Ben Hubbard, Brand Partnerships Manager at Brand Culture says in a worldwide socio-economic shift, such as we are experiencing now, there are inevitably winners and losers on the global stage.

With the majority of people currently isolating at home, there has been a predictable rise in social media consumption, with TikTok appearing to have seen one of the biggest upturns following the outbreak of coronavirus.

Global superstar music artist Drake is no stranger to starting fashions and crazes, as was seen in the ‘In My Feelings challenge’ that sprung from the lead single of his 2018 mixtape Scorpion.

Where the In My Feelings social media event was seemingly organic, created by Instagram comedian TheShiggyShow and subsequently taken up by millions on that platform, Drake’s new single has ostensibly sought to create a craze through a song with the perfect TikTok-able (can I coin that phrase?) dance featured in the song’s hook – the Toosie Slide.

The move would appear a highly shrewd one, given the Chinese social media platform can heavily influence music sales, with users of the app theming their videos with current songs. Creating a fashionable TikTok theme will ultimately lead to streams of the single and revenue for Drake!

The Toosie Slide single, which was released overnight 3^rd April on all major streaming platforms, was accompanied by a music video indelibly linked with the coronavirus outbreak. The video features all the hallmarks of the pandemic: beginning with eery shots of empty Toronto streets at 10:20 pm, and Drake isolated and dancing around his home – complete with a scarf over his nose and mouth and the ‘black leather gloves’ he mentions in the song’s opening line.

The simplicity of the Toosie Slide dance, ‘Right foot up, left foot slide. Left foot up, right foot slide.’ makes it a perfect sequence for TikTok-ers worldwide to mimic. If there was any doubt which platform the single was created for, the advertising around the official music video on YouTube (encouraging viewers to download TikTok) demonstrates it.

TikTok is arguably the perfect site for small crazes such as this, which are born of – and driven by – an immediacy of uptake perfectly encapsulated by this video which was picked up by Drake’s official fansite. As the comic interpretation suggests, TikTok users will surely race to get ahead of the curve; posting a Toosie Slide video when it is no longer considered vogue would be bad practice!

Over the next few days, we will see if Drake’s fabricated fad takes hold on the TikTok platform, and as with the biggest of social movements, permeates into the wider media.

To find out more about Brand Culture, get in touch with Ben Hubbard at BenH@brandculture.london

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Ben Hubbard, Brand Partnerships Manager at Brand Culture provides some excellent examples of how our current state of life is imitating art.

In these strangely surreal times, recent events have stirred memories of past TV series and films, resulting in a distinct sense of déjà vu. Here’s my pick of the top examples of life imitating art:

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

This cult British zom-com has never felt more relevant. Just replace zombies with an unseen virus, right? The film’s live-news updates featuring real-life anchor Jeremy Thompson are eerily similar to the dramatic daily government announcements and developing stories we’re all currently fixated by. Recognising the similarities, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have released a short video featuring an updated version of the movie’s iconic ‘plan’ – something we’d all do well to follow.

Dead Set (2008)

The recent footage of the current German Big Brother house being told of the seismic events outside their bubble strongly echoed Dead Set, E4 TV’s dark comedy horror in which the contestants’ house is sealed off from the outside world, that just happens to be experiencing a zombie apocalypse.

28 Days Later (2002)

A recent BBC News special included a global travel report featuring images of some of the world’s most famous tourist hotspots – the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and Arc de Triomphe and Leicester Square – virtually empty. This drew comparisons with the beginning of Danny Boyle’s pandemic epic 28 Days Later.

The Island (2005)

Michael Bay’s ‘futuristic’ thriller depicts an entirely isolated community, cut off from the rest of the world as a result of ‘global contamination’. I think we can all relate to Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) right now, even if we aren’t actually clones being grown for organ harvesting… although winning the lottery right now would be nice!

Surrogates (2009)

In this sci-fi thriller, Bruce Willis inhabits a futuristic world where human beings live in isolation and interact solely through surrogate robots – more perfect versions of their real-life forms. While our tech isn’t quite as developed as in the film, it does cause you to reflect on the alternate realities being lived on social media and people’s desire to present a perfect version of themselves.

