startup-brand

Nike Direct Fell 7% While Wholesale Grew 5%. The 'Comeback' Is a Channel Story.

Nike reported $11.3 billion in flat Q3 FY2026 revenue on March 31, with Nike Direct down 7% currency-neutral while wholesale grew 5%. The 1,400 April layoffs and $230 million severance charge cut deepest in tech and supply chain, not marketing. The 'comeback' coverage focused on a

WARC's 68.8% Flip Explains r/advertising's Anti-Performance Complaint

A viral r/advertising thread on May 10, 2026 argued that performance marketing and A/B testing killed the craft of advertising. The diagnosis is half right. WARC data shows global marketers flipped the historical 60/40 brand-to-performance ratio to 31.2/68.8 in 2024, down from 40.1/

The Ordinary's $175 Banana Is the Only Anti-Markup Stunt a Beauty Brand Can Run

The Ordinary opened six fake grocery stores in Toronto, London, Paris, São Paulo, Mexico City, and Melbourne in May 2026, called "The Markup Marché," selling a banana rebranded as the "All-Natural Magical Energy-Boosting Bar" for $175.90, a coconut for $195.50, an avocado for $305.

Bilt's Roomies Pulled 8M Views From an Account That Never Says Bilt

Marc Jacobs, Crocs, Bilt, and McoBeauty all launched branded microdramas in the past twelve months, and three of the four ran them off accounts that don't carry the brand name in the handle. Bilt's Roomies has crossed 8 million views on @RoomiesRoomiesRoomies, a TikTok account that

Why Adidas Made an Actor the Lead of Its World Cup Ad and Messi the Cameo

Adidas launched Backyard Legends on May 7, 2026, a five-minute World Cup hero film with actor Timothée Chalamet as the protagonist and Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham, David Beckham, and Zinedine Zidane in supporting roles. Adidas can't out-roster Nike on athletes, so it changed the genre instead. The lesson,

Liquid Death's Limb-Eating Ad Works Because the Brand Earned the Escalation

Liquid Death released a 60-second spot on May 6, 2026 in which a man bites off his own leg, lets possums gnaw his arm, and burns his fingers for kindling to reach sparkling mountain water. The ad works because the $1.4 billion brand spent five years earning the right

Fox's $50K Times Square Cube Is Indeed's Cheapest 2026 World Cup Ad Buy

Fox One and Indeed announced a $50,000 "Chief World Cup Watcher" role on May 5, 2026, hiring one applicant to watch all 104 FIFA World Cup matches from a transparent cube in Times Square between June 11 and July 19. Applications close May 17 through Indeed profiles,