Dunkin' Spikey is a social campaign slam dunk
Plus: Etsy's holiday campaign got lost and JellyCat needs a long-term strategy
Morning,
First, and more important: Vote.
Second, way less important but much less stressful: are you joining GOOD THINKING in SEOUL? I’m still pulling together the details. Hit reply to get them. 4 days of Good Thinking live in person in Seoul, second week of January. If you want to supercharge your year with brands and experiences that will change 2025, this will be the place.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: A SPOOKY DUNK and some live thoughts from Paris under TRAVEL.
As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands.
Let’s dive in!
CULTURE
HALLOWEEN WAS BIG -> The Hustle // Halloween was big this year. Literally. Those 12ft skeletons from HomeDepot have skyrocketed in popularity. Target now has an 8ft Pumpkin Ghoul and Lowe’s has a 12ft scarecrow. Halloween decorations are a $3.8B market and growing. But it was also much bigger for brands for content too. More on that in F&B but loved this from Igloo. Simple and wildly popular. Next year, expect more Halloween campaigns. Calendar it now.
IN OUR ROOTS ERA -> Feed Me //
and both interviewed Cami Téllez, former founder of Parade and new CD for L’Eggs, the about-to-be-revamped, drugstore underwear brand that’s been around forever). This stood out:“I find inspiration in how Tiffany & Co has dove deep into its archives, particularly with the revival of Jean Schlumberger’s intricate, but almost unwearable pieces—it signals their exclusive heritage as the only American luxury brand. Similarly, Maximilian Davis at Ferragamo is reinterpreting house codes with precision, bringing a sexy, streamlined approach that honors Ferragamo’s roots.”
The word ‘roots’ has been getting a lot of love lately. Starbucks says it wants to return to its coffee roots. Nike is getting back to its roots, too. RealReal just made its first employee its new CEO—quite rooted. In a time of chaos, we’re clinging returning to what worked. Quite the pendulum swing to the grow-at-all-costs approach of the last 5 years. And to AI. Pendulum swings can be good.
TRUST ISSUES -> UserMag // This week, OpenAI’s transcription tool Whisper was caught fabricating conversations. Hallucinations in AI are still common. The problem was it was transcribing conversations between patients with doctors. We have a society that’s fairly reliant on trust. Healthcare in particular needs trust. This sector needs to tread carefully the next few years.
F&B
A SPOOKY DUNK -> LinkInBio // Dunkin’ created a Halloween ‘mascot’—Spidey, a spider that sits on a donut. And then they proceeded to have the time of their lives for a few day. It’s irreverent and hysterical, just like Halloween is intended to be. I could see more brands playing with seasonal mascots. I also love a cheeky Dunkin’—refreshing.
GOOD LUCKIN’ -> Snaxshot // The Asian teahouse influx is soon to be matched with coffeehouses. Luckin’ is coming stateside with its $2 brews. coffee,
thinks Starbucks better watch out. Probably true. But, Starbucks slashing prices would be a race to the bottom (announcing not charging for milk subs though, that is smart). Besides, Luckin’ is shaking off its affordable ‘vibe’ with celeb partnerships and limited-edition Vogue collabs. I stand by my statements from last week re: Starbucks. It could make a comeback if it worked on the fundamental and took some big swings with stores.DRUGS & BOOZE
MAINSTREAM MAKES IT UNCOOL -> The Hustle // Much like mom’s loving Stanley Cups has made them lose their luster, weed’s easy access has made teens not like it as much. Teen consumption has dropped 7% to 15.8% since 2011. It’s still a $40B. But given how alcohol sales amongst Gen-Z have impacted the industry, this might be a trend to watch.
A SPIKE IN THE SAND // I’ve written about Overdrive before but they have a new product, a kit to test your drinks for date-rape drugs. Honestly, it’s a smart and needed product. But this quote from the interview is the best part. Amen!
“If you want to be someone’s favorite brand, you’re probably going to be someone’s least favorite brand.”
AND A CIG // Ghia may be N/A but non-smoking. For the holidays they have some new swag. The hair clips have ‘Ghia’ on one side and ‘and a cig’ on the other. N/A is really shaking off its good girl vibes lately.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
2024: THE YEAR OF THE CATALOG // First we had JCrew’s catalog, then dozens of brands jumped on the bandwagon. Now it’s the Amazon Holiday Catalog. Not completely new but wildly popular. If you lived in the 90s you know the thrill of circling your picks. Catalogs are essentially a new medium for Gen-A due to their near extinction so this is packed full of novelty. And they didn’t forget that there are a lot of nostalgic millennials who are just big kids. Excellent ad spend.
SOCCER MOMS REBRANDED -> BrandStrat -> BrandStrat // My favorite part of this Rihanna x Puma collab is her only allowing interviews from kids. Relevant (kid interviews are popular right now), and adorable (why they are popular). With the rising backlash of ‘gentle parenting’, ‘relevant’ parents are staging a comeback.
