The Marketer’s Storybook: Lava Mukbangs, Butter Trips & Marketing Insights From $150K Plush Toys
What do molten lava mukbangs, collectible gremlin dolls, and butter-fueled influencer trips have in common? This week’s edition is packed with brands who stand out by thinking differently and some major red flags for marketers to watch. On the positive side, we’re unpacking the rise of AI-generated ASMR, Kerrygold’s creamy creator coup, and Labubu’s $150K toy economy. On the negative side, we dive into the serious trust issues between CMOs and CEOs, the CapCut creator revolt, and a chilling new twist in Meta’s AI privacy saga.
FAVOR! While I explore my next full-time role, I’m also taking on select freelance and fractional projects. From interim marketing leadership to brand storytelling, crisis comms, or ghostwriting thought leadership, I’m working with companies that need senior-level firepower without the full-time hire. If you know someone looking for strategic marketing support, a great paid keynote or a storytelling workshop tailored to your team’s educational and business needs, I’d love the connection. Also: any standout recruiters I should meet? Send me a message on LinkedIn or pass this along – thank you!
This Week’s Lineup:
- AI-generated ASMR takes a surreal turn with lava slurps and glass fruit
- A UV-reactive billboard campaign burns the sun safety message into memory
- CapCut’s new T&Cs trigger a creator rights backlash – but is it overblown?
- McKinsey warns: CMOs and CEOs are drifting further apart
- Trump gives TikTok another 90-day lifeline as brands wait and wonder
- Southwest pokes fun at itself while introducing assigned seating
- Labubu dolls spark a $150K masterclass in scarcity, story, and shareability
- TikTok Shop is growing fast – but is Western eCommerce buying in?
- Kerrygold’s brings back the influencer brand trip – sans backlash
- Meta AI’s “private” chats aren’t so private – and users are finding out the hard way
This Week’s Marketing Stories
A curated mix of breaking news, insights, and trends, each with actionable takeaways to inspire your brand storytelling.
1. AI-Generated ASMR Is Getting Uncannily Popular – and Strange
People on TikTok are slurping molten lava, crunching radioactive stones, and casually biting into glass cinnamon buns. The craziest part? None of them are real. This new wave of AI-generated ASMR content, powered by Google’s Veo 3, merges surreal visuals with eerily satisfying sound to hijack attention and rack up millions of views.
Key Takeaway: The viral success of AI ASMR shows how fast the bar is rising for sensory-driven storytelling. For brands, the opportunity isn’t to copy the lava, but to understand the hypnotic power of unexpected visuals, sonic design, and AI-crafted novelty. This is what next-gen visual engagement looks (and sounds) like. Read more
2. Burnable Billboards Use AI to Show Some Scary Truths
The British Skin Foundation’s new campaign uses AI-powered billboards that “burn” in real time based on live UV data. The billboards showcase a visual on different skin tones revealing how sun damage accumulates on unprotected skin over time. The haunting visuals only appear on high UV days in cities across the UK, turning out-of-home media into a live warning system.
Key Takeaway: This is a standout example of creative tech used with purpose. The campaign transforms ambient data into a striking story about health, urgency, and behavioral change. It’s a great reminder for marketers that AI isn’t just for headlines; it can elevate storytelling in physical spaces too. Read more
3. CapCut’s New Terms Spark Outrage – But Is It Overblown?
CapCut’s updated Terms of Service triggered a wave of concern among creators who feared they were signing away their rights. TikToks warning of “royalty-free, perpetual” licensing went viral, but according to a breakdown by Mashable, the controversial language has actually existed in CapCut’s terms for some time and mirrors what’s common across other major platforms.
Key Takeaway: This saga is a reminder that outrage travels faster than nuance and that creators and marketers must understand not just the fine print, but the industry norms. Yes, CapCut’s terms grant sweeping rights, but they’re not uniquely sinister. Still, it’s a wake-up call: your content is currency – read the terms before you spend it. Read more
4. CMOs and CEOs Are Drifting Further Apart, McKinsey Warns
A new McKinsey report reveals a growing disconnect between CEOs and CMOs, with alignment down 20% since 2023. Only 63% of Fortune 500 companies have a marketing leader at the executive table, and just half of CMOs say they’re involved in strategic planning. Meanwhile, CMOs are being held to growth goals – without the metrics, clarity, or budgets to meet them.
Key Takeaway: The CMO role is at risk of becoming marginal unless marketers embed themselves deeper into the business. Translating brand metrics into business outcomes isn’t optional – it’s the language of trust, funding, and long-term relevance in the C-suite. CMOs must also claim their role as the voice of the customer and better educate C-Suite and senior leadership on the customer journey for longer term success. Read more
5. Trump Delays TikTok Ban – Again
President Trump has issued yet another 90-day extension on the U.S. TikTok ban, giving ByteDance more time to divest its American operations. Despite the law remaining in place, enforcement is paused until at least September 17. It’s now been over 250 days since the official “ban,” and TikTok continues operating as usual – leaving brands and creators in limbo.
