A few weeks ago I titled this newsletter “It’s Adidas World Cup,” and they just proved me right once more. They released their main World Cup campaign “BACKYARD LEGENDS” – a 5-minute video that captures what feels like football culture then and now. Messi, Trinity Rodman, Lamin Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Florian Wirtz, Dembélé, AI Beckham, Del Piero, Zidane and more. Then they cast Timothée Chalamet with serious Marty Supreme energy assembling a global superstar team to face off against the neighborhood legends. Bad Bunny on the sidelines. This is 10/10 storytelling and basically the ultimate 2026 reinterpretation of their cage soccer commercials from the early 2000s.
This year hit a lowpoint in Met Gala history – not because of the looks, but because of the message that was sent by making Jeff Bezos the main sponsor and honorary chair. That sparked massive protests across NYC. Under the motto "labor is art," activists took to the streets with a message for the world of fashion and everyone unbothered by this whole madhouse.
But yeah obviously there also were amaaaaazing looks (like wtaf Anok Yai???) – but from a brand perspective one stood out: SZA wore custom Bode and came to the red carpet together with Emily Adams Bode Aujla herself. The twist tho: The dress was created in partnership with ebay who understood the Bode vision: The brand is all about reinterpreting garments and mixing past and present in their art. The 100m+ of fabric and all other elements used to create SZA’s gown were found on vintage shops on ebay. That’s costume design at its best and such an amazing story for both Bode and ebay.
Louis Vuitton announced Alysa Liu as their newest ambassador for the maison – and I’m so happy for her because that’s such an amazing recognition of her, her art, and her being an icon. Of course it’s also a huge step for the brand! The BIG downside tho: They announced this in the week leading up to the Met Gala – and instead of telling the most amazing story with her, incorporating her ice skating art, her American identity meeting her Chinese roots, her personality, they put her in the most generic prom dress ever. This was so disappointing I don’t even wanna share the photos. :/
Yesss, I’m a little late with that one AND this will have some of you shake your heads: Two weeks ago Kenyan Sebastian Sawe broke the world record running a marathon in under 2 hours wearing Adidas. First ever sub-2 runner in the world. A historical mark brands have been competing to break for years. Adidas just won.
But what actually had my full attention wasn’t the record, it was Nike taking over the city with a super simple but nice headline campaign. A floating “WHAT DOESN’T BREAK YOU MAKES YOU A LONDONER” sign under London Bridge while runners were passing it. Their store featuring a “RUNNERS WELCOME, WALKERS TOLERATED” sign that went viral by sparking outrage. A OOH campaign that featured lines like “HATE EVERY SECOND, LOVE EVERY MILE” or “CHAFING NEVER FELT SO GOOD”. The signs people could grab from the store and personalize featured lines like “STOP LOOKING AT THIS SIGN KEEP RUNNING” or “THIS IS BLOODY TOUGH, BUT SO ARE YOU. KEEP RUNNING.” My personal fav tho: Their film: “RUNNING IN LONDON IS AWFUL, WE LOVE IT”.
Highsnob did it again – they connected the dots between culture and brands and managed to execute an idea that, I have to say, has been sitting in my IDEA folder for a few years now: a jewelry collaboration with Kaytranada, though it looks quite different. They paired Italian singer and actress La Niña with Kaytranada to "bring together cult musical forces (…) for a collaboration that crosses genres, energies, and aesthetic worlds." I'm not entirely sure what they've actually delivered with this short film (will they release a song together? collaborate on jewelry?), but the pairing is really compelling. What's missing for me is the bigger story, but let's see how this unfolds.
We're talking a lot about IRL marketing right now, but so often it just means brands setting up a booth to sample their product while people wait in line. That's not an activation. There are endless possibilities for something actually experiential—immersion, music, vibe, likeminded people sharing something meaningful together. Now connect that to one of the most important artists of our time? That's the move. And instead of a brand forcing it, Radiohead did exactly this themselves with welcome.jpeg. They understood what IRL actually means. Now imagine your brand joining a party like this. x.x
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