Will It Stick?

In January 2023, Tarte Cosmetics took 50 influencers (including Alix Earle, of course) on an insanely extravagant trip to Dubai which basically meant TikTok was full of Tarte Cosmetics mentions and commentary for two full weeks. Was it excessive or brilliant? Plus, how did Tarte's founder and CEO Maureen Kelly respond to the