Key Takeaway: This saga underscores the uncertainty of building on rented land. While TikTok remains a vital platform, marketers must plan for platform volatility, especially when geopolitical risk is involved. Diversify distribution and stay nimble. Read more
6. Southwest Spins Assigned Seating with a Wink
Southwest Airlines is phasing out its quirky first-come, first-served seating model in favor of assigned seats – and it’s leaning into humor to ease the transition. Its cheeky new ad campaign, “Are You Sitting Down?”, shows passengers reacting with over-the-top joy to what’s a standard feature on most airlines.
Key Takeaway: When a beloved brand breaks tradition, the story matters as much as the change. Southwest’s playful tone helps reframe a practical pivot as customer-centric progress – proof that even legacy-defining moves can land well if you keep the brand voice intact. Read more
7. Inside Labubunomics: The Viral Toy Economy Breaking the Internet
Labubu, the impish, big-eyed plush from Pop Mart, has become a full-blown cultural and commercial phenomenon. From $8,000 bets turning into $240,000 revenue streams to resale prices topping $150,000, third-party sellers are riding a frenzy fueled by scarcity, celebrity hype, and TikTok unboxings. But this isn’t just about a toy – Labubu is a masterclass in viral marketing. Its meteoric rise is driven by smart storytelling, exclusivity, and a community-first content engine built for social media.
Key Takeaway: Labubu’s explosive growth reveals how emotional storytelling, limited access, and social sharing can create not just demand – but obsession. Whether you’re selling toys, tech, or tea, scarcity plus story equals sales. And in a market saturated with sameness, building a narrative-driven experience is what drives enduring love – and lines out the door. Read more from Modern Retail here and from Forbes here.
8. TikTok Shop Sales Surge 120%—But Is It Enough?
TikTok reports a 120% year-over-year spike in U.S. sales through TikTok Shop, with livestream commerce and shoppable videos driving much of the growth. Top categories include womenswear, beauty, and electronics, and more than 171,000 small businesses are now selling directly on the platform. Despite this momentum, TikTok’s in-stream shopping still lags far behind its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, and internal restructuring hints at missed revenue targets in 2024.
Key Takeaway: TikTok’s shopping vision is inching forward, but not yet dominating. While the growth stats are strong, Western consumers are still catching up to the in-app shopping behaviors seen in Asia. For brands, TikTok Shop represents an opportunity to experiment where attention is high and algorithms still reward creators – especially through livestreams. But scale and ROI remain big question marks. Read more
9. How a Butter Brand Trip to Ireland Became TikTok Gold
Kerrygold’s recent influencer trip to Ireland went viral, not because it was flashy, but because it was unexpected. The butter brand invited seven creators to explore the Irish countryside and learn about its dairy roots, generating 7.7M views and 92 reaction videos, up from just 2.3M on a similar trip in 2023. The top TikTok from @babytamago, which opened with “no, you did not mishear me,” racked up over a million views and sparked a wave of playful UGC, from nail art on butter sticks to home decor with dairy.
Key Takeaway: Kerrygold’s success wasn’t about excess , it was about novelty, storytelling, and letting creators be themselves. A well-timed blend of surprise (“a butter brand trip?”), cultural cues (butter yellow is trending), and relaxed content rules made the experience feel organic and irresistible to audiences. For brands, it’s a masterclass in how to make an old product feel fresh again. Read more
10. Meta AI Conversations Are Public by Default—And It’s Not a Glitch
Meta AI users are unknowingly sharing sensitive chats, ranging from medical and legal concerns to job disputes, publicly via the platform’s Discover feed. While Meta claims that sharing requires a multi-step process, reports from Malwarebytes and TechCrunch show how easy it is to unintentionally broadcast conversations. Even more concerning: integrated AI chats on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp may not be private either, and in some cases are used to train Meta’s models.
Key Takeaway: Meta’s push into generative AI highlights a growing tension between utility and transparency. The brand’s failure to provide real-time clarity around privacy settings damages trust and exposes the reputational risk for any company deploying AI without user-first guardrails. For marketers, the lesson is clear: if you want customers to trust your AI, make privacy as obvious as the share button. Read more
My Stories
Now Taking On Freelance and Fractional Projects
I’ve now taken a month off to relax and I am ready to get back to work! As I look for my next big role, I’m also open to consulting and project-based work. I specialize in interim marketing leadership, brand storytelling, PR and crisis comms, ghostwriting, and social media. I’m also booking paid keynotes and storytelling workshops for companies and conferences. Know someone looking for senior-level support or a recruiter I should connect with? Let’s chat. Reach out here.
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🌍 Website: JessicaGioglio.com Your one-stop shop for all my books, speaking engagements, and blog posts on marketing and storytelling.
📚 Books:
- The Power of Visual Storytelling: Learn how to shape a visual story around your brand using images, videos, GIFs, infographics, and more. Get your copy here.
- The Laws of Brand Storytelling: The definitive guide to using storytelling to win over customers’ hearts, minds, and loyalty. Grab it here.
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Until Next Time
Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you’re here for marketing trends, storytelling inspiration, or both, I’m so grateful to have you along for the ride.
Keep telling the stories that matter, Jessica
Jessica Gioglio is the co-author of The Laws of Brand Storytelling and The Power of Visual Storytelling. Professionally, Jessica has led innovative marketing and public relations programs for Dunkin’, TripAdvisor, Sprinklr, and more. Today, Jessica is a keynote speaker (book her here) and founder of With Savvy Media & Marketing, a strategic branding, storytelling, and content strategy consultancy.