a new billboard campaign. The ads are handwritten notes on white backgrounds, placed deliberately outside Apple Stores, Google offices, and in busy cities like New York and London. One reads “Real stories. Not stories & reels.” Another one, installed at Coney Island with the ocean behind it, reads “Go jump in some water before the data centers drink it all up.” More
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 here, 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.
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