This week, brands confronted a new reality. Emotion spreads faster than strategy. Discovery is migrating to AI platforms. Cultural narratives are written in real time by audiences, not companies. Frida turned Mardi Gras spectacle into postpartum advocacy while measuring backlash against its brand personality. A baby monkey and his IKEA plushie revealed how quickly culture
This week, brands flirted with secrecy, satire, and controversy. In each case, the real story wasn’t the campaign. It was the power dynamic underneath it. Ring discovered that “helpful AI” can quickly feel like surveillance. Austria Tourism asked visitors to sign an NDA. QuickBooks gave the Tooth Fairy an automation crisis. Meanwhile, brands are now
This week’s stories reveal a shared reality marketers can no longer avoid: trust has become a visible line item. AI makes content faster, cheaper, and more abundant, but it also introduces friction, skepticism, and new forms of brand risk. From uncanny AI video to staged paparazzi moments, from museum-worthy IKEA furniture to Wikipedia’s human proof-of-work,
I don’t tend to measure years by how busy they were. I measure them by what changed. How my thinking evolved. Where my energy shifted. What I stopped tolerating. What became clearer than ever. 2025 sharpened my point of view. It reinforced what I believe about storytelling, leadership, and growth. It pushed me into bigger
It’s time for another week in the wild world of marketing! This week, outrage translates into sales at American Eagle. Duolingo prices social for impact. Facebook bets on nostalgia by reintroducing the infamous poke. The fashion world paid tribute to Giorgio Armani, while YouTube quietly touched creators’ videos without telling them, and a look at