Marketing moves you might've missed

Soap for traitors, a zombie Santa, and the Emmys go streaming

08 Oct 2026

Marketing moves you might've missed

Soap for traitors, a zombie Santa, and the Emmys go streaming

Case Studied Brief
October 08, 2026

Case Studied Brief 💼

A cheeky close-up, a wake-up call from Hugh, and ads in the picture

This week in marketing saw an awards show leave broadcast TV, two studios merge under a new name, and ads arrive inside AI image generation.

In today's edition:

🏆 The Emmys head to Prime Video
🧼 Hard Rock Bet sells soap to fans who rooted for a rival
🖼 ChatGPT tests ads during image generation

Campaigns of the week 📺

Twix brings Zombie Claus back for a second Hallowmas.

Mars is reviving Hallowmas, the Halloween-Christmas mashup Twix introduced in 2025, for a second year. The campaign kicked off in episode 806 of Subway Takes, where Zombie Claus told host Kareem Rahma that second impressions matter more than first ones. Publicis Media secured the appearance, along with other national media and influencer partnerships. In the hero spot from adam&eve\TBWA, Zombie Claus shows up at a teenager's door shouting "Happy Hallowmas." A fan contest offers $20,000 in prizes, including $5,000 each for Most Hallowmas Spirit and Best Zombie Claus Look-Alike. On Halloween, Zombie Claus will hand out Twix on the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Source: Adweek

Hard Rock Bet sells soap to fans who rooted for a rival.

Hard Rock Bet and 72andSunny New York created Rival Rinse, six limited-edition football-shaped soaps for bettors who had to cheer against their own team. Scents include the cheesesteak-inspired Brotherly Scrub and pizza-scented SuDway. A launch spot spoofs luxury fragrance ads, following a bettor who realizes his winning pick meant rooting for a team he hates. "I played for Dallas, so believe me, I know rivalries," said Pro Football Hall of Famer and Hard Rock Bet ambassador Michael Irvin. The soaps grew out of Hard Rock Bet's $2 million NFL Survivor Contest. They're available through the app's rewards store while supplies last. Source: Muse by Clios

Wet Ones turns Kyle Cooke's hand into a gossip-page scandal.

BBH USA and photographer Ale Burset shot fingers, palms, and knuckles posed to look like bare backsides. The campaign launched with a DeuxMoi post of a photo that appeared to show "Summer House" star Kyle Cooke from behind but actually showed his hand. The work follows a OnePulse study in which more than half of Americans surveyed said they had used a hand wipe on an intimate area. Wet Ones says the MTA rejected the ads for the subway, so the plan moved to 100 LinkNYC kiosks, 60 transit shelters, and a five-screen Times Square installation. An Instagram and TikTok contest invites people to make their own hand illusions for a chance to appear in Times Square. It's the brand's first major campaign in several years. Source: Morning Star

Hugh Jackman phones AG1 customers about their morning routines.

AG1 has launched the second installment of its global "Good Morning, Hugh" campaign. A new 30-second spot follows Jackman's morning routine, with AG1 as part of how he starts his day. The campaign also features unscripted conversations with figures including Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Cleetus McFarland. Jackman also surprises real AG1 customers with calls about their own routines. The partnership began in January, when AG1 named Jackman its global ambassador with a spot showing him tap-dancing at dawn above his annoyed neighbors. Source: Ad Age

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Industry news 🤝

🏆 The Emmys leave the broadcast rotation for Prime Video.

Prime Video will be the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards for six years, starting with the 2027 ceremony. The show will stream live and free, with no subscription required, in more than 240 countries and territories. The deal ends the "Wheel Deal" rotation that split the telecast among ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.

Source: Amazon News

🎬 Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery now operate under one name: Skydance.

The combined company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD on Oct. 6, moving from Nasdaq. CEO David Ellison said the Skydance name was chosen so Paramount and Warner Bros. could keep their individual identities. The company now owns CBS, CNN, Paramount+, and HBO Max.

Source: PR Newswire/Skydance Corporation

▶️ YouTube cuts Shorts reach for channels that mostly repost others' videos.

In an Oct. 1 post, YouTube said channels that mainly re-upload other creators' videos without meaningful changes will likely get less distribution in the Shorts feed. Creators who use others' clips are asked to add original commentary, unique edits, or storytelling.

Source: YouTube Help Community

MarTech moves 🤖

🔒 Reddit will shut off RSS feeds and close its public API.

Reddit will end RSS support on Nov. 13 and close public API access in March 2027, citing large-scale scraping and automated abuse. Once the API closes, AI assistants that use Reddit to answer questions will need commercial data deals with the company. Reddit's "other revenue" beyond advertising, the category tied to its AI licensing deals, grew 24% year over year to $43 million in Q2.

Source: TechCrunch

🖼 OpenAI will test ads inside ChatGPT's image generator.

Later in October, OpenAI will test a visual ad format during image generation with a group of U.S. advertisers. Ads will be labeled and kept separate from the generated image. OpenAI is also piloting brand-suitability evaluations with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.

Source: OpenAI

🤖 TikTok opens its ad network to U.S. advertisers and adds shopping agents.

TikTok Ad Network, which extends campaigns to nearly 400,000 third-party apps, is now available to U.S. advertisers for the first time. Integral Ad Science will independently measure viewability, invalid traffic, and brand safety on the network. TikTok also introduced a Shopping Assistant agent, Buy Direct in-app checkout, and Agentic Leads.

Source: Marketing Dive

Editors Choice 👀

👔 VML Global CEO Jon Cook will leave WPP after three decades, and Eric Campbell will take over as Global CEO in March 2027. Source: WPP

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