Marketing news you need to know 🗞️

Case Studied Brief
Culture, scale, and signaling

This week’s Brief looks at what strategies brands are using to stand out in moments of mass attention—like the Super Bowl.  

Whether it’s leaning into nostalgia, staking a position in the AI debate, or treating entertainment as an entry point, these campaigns reveal how companies are thinking beyond the moment itself.

We break down how brands are navigating visibility, relevance, and monetization, alongside industry moves that show where priorities are settling.

Campaigns of the week 📺

e.l.f. Cosmetics

1. Melissa McCarthy turns beauty into a telenovela

e.l.f. tapped Melissa McCarthy for a telenovela-inspired Super Bowl ad that leans fully into drama, humor, and hype for the halftime show. In the spot, McCarthy stars as “Melisa,” a character racing to learn Spanish ahead of the Bad Bunny halftime show. There’s exaggerated emotion, soap-opera twists, and self-aware comedy along the way, with appearances from iconic telenovela villain Itatí Cantoral and Nicholas Gonzalez of “The Good Doctor.”

Why it stood out: With this telenovela-esq ad, e.l.f. tapped into the energy around Bad Bunny’s halftime show while celebrating Latino storytelling. It’s a strong example of how brands can play with relevance, meet audiences in culture, and let their product take a supporting role, rather than a main one.

📖 Read more: People Magazine

Skittles

2. Elijah Wood delivers the rainbow

After teasing it in January, Skittles debuted its live Super Bowl commercial starring Elijah Wood. The spot was part of a contest with Gopuff that promised a five-minute skit performed on the winning participant’s front yard. The skit featured the brand’s signature deadpan comedy, with Wood playing a woodland creature who’s forced to deliver Skittles whenever called to. 

Why it stood out: Skittles introduced real-time unpredictability into one of advertising’s most tightly controlled stages. The activation format itself did a lot of heavy lifting, creating intrigue and anticipation, with star power from Wood adding further to it. It’s a prime example of a brand experimenting with structure while staying aligned with its core tone and voice. 

📖 Read more: AdAge

Dunkin’

3. A big cast reinvents a ’90s sitcom  

Dunkin’ brought nostalgia, IP, and a massive lineup of stars to their Super Bowl “Good Will Dunkin’” ad. The 60-second spot depicts a fictional ’90s sitcom pilot, with a script that nods to Good Will Hunting, Friends, Seinfeld, and more. The cast is stacked with names including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Ted Danson, and even a Tom Brady cameo. Dunkin’ also extended the ad by giving away 1.995 million free ice coffees (to represent the year 1995, when the fictional pilot was set) on “Super Bowl Monday.”

Why it stood out: Created with Artists Equity, this Dunkin’ spot has laugh tracks, exaggerated performances, and an ensemble cast packed with era-defining faces. It drew a lot of attention with a mixed bag of praise and criticism. Some folks loved the Easter eggs and old school comedy, while others found the de-aging of the actors—who all appeared to look the same as they did 30 years ago—to be off-putting. Though reception was mixed, the ad was effective in starting and maintaining conversation long after it aired.  

📖 Read more: AdWeek

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Industry news 🤝

Washington Post CEO resigns amid newsroom cuts

Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis resigned days after the paper announced sweeping layoffs affecting roughly one-third of its staff. Lewis framed his departure as a natural next step after “two years of transformation,” but his exit comes amid intense backlash from journalists and industry critics over the pace of cuts and his absence during the layoffs announcement. Interim leadership has been handed to CFO Jeff D’Onofrio, who will focus on stabilizing the business as the Post grapples with financial pressure and subscriber decline.

What it signals: When a legacy media institution’s CEO resigns in the wake of deep layoffs, it underscores how brand reputation and internal morale can influence strategic direction. For marketers watching media partnerships and content environments evolve, this moment highlights the importance of audience trust, the impact of major structural change, and how cultural backlash can shape leadership narratives.

📖 Read more: BBC

Gersh signs Jess Coulter

Commercial director Jess Coulter—known for her sharp, humor-driven work and standout Super Bowl spots—signed with the talent agency Gersh for representation. Coulter is the only woman who’s directed four Super Bowl commercials, the latest of which aired during Super Bowl LX. Her résumé includes celebrity-starred commercials for big brands, including IKEA, AT&T, Twix, Netflix, and Ben & Jerry’s. 

What it signals: This move doesn’t just tally a win for Coulter’s growing creative footprint: it signals a broader industry embrace of directors with both professional clout and cultural cachet. As brands increasingly chase cinematic storytelling in ads, bringing on someone like Coulter with rare Super Bowl experience underscores how talent agencies are investing to gain a competitive edge. 

📖 Read more: Variety

WPP reorganizes and plans for AI investments

WPP is expected to reveal new plans to invest in more AI services and accelerate its AI-powered marketing platform, WPP Open. The struggling ad network faces mounting fear of tech companies offering services that could steal its business. It’s looking to fend off the threats by ramping up its AI-led advertising capabilities. This strategic pivot also involves bringing Ogilvy, VML, AKQA, and other flagship agencies under a new structure called WPP Creative. Each brand will stay intact but will sit alongside the already integrated media and production divisions.

What it signals: Pressure to roll out and adopt AI tools is being felt deeply within the industry. In WPP’s case, there’s mourning pressure from investors but these conversations are certainly happening within private organizations as well. Marketers can expect more tech-focused retooling and restructuring to come.

📖 Read more: Financial Times

MarTech moves 🤖

Reddit revenue hits $726 mil fuelled by ad growth ^_(sponsored)

Reddit just dropped a monster Q4 — $726M in revenue (up 70% YoY) with ad revenue specifically surging 75% to $690M, proving the platform's bet on AI-powered ad tools is paying off big time. Lower-funnel conversions doubled and small business ad revenue did the same, signaling Reddit is no longer just a brand awareness play but a legit performance marketing channel that can go toe-to-toe with the big dogs.

What it signals: Reddit's ad platform has graduated from experimental line item to must-test channel. The platform's community structure is its secret weapon — you're not just targeting demographics, you're reaching people actively discussing your category in real time, which is why 11 of Reddit's top 15 verticals grew ad revenue by 50%+. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, Case Studied subscribers get a free $1,000 Reddit ad credit to take it for a spin.

💸 Claim your $1,000 ad credit: Reddit Ads

Adobe backtracks on Animate shutdown

In the beginning of February, Adobe announced that it would discontinue Adobe Animate. The brand said it would officially end sales in March and gradually wind down support as part of a broader shift toward AI-focused tools. Within 48 hours, backlash from animators and educators forced a reversal. Adobe admitted the announcement caused “confusion and angst” and confirmed that Animate will remain available in indefinite maintenance mode, receiving security updates and bug fixes but no new features.

What it signals: AI-first roadmaps aren’t immune to user reality. As platforms race to reframe themselves around automation and generative tools, products beloved in long-standing creative communities can’t be quietly sunset without consequence. The backlash shows that trust, continuity, and respect for creator workflows still matter. And even market leaders have to listen when their most loyal users push back.

📖 Read more: PCMag

ChatGPT’s ads spark agency interest

OpenAI officially began running ads inside ChatGPT this week, introducing clearly labeled sponsored placements below conversational responses. According to Ad Age, Omnicom Media has over 30 brands participating in the platform and Dentsu also confirmed it was in on the ads pilot program. OpenAI’s costs are notably high, though: it asked advertisers for $60 CPMs which is similar to Netflix’s asking price when it originally launched its ad product.

What it signals: AI advertising is emerging as a serious contender alongside search and social. For marketers, this week marks ChatGPT’s official transition from a tool to an ad channel. The transition is also forcing agencies to rethink messaging, context, and creative formats for a new kind of interface.

📖 Read more: AdAge

Editors Choice 👀

🎤 Data from Ad Age reveals the brand impact of Bad Bunny’s halftime show for the NFL. 📖 Read more: AdWeek

❄️ Winterwear brands are treating the Olympics like a global fashion week moment for growth. 📖 Read more: Business of Fashion

🤖 Agency leaders share how brands can strategically avoid the post–Super Bowl hangover. 📖 Read more: Ad Age

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