Pamela Anderson is a master class on rebranding
Plus: Silvers are sexy, sporty, and all over the Super Bowl + Perimenopause is rising and coming for retreats.
Morning,
Coming at you from a week of parenting a toddler with stomach flu. All typos are sleep-deprivation-induced. But we’re turning a corner and this letter brought back my joy.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: IP, PERIMENOPAUSE, and SILVERS are strong themes. But PAM PRIME is a must.
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
NEW CHAPTER // The second coming of the bookstore is bigger than reading. It’s about book clubs, readings, and good old-fashioned socializing. Photography was going to kill painting. Amazon > the bookstore. AI > humanity? Or maybe AI is the very thing we need to remember why we like being human?
shared (we all bought paid subs, yeh?) that cancel culture insurance is now a thing. “The policy includes a 24/7 hotline and a 60-day plan to manage negative media coverage.” But are they late? We’re entering an age where very little might get you canceled.DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO // In my 2025 predictions, I said: ‘Taboos would be taboo’. And the pendulum swing would be a return to ‘conservative tradition’. Both are true. YouTube-famous, ultra-conservative, MAHA-loving, Candance Owens, is set on ending the ‘taboo of being a trad wife’. But just because she has a job, doesn’t mean you have to want one. Ironically, the leader of the anti-Girl Boss moment is a Girl Boss.
F&B
INSTA IP // Who needs your own IP when you can (instantly) borrow someone else’s? Insta Cart’s Super Bowl ad features everyone from the Jolly Green Giant to the Old Spice guy. It’s a cute concept. Mascots are popular and it’s fun seeing them all together. But will it be viewed as a bag full of villains? ‘Big brand’ love is a tough sell these days.
CEREAL OG // Everyone’s leaning into IP it seems. This Kellog’s OG campaign is clever. And clean. And, yes, a little ‘cocky’. But the nutritional value of this OG breakfast hasn’t evolved. But the conversation has. Hopefully, this is step 1 in a bigger plan.
// Before there was an AG-1 airport vending machine, there was Farmer’s Fridge. The fridges are now also in hospitals—brilliant and needed. And now they're ready to test their cold-storage chops by expanding into sushi. I’m both scared and excited.NEEDS TO BE STRONGER // Back in October, l gave Starbucks my (unsolicited) recommendations. Maybe the real mug revival was my doing. And if the new “narrower” menu includes better food, thank me too. But the praise ends there. This new ad is weak. While Dunkin’ is leaning into what makes it spicy (and my creamer recco), Starbucks is giving us platitudes. We love Starbucks because when it’s working right, nothing is easier. A coffee brand should have energy, and this has none. I’m a diehard fan and I strongly believe they deserve better.
DRUGS & BOOZE
HEAVY STUFF // Hims & Hers is all gloom. Maybe it’s the impending ban on GLP-1 dupes? This ad is dark. The soundtrack says it all. It’s quite the opposite of their ‘approachable’ brand. Healthcare branding is getting more daring but ‘grim, docuseries-trailer’ is not the right direction.
SOBER SPORT // Ever since the World Cup went sober, non-alc and sports have been having a moment. Athletic Brewing is now the official non-alc beer sponsor for Arsenal. Which, at a glance, feels like nothing. But 2 years ago, this would have been unheard of, so it’s well worth noting.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
PAM PRIME // Pamela Anderson is giving a master class on repositioning. Being cast by Jacquemus. Check. An interview with the mother of reinvention, Martha Stewart (with stunning photography). Check. A great rebrand shouldn’t be predictable. But it should feel foretold. She’s nailing it.
SILVER BOWL // Silvers are all over the Super Bowl. It’s only February and already my predictions are coming true. Hellmanns cast Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Uber Eats paired Charlie XCX with Martha Stewart (Martha is busy!). And Willem Dafoe and Catharine O’Hara teamed up for Michelob ULTRA. The theme? Silvers are funny, sexy, cheeky, sporty, spicy, and anything but snoozy.
ALPHAS 0 - SILVER 100 // Everyone’s obsessed with Silvers. Burberry is leaning into Silver. Sezane is working with everyone’s favorite Silver duo. But the real opportunity is not ‘Silvers as marketing tools’. It’s as an audience. Brands need to wake up and realize this demo has changed. And are worthy of their dollars.
RETAIL
OH MY SHOPMY -> The Information // ShopMy, the affiliate link site (with great customer service) raised $77.5M and is now valued at $410M—wow. And no doubt Substack has helped.
said it best: “The new rule of retail (and something surprisingly obvious): good quality at accessible price sells, powered by the new gatekeepers, affiliates, and fashion Substack whose entire job is to tell you what to buy, where, and how much to spend on it.”DEGROWTH FOR GROWTH // “Edging as a business strategy. It works.”—welcome to my favorite line of the week.
reminded us all this week that it’s always better to keep them wanting more. A tried-and-true ‘edging’ strategy keeps products desirable enough for a successful revival.TECH
SEEK DEEPER // I can’t not address Deep Seek 1) AI is about to get cheaper 2) Things are moving faster 3) It’s still anyone’s game (if you act now). But also, someone please tell OpenAI it’s time for brand building.
and I are aligned. It’s how they win.WRITING IT TOGETHER // This letter is 20% about IP today. A new blockchain platform, Incention, is making IP communal. Fan fiction is a huge industry, but hard to monetize. Now, creators can contribute to a franchise and get paid. The writer-director of Blade, David S Goyer is using it to launch a new sci-fi concept “Emergence,” about a universe “where relics magically appear via a white hole.” Brand should watch this.
SPORT
SKI HEATS UP -> Offball // Halfdays, a ski brand you’ll hear more of as we approach the Winter Olympics, has partnered up with beauty brand, Ilia, on their new product launch—a moisturizer for cold climates. This content is fun. The whole launch is cool. I’m in.
WELLNESS & BEAUTY
METHYLENE BLUE // I don’t know much about this YET but my wellness guru, Jenny Evans, can’t stop talking about Methylene Blue. Typically, whenever she says something it’s huge within the year. Consider yourself told.
PERI PROTEIN // In an interview with
, the co-founders of Perelel revealed they are launching a protein supplement for peri/menopausal-aged women. So smart. I’m bullish.BLOOD BIOHACKING // We all have our feelings about the government right now but often what starts there trickles out.
shared that the US military is exploring blood bio-hacking. “It's kind of like an automatic drug-delivery system”. Mark my words, someone will turn this into a beauty thing.TRAVEL
NOT ENTRY LEVEL // Many successful businesses have been built on college-town economies. So when
pointed to a new group, Study Hotels, catering to parents wanting “to stay somewhere nicer than traditional ‘college town’ spots” it felt smart. The website needs love, though, dear lord.NO PAUSING // Now we’re at 20% IP, 20% perimenopause. Canyon Ranch is launching M/Power (wow, the names), a peri/menopause retreat. 3-nights and $7K later, 15 people will get “blood work, hormonal panels, and body composition scans” and daily group sessions covering sex, stress, and sleep. Book me in and I’ll report back.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
Love these racket grissini and tennis butter balls for a Nike & Zalando dinner.
Like Target’s new Up&Up branding. Private label branding will be big this year.
- shared these lymphatic drainage leggings. Want.
Brand birthday piñatas = fun.
Year of The Snake swag: Hermes Mahjong sets. Fortune-telling cards. All of it.
The new limited edition packaging by Cadbury’s is genius.
This elevator photo booth in Paris is fun. Sponsor worthy.
Customer brand trips > Influencer brand trips.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
I have to know what that IG post is behind the link for the second coming of the bookstore. It’s blocked for me in Canada and I can’t see it lol