Ready Player One (2018)

Adapted by Steven Spielberg from the cult novel the film centres on the world’s population that has largely self-isolated, doing everything via ‘The Oasis’ – a ubiquitously adopted virtual reality platform. Now, with everyone self-isolating at home, there’s been a huge spike in at-home entertainment consumption, from streaming movies and TV shows to playing video games and watching esports.

To find out more about Brand Culture, get in touch with Ben Hubbard at BenH@brandculture.london

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Michael Mann, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Brand Culture, shares the dangers of capitalising on grime, and how labels, talent and brand owners can avoid this. 

Staying with the theme of my recent post about keeping it real for Gen Z, grime is a music genre with authenticity at its heart. Born on the streets of East London, its popularity is booming, having broken into the mainstream through the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Dave, Stormzy and D Double E. But as it continues to grow, is there a danger of grime becoming over-sanitized by brands wishing to capitalise on its popularity, and how can labels, talent and brand owners help avoid this happening?

Dizzee Rascal was one of the first MCs to give grime music a spotlight in the mid-2000s. As grime became supplanted by pop and house in the 2010s, he was accused of ‘selling out’ by aligning himself with more commercial music collaborations (Jessie J, Robbie Williams) and brand partnerships (Mini). So how are the next generation of grime artists engaging in commercial brand opportunities while retaining their credibility?

The genre has a natural affinity with urban streetwear and sports energy drinks. Adidas recently partnered with grime legend Kano in the UK to promote the iconic Superstar trainer, while 23 Unofficial became the face of Nike Air Jordan, there being a direct link with the artist’s name and passion for basketball legend Michael ‘23’ Jordan. In 2018 Footlocker promoted their Back to School campaign with Stefflon Don, and last summer Stormzy collaborated with Relentless, offering consumers the chance to win a surprise Merky experience and limited edition Merky Relentless Origin Drinks.

But it’s not just footwear and drinks that have aligned with grime. Back in 2016 Dominos partnered with Wretch 32 and Ladbible to celebrate the first few matches of the Euros, in a live content piece that captured the raw emotion of Wretch 32 and his mates. Even IKEA’s tapped into grime in a partnership with D Double E last Christmas, allowing their TV spot to cut through the usual season superficiality with some refreshing realness.

These examples show that even if a brand is mass, it can still create credible grime-themed campaigns. So, here’s some tips if you’re a brand looking at the marketing opportunity with the genre:

1. Have a credible reason to be in the space

The rule of thumb is that if a consumer’s first reaction is to pause and ask themselves why on earth a grime artist is aligning with a brand, then the brand and artist better have a pretty strong underlying reason for the partnership ever hitting the streets.

2. Keep up with the times

It’s also worth bearing in mind that the genre continues to evolve, with subgenres like drill and afro-bashment gaining traction, so be sure to do your research before planning your campaign and messaging.

3. Remain sensitive to grime’s roots

Public disagreements between grime artists certainly aren’t unheard of and ‘clashing’ (disstracks) are pretty hard-wired in grime history. So brands would be wise to keep this in mind if worried about brand safety, while attempts to sanitise any collaboration would not sit well. Relentless’s refusal to drop Stormzy after his recent spat with Wiley, for example, shows the brand’s awareness that clashing is an integral part of Stormzy’s persona.

To find out more about Brand Culture, get in touch with toms@brandculture.london 

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Ben Hubbard, Brand Partnerships Manager at Brand Culture, shares how leveraging entertainment can prove a powerful and innovative way for brands to connect with consumers.

During the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs 54th Super Bowl, a myriad of brands created advertising campaigns that capitalised on the moment.

This year, a number of brands have chosen to leverage IP and/or talent, tapping into consumers’ passion points as a way to cut through the (loudest of) noise…

Walmart & multiple

Retailer Walmart has scoured the IP catalogues for their Super Bowl effort – “Famous Visitors”. Promoting the ‘out-of-this-world convenience’ of the Walmart Pickup service, the brand has seemingly featured every current and evergreen character/spaceship in the known Universe picking up their groceries from the store.

Notable inclusions include the USS Enterprise from Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash Gordon, Buzz Lightyear, Frank the Pug from MIB, The Lego Movie, the aliens from Arrival, and even R2-D2 and C-3PO fresh off the Millennium Falcon, among a host of others!

