In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at five stories to think about next week, including: What Happens When Social Media Isn’t Social or Media, Grand Marnier’s Search for Meaning, Manifesting on TikTok, What Happens to Trends if TikTok Shuts and Kids with Credit Scores.
In addition, we have ads from: Channel 4 News, German Doner Kebab, Freshpet, Tide and Cadbury.
// Five Stories From the Week:
1.) What Happens When ‘Social Media’ is Neither?
It has been claimed that the main product of social media is ‘content moderation’. Arguably, the role of a platform is to be just that, balancing intervention and curating an experience that brings users together and, as traditional platforms have claimed for years, ‘connects’ them. However, what happens when the biggest platforms amongst us, as X and now Meta have done, skew towards less moderation? What is social media when it fails to provide a scaled ‘social’ experience and can’t be used quickly as media?
The conversation around content moderation is part of a larger shift in decentralization amongst social media users. With different viewpoints on the type of content they see and the experience they want, larger platforms may currently be in an untenable place – losing share to smaller platforms such as Bluesky, Truth Social, Gab, Mastodon and others which offer more specific policies on what is allowed that are in line with a user’s specific beliefs.
2.) Can Grand Marnier Find Meaning Amongst Drinkers?
Being “Known Of”, But Not “Known About” is a Unique Brand Challenge – and one Campari & Grand Marnier are trying to address. These fading imprints on culture where names are known but don’t stand for an idea or moment don’t exist in a vacuum. The challenge isn’t to just stick a meaning on a name. Often you still have to counteract a barrier that lingers around it, from complexity to a sense of outdated association.
Grand Marnier has set out to address the two needs at the heart of their brand, a use occasion and cultural relevance. Taking the path Cognac used through Hip Hop, its new campaign is driving an understanding of functionally what drinkers can expect and culturally where it associates. Will it succeed? The mixture of culture and bar anchoring is a strong start. However, as drinking attitudes continue to shift, the challenge will be to make a brand relevant to a moving target.
3.) The Rise of Magical Thinking On TikTok.
In times of uncertainty, it’s attractive to think our internal thoughts can control the external world, but what happens when we get our worldview from platforms like TikTok?
Magical thinking, manifestation and stoicism have come back further into popular culture in the last few years. As we try to make sense of the world around us and its unpredictability, it’s easy to turn inward to find the solution. But in an age where we consume so many different stories, points of view and events on platforms like TikTok, can we keep up? Or is the randomness in the world around us unavoidable.
4.) Won’t Someone Think of the US TikTok Trends?
While TikTok’s US shutdown is officially looking incredibly likely, the reality is more likely that it tapers vs. immediately ends. However, what happens when it does shut down? That’s still a big if and there are some implications from entertainment and creators through to small business – but one unique area is in pop culture and trends. TikTok has been an incubator for memes, trends and moments. If it leaves the country, where do these come from in the US? Do we have a meme deficit with the rest of the world?
The easy answer would be a shift to other social media platforms. However, creators and the ecosystem that amplifies cultural trends isn’t plug and play. It will take time for this to coalesce somewhere else. While Reddit, message boards and other social networks can still incubate much of what we see in culture, micro-cultural trends and communities will need to reform.
We may see a period where surface level memes power on, but trends with more community authenticity take time to find a new home. Publishers recently surveyed overwhelmingly said they were focusing on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram in 2025, so one assumes this effort redistributes and publishers source from the remaining sources. Trends will still exist, as long as wider media needs stories on culture and creators make content, but the tone of these may shift until a post-TikTok recovery can happen.
5.) Does My Kid Need a Credit Score?
Parents are increasingly adding their under 18 year old children to their cards as ‘authorized users’, which allows them to get a head start on building credit. Giving a child a credit card may not seem logical – but as credit scores continue to be integral to many parts of our lives, a way to improve it is essential.
Fintech brands like GoHenry and Greenlight are advising on establishing a credit history as early.
However, it also perpetuates economic inequality as 18-to-20-year-olds from white majority communities have credit scores 24 points higher on average than those from Black majority communities. This inequality, and the headstart offered to some by authorized usership, are increasingly problematic as credit scores move from neutral measures of financial responsibility, to the gatekeepers for jobs, housing, and insurance rates
// Ads You Might Have Missed:
1.) ‘Fact Check the Zuck Out of News’ – Channel 4 News:
Meta’s announcement this week that it would shift its content moderation approach from fact checking to community notes (similar to X) sparked a lot of debate about truth in social media and disinformation. While it inspired a healthy amount of memes, it also drove a news outlet to act.
UK based Channel 4 news responded to the move by putting a mobile billboard in front of Meta’s London location, highlighting their approach to continued fact checking. Truck media has arguably been over used in responsive advertising campaigns, but here it feels like a modern day equivalent of nailing a notice to the door. While trust in mainstream media has eroded, moves like this look to be more common as news sources try to seize authority vs. a shifting social landscape. A shame that no one will believe it’s real when I upload it to Threads.
2.) ‘Memory’ – Cadbury UK:
Cadbury and Alzheimer’s UK have continued their partnership in a new poignant ad, ‘Memory’. It features a daughter, visiting her father who is living with dementia. While he doesn’t recognize her, the Cadbury bar given to him sparks a story about how his unrecognized daughter gave him one every birthday and he secretly hates nuts. He shares unknowingly with his daughter that he kept this a secret because it made her happy and amused his wife – ending with the still unrecognized daughter saying that it still does. The portrayal of dementia in the ad is a balance of realistic and hopeful, finding a moment that the brand can share without feeling craven or opportunistic.
Cadbury’s activity with Alzheimer’s UK, including ‘memory bars’ using previous wrappers to spark potential memories, highlights how a brand can commit to a purpose authentically and how brands that are part of culture, often have a responsibility to do so.
3.) ‘Open Your Mouth Mind’ – German Doner Kebab:
Kebab chain German Doner Kebab (GDK) has launched its first US campaign and it’s wonderfully weird. For those familiar with the brand’s previous European work, the new campaign from suitably named agency ‘Quality Meats’, continues in a streak of characters, techno music and color straight out of late night clubbing. The three ads aim to shift Americans’ perceptions of kebabs away from just gyros and towards a more open minded approach to the cuisine. While it’s more Flua Borg than Friedrichstein – it stands a good chance of getting notice and doing it.
4.) ‘Collateral Stains’ – Tide:
Superhero movies are often heavy on the action and destruction, light on the repair and recovery. While Marvel and DC have actually used this as a plot point in comics, several films and TV shows – the focus has always been on cities and buildings. In the run-up to the release of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, Tide has taken collateral damage in a different direction – showing what it does to clothes. The series of ads features people living in the Marvel universe and dealing with the destruction to their clothes, wrought by a Red Hulk, with Tide. The ads show that movie tie-ins don’t have to just use footage from the film, instead evolving the story and creating an unexpected role for a product that somehow seems obvious.
5.) ‘My Boy Junior’ – Freshpet:
US pet food brand ‘Freshpet’ has extended its brand platform ‘It’s not dog food, it’s food food’ into a mafia themed ad featuring Sopranos actor Steve Schirripa. A proud dog owner in real life, the ad uses Schirripa as a mob figure who takes offense at a question of why a dog’s food is stored in the fridge – mirroring the setup of other ads in the campaign. The platform’s versatility is on show here in a way that sings as an ad and as a campaign – highlighting how quality can be conveyed in an entertaining way and how smart cultural casting can deliver authenticity.
// Sunday Snippets
// Marketing & Advertising //
// ALDI uses a snow plow to reach guests snowed in at Britains’ highest pub. I guess they can go home now? [Advertising]
// Strategist Alex Mason has published a great list of strategic resources [Tools]
// Bumble taps Chicken Shop Dates host Amelia Dimoldenberg for a new partnership [Collaboration]
// Born Social has published 50 mini case studies of work that inspired them in 2024 [Case Studies]
// TikTok have released their 2025 trends report, focused on Brand Chemistry [Reports]
// .Monks have released 25 insights for 2025 [Reports]
// The IPA have made this brilliant report on better briefs (and how they get written) [Reports]
// Inside David Jones & Brandtech Group’s journey to being an AI led marketing company [Agency]
// 90s energy drink (before energy drinks) Jolt Cola prepares for a comeback [Brands]
// US consumers stock up on foreign brands in advance of expected Trump tariffs [Markets]
// The case for the effectiveness of warning labels on alcohol [Culture]
// Technology & Media //
// Disney to combine Hulu + Live TV with streaming service Fubo [Media]
// Samsung announces “Ballie”, its AI home companion robot at CES [AI]
// How much is Spotify shaping vs. serving listener’s tastes and behavior [Media]
// If you’re wondering how fast Gen AI is improving, check out this comparison of images from every generation of Midjourney [AI]
// xAI launches a standalone app for Grok [AI]
// Following EU antitrust pressure, Meta trials eBay ads in European marketplace [Media]
// Life & Culture //
// Will 2025 be the year of the “snoafer”? [Style]
// LinkedIn looks at 7 big ideas that will change the world of work in 2025 [Work]
// Gig working platform Young Ones is charging workers to receive their wages faster [Work]
// The shift away from smart watches [Style]
// Is there a shift in On-screen age gap relationships? [Art]
// 53% if Brits believe Elon Musk is having a negative impact on the country vs 12% who believe he is positive [Politics]
// Jimmy Carter, UFOs and some unexpected thoughtfulness [Politics]
// How much of a lie was ‘Millennial Minimalism’? [Culture]
// Until Next Sunday
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