NONNA APPROVED -> Feed Me // I’m often asked how brands can balance speaking to Silvers without alienating Gen-Z or Alphas. All I have to say is: if brands treated Silvers like the cool people they often are, not making them feel old, then they could turn off the worry. Sam Youkilis and JCrew know Italian Nonne are respected for their style and strong opinions. Cross-generational influence is real. Another example is Bouillante tea (thx
!) who work with Silvers to make ‘special blends’ and share them with the world—the vibe is perfect.RETAIL
SIMON SAYS -> The Stanza // Jacquemus has hired Rothschild to find an investor to buy a minority stake and finance his store expansion plan. While taking on investors is common, they always come with a vision. Jacquemus has a super clear perspective but not everything the brand does likely makes financial sense. I hope he chooses wisely.
FASHION IS STACKED // Emily had a great interview with the founder of Dorsey, Meg Strachan, the lab-grown jewelry brand. Give it a read, there are lots of gems, but this part stood out:
“Substack allows influencers and creators to own their audience. It’s changed the game in a substantial way because Meta missed on Instagram shopping and affiliate. Substack is fashion's most important new platform.”
WHERE’S 2024 // Where’s Waldo is timeless. But traditional commercial spots haven’t stood the test of time quite as well. The insight of this Etsy holiday campaign ‘Every One Wants To Be Seen’ is spot on. But the vibe is off. You have to have fun with it. Done better/bigger, this social post would have been a stronger direction.
TECH
A BYTE OF BOOKTOK // TikTok is starting a publishing house. It saw all the romance novels it was selling and thought: growth opportunity. TikTok is slowly turning into the new Amazon—a hand in everything.
AI COMMERCE // Perplexity is reportedly rolling out a shopping feature. The feature will allow for complete transactions without leaving the platform. I wrote a while ago about the role of websites changing, and here’s why.
AY-YE-AI // AI influencers are new but a brand using one as an ambassador is new. Puma has a new AI ‘Moroccan’ ambassador. Some of these comments claim this is akin to a mascot. Thoughts?
SPORT
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN -> Offball // The timing of this announcement s perfect. Women’s Baseball is getting it’s own league in 2026. It’s starting with just 6 teams but it’s a start.
WELLNESS & BEAUTY
LIMITED BEAUTY -> AfterSchool // A new online drop-focused beauty retailer has emerged: Haut Drops (the name could be better). It plans to release monthly ‘drops’ inspired by TikTok trends (think slugging). Glow Recipe, Topicals, Caliray, and Moroccan Oil are already on board.
SUPPLEMENTAL TRENDS → Fred Hart // Fred did the hard work of going to a supplements tradeshow. Of note: 1) Astaxanthin: a microalgae antioxidant (searches are up 158.3% YOY). 2) Vegetable Collagen: RAWGA is leading the charge there. Collagen has been found to have a lot of heavy metals, so expect more grass-fed-finished and alts to pop up. 3) Not on this list, but my wellness oracle (who told me about the microbiome trend +10yrs ago) says soil-based probiotics will take off.
TRAVEL
I’m in Paris for the holiday weekend. One the ground observations:
Galleries Lafayette still has it. It was packed. Loewe’s shop-in-shop was a stand-out. In-person, this was more stellar. Hot take: Jewelry departments need a complete re-think; no one stopping or shopping. Bon Marche’s felt better, obviously.
The pharmacy is still the Sephora of choice for tourists. City Pharma bags everywhere.
Whatever Polène is putting in the water, it’s working. Spotted dozens on the Metro and the lines at the store felt like old Supreme.
The coffee scene here is starting to rival Tokyo. I’m a sucker for a literal hole-in-the-wall so this place was a yes for me.
You know what they say: never meet your idols. I checked out the JellyCat 'Pâtisserie’. This is a situation where the limited perspective of a TikTok makes something appear more special. Fixes:
Size: Go bigger or go out on their own.
Product: Cohesion is their bit. Mixing holiday with Patisserie was a miss.
Experience: The theatre needs to be constant. It wasn’t. People and kids just walked off, bored. The Build-A-Bear next door felt on par or maybe better.
Traffic: The giant tours were constant. Just giving people tongs so they could feel the ‘patisserie’ experience might be enough.
Renata Franca lymphatic draining method is popular here. It’s not new but this could be huge in the US. It’s more vigorous than the gentle light touch.
Merci is very mainstream now but it is still fun. It was full of shirt jackets, which according to my extensive research on the Metro is the male uniform of Paris.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
Sunnei launched “self-care” in collaboration with mid/night 00.00. Love the packaging. Did you know they make sex toys too?
Moon Juice launched a cherry version of their magnesium powder. The art direction is a departure for them. I like it but feels like another brand.
This Loewe ad is lovely.
Keurig Dr Pepper is buying Ghost for +$1B. That’s a lot of energy.
The Pigalle court has been updated.
This ‘Nonna cam’ is hysterical. A food brand should partner.
Pls cast this Japanese dance troop.
Pizza Hut launched a mini Pizza Hut built for one to promote the launch of the Personal Pan Pizza.
Rao’s Homemade is getting a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Like I said, pets are the gifting strategy of 2025. Louis Vuitton is getting in on the action. This trunk dog house is kind of amazing.
The Grand Palais will become a giant ice rink for the holidays. There’s not a better building for this. So cool.
Have a mascot? This creator is a funny option.
Nike lit up the D in the Hollywood sign to celebrate the Dodgers.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.