In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at four stories to think about next week, including: Cannes’ Identity Crisis, Will We Miss AI Slop One Day?, the Shift to Specialty Streaming Challengers, Summerween Arrives and Walmart’s Growth Ambitions by the Numbers.
In addition, we have ads from: A24, Instagram, Cointreau and Smirnoff Ice.
// Five Stories of the Week:
1.) Is Cannes Traditional Advertising’s Funeral or an AI Reality Check?
With the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity kicking off tomorrow on the French coast, much has been written about the industry that will show up there. Is this year’s festival the end of the traditional ‘mad men’ era or are we looking at another year where AI hype doesn’t deliver on its potential? Can it be both?
Cannes will always be simultaneously old school and new, as any event that decadent doesn’t change from the presence of increased tech, media and AI companies. If anything, this year’s festival is a continuation of a journey the industry has been on for sometime. The shift in expensive beach front venue rental has gone from agencies to media owners to tech companies, in a way that mirrors the industry. However, many of the awards given out inside the festival still reward more traditional agency craft and expertise – putting the technical barbarians at the beach’s gates, while the industry still celebrates inside.
Will this year be different and deliver an unexpected shift to the Cannes dynamic? Award juries look unlikely to change their criteria and values quickly, so unexpected change looks most likely to come from tech brands able to make intangible hype into real platforms and products.
2.) In Defence of AI Slop.
AI slop isn’t just on our social feeds anymore, it’s all around us. From academic publications citing work that doesn’t exist to US betting company Kalshi’s NBA finals ad generated completely from AI (unhinged in a way that only a company who allows betting on anything can do). None of these have managed to crawl out of the uncanny valley into a realm of believability, but advances like Google’s new VEO3 model imply they will soon. When AI graduates from its ‘slop’ phase, we may look back on it more fondly than we do now.
The obviousness of AI slop covers up the reality that, as Fast Company puts it, we’re on our way to a ‘zero trust’ internet. Technology to verify content will hopefully catch up with the ability to generate believable content, but for now the ‘slopiness’ of AI may be our last hold onto the content and cultural trust as we know it.
3.) Warner Bros. Discovery Split Shows Streaming’s Shift to Speciality
Fresh on the heels of streaming service HBO Max’s ‘self-effacing’ rebrand back from ‘Max’, the companies behind the platform (Warner Bros. and Discovery) have decided to split after two years together. The split is reportedly driven by a lack of users engaging with both HBO’s dramatic content and WB movies, as well as Discovery’s more reality based fare. The theory that an ‘All You Can Eat’ streaming offering could compete with Netflix and others has given way to a specialized strategy, as you’ll have to go to two separate places to stream ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Naked and Afraid’ from now on.
4.) Happy Summerween.
While ‘holiday creep’ has long been a noticed part of December holidays, with UK Christmas ads launching in late October and shoppers starting holiday shopping in September or earlier – Halloween looks to have joined in. US crafting supply chain Michaels has launched ‘Summerween’, stocking Halloween items on shelves in mid-June. The shift is reportedly driven by a need to get products on shelves earlier due to tariff disruption, as well as consumer enthusiasm for the holiday.
While ‘Christmas in July’ may be a known concept, ‘Halloween in June’ is untested. Michael’s cites the growth of ‘Summerween’ on TikTok, but are we ready for pumpkin Margaritas and Jack-o-lantern pool floats? At what point does a holiday just become a lifestyle?
// Chart of the Week:
Walmart’s Expansion Aims to Close the Amazon Gap, As Shown By US Share of Search
Walmart’s latest US marketing push has seen the brand try to highlight its scale and breadth, using Walton Goggins as a spokesperson. Combined with plans to make clothes in America and to launch in-store podcast studios, you could be tempted to say the brand is attempting to do too much. However, Airgo data of the US general retail sector shows its position relative to Amazon, who’s breadth as a retailer, service and infrastructure provider dwarfs others. If Walmart plans to become as broad as Amazon, we may instead be wondering if they’re doing enough?
// Ads You Might Have Missed:
1.) ‘Make It Anyway’ – Instagram:
Instagram’s latest campaign focuses on shifting the narrative around creation, driving would-be and current creators to post it anyway, first for themselves and secondly for everyone else. The campaign pushes on the strength of the platform, where data has show that around 40% of users post, vs. lower numbers for platforms like LinkedIn or TikTok (around 12-13%). While TikTok has often talked about the audiences creator content can reach, Instagram’s move positions the platform as an open diary for expression, nodding to how content can scale (with Fred Again and Tyler the Creator’s presences), while still fighting the idea that it has to be perfect to succeed.
With Meta already attempting to drive greater user creation through AI tools, this campaign looks to alternatively champion the emotive value of human self expression and increase permissibility for mistakes as part of the value of created content itself.
2.) ‘Defy All Logic’ – Smirnoff Ice:
Smirnoff Ice’s 25 year run as a beverage brand has seen it go from novel drink to cultural foil (if you’ve ever been iced) and further. However, the brand’s latest ad is an interesting example in talking about its contradictions, while quietly guiding consumers to it in store. ‘Defy All Logic’ talks about its ‘ice’ nature, while still being a liquid, and also where it can be found in store – often somewhere between beer, wine, spirits or other beverage placements.
The need to anchor the brand in store after a long run in consumer’s minds is interesting, as it implies growth ambitions with younger, unfamiliar drinkers or that the brand has identified a problem to solve. For brands who, at this stage in their life cycle, would be focused more on celebrating heritage – a reintroduction is a unique approach.
3.) ‘Any Tequila’ – Cointreau:
Cointreau’s latest ad, featuring actress Aubrey Plaza as ‘yet another celebrity tequila owner’, takes an aggressive stance towards the brand’s role in the perfect margarita. While ingredient brands often want to position themselves and their ‘partners’ as the best of the best, Cointreau has expanded their claims to say that ‘Any Tequila’ works well with Cointreau next to it.
The shift looks to mirror the reality of many consumers buying or making margaritas – who would like to think they buy the best but often settle or become confused in an increasingly competitive Tequila landscape. Cointreau’s ad uses a bold claim to put simplicity where consumer confusion exists and in the process, positions the brand as the only premium ingredient worth insisting on.
4.) ‘New York Dating Economy’ – A24:
Dating may feel like the stock market sometimes, but A24 has made it into a real one to promote their new rom-com ‘Materialists’. The film features Dakota Johnson as a matchmaker and to launch it, they created menofny.com, a website where men input their attributes before having a ‘romantic value’ calculated for them. While the concept may be too ‘on the nose’ for modern dating, A24 has partnered with the New York Stock Exchange to put men’s values on up screens, as well as projecting it through the city on digital ads.
// Sunday Snippets
// Marketing & Advertising //
// Superman and Old Spice partner to help people ‘small super’ in advance of the film’s launch [Films]
// ALDI unveils limited edition ‘Supernova Champagne’ to mark Oasis reunion [Food]
// ULTA Beauty leans into employee advocacy and pays them to do it on the clock [Social Media]
// LEGO urges UAE families to build gifts together for Father’s Day [Ads]
// Aviation Gin continues its Father’s Day drink tradition, using 90210’s Donna and David for a ‘Reverse Vasectomy Recipe’ [Ads]
// International Delight goes to war with ‘plain coffee’ and shows the alliances it can form [Ads]
// Technology & Media //
// Apple has released a “haptic” trailer for the F1 film [Movies]
// Google introduces audio overviews experiment to search [Media]
// Google Deepmind aims to change hurricane forecasting forever [AI]
// The risk of conspiratorial beliefs being magnified by AI continues to increase [AI]
// Pinterest’s Summer Trend report has dropped, predicting a digital detox and Martha Steward styles [Culture]
// Early Studies Agenda tool is offering the ability to track parliamentary, media and social interest on UK issues [Research]
// Coinbase launches a crypto rewards card on the American Express network [Crypto]
// Garmin has launched the Venu X1, an answer to Apple’s Apple Watch Ultra [Wearables]
// Metal Festival Download has told festival goers to take off smart watches after mosh pits spark emergency calls from the devices [Wearables]
// Life & Culture //
// As their teaser points out, after 12+ Star Wars properties and 36 Marvel movies, ‘Space Balls’ is finally getting a sequel [Films]
// How football chants became the folk music of sport [Music]
// Is Pop Culture taking up smoking again? [Culture]
// Is great taste the biggest advantage in modern business? [Culture]
// Who’s to blame for live music being so expensive? [Music]
// Match releases its ‘State of Singles’ 2025 report [Romance]
// Until Next Sunday
As always, let me know what you think by email (dubose@newclassic.agency), website or on LinkedIn.You can also listen to an audio summary and discussion of each week’s newsletter on Spotify. We’re also on TikTok!