The ad is a fantastic example of using IP in a clever way to convey a specific brand message, and would likely have cost all the money in the galaxy in IP fees too…

Pringles & Rick and Morty

The hit cartoon Rick & Morty provides brands with fertile ground for self-aware integrated campaigns. Pringles & Adult Swim have created a bespoke 30 second TV spot to encourage consumers to ‘Stack Pringles. Make endless flavours.’

The brand message is delivered in the typically post-modern tone Rick and Morty is known for: the ad opens with Summer asking “How much do you think Pringles paid these people?”, and Rick answering with a sigh “Hardly anything.”

Morty (a Pringles cyborg version) delivers Pringles message, before and Rick surmises “We are trapped in a Pringles commercial, they must have taken us in our sleep!” and other Morty cyborgs repeat the ‘Stack Pringles’ line to drive this home.

Audi & Maisie Williams (and Frozen)

Automotive giant Audi secured Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams (AKA Arya Stark, slayer of The Night King) to front their latest ad pushing the brand’s e-tron electric vehicles. Surrounded by petrol-fuelled traffic jam chaos, Maisie is driven to singing ‘Let It Go’ from Disney’s Frozen to encourage drivers towards a sustainable future.

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar & Bryan Cranston/The Shining

Soft drink brand Mountain Dew took a daring approach to promote their Zero Sugar SKU, with a campaign line that reads ‘As good as the original, maybe even better?’. What sets this ad apart though, is casting Bryan Cranston in a parody of Stephen King’s The Shining and the iconic axe-to-door scene. In Moutain Dew’s version, Cranston instead passes through the Zero Sugar drink, which Tracee Ellis Ross gratefully accepts.

Other examples:

• Michelob ULTRA & Jimmy Fallon/John Cena – LINK
• (Personal favourite) Amazon Alexa & Ellen DeGeneres – LINK
• Rocket Mortgage & Jason Momoa – LINK

As these ads show, leveraging entertainment can prove a powerful and innovative way for brands to push their message(s) and cut through in crowded advertising space, even in the cacophony of the Super Bowl ad space.

At Brand Culture we specialise in this space, delivering campaigns that effectively use entertainment and lifestyle IP (invariably without the price tag!) to drive brand objectives.

Get in touch with our Partnerships Director Tom Sugg to find out what we can do for you.

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Tom Sugg, Partnerships and Business Development Director at Brand Culture, shares how brands can make the most of colossal events without infringing on the strict guidelines of sponsorship fees.

2020 will see Tokyo host a summer Olympics and a major Football Championship playing out across Europe, and as ever, an array of leading brands will compete in their own way to deliver the best campaigns off the back of their hefty sponsorships.

Of course there are strict guidelines, imposed by the likes of the IOC, that should deter non-sponsors from attempting to benefit from the buzz and intrigue that surrounds these huge events – many will try, some will get away with it, and most will fail.

For those remaining brands that want the value that comes with aligning with these types of colossal events, there are an abundance of other options to consider. Some might want to jump on the ‘Summer of Sport’ bandwagon, in which case there are some truly exciting avenues to explore across so many disciplines, providing brands a wide choice depending on their positioning, target audience and budget.

And then there’ll be plenty that want to offer the perfect antidote to athletics and football too – they’re also in luck!

2020 is set to be another blockbuster success for the movie industry, with hugely anticipated films hitting cinema screens over the summer. There’s a plethora of exciting options across music, and gaming is set to take yet another upward curve with the launch of new consoles, platforms and games.

And there are so many other passion points brands can look to incorporate into their campaigns to engage their audience, cut through and ultimately drive advocacy and sales. Identifying what a brand’s customers are passionate about and building out authentic campaigns has proved to achieve record-breaking results for our clients. The really good news, is there are options throughout the year. Brands may want to rollout another generic Valentines’ Day promotion, Easter Bunnies (again?), a Spook-tacular at Halloween, and so on. But there is another way…

To hear how Brand Culture use consumer passion points to light up the path to purchase to help clients drive consumer action, get in touch with Tom Sugg at toms@brandculture.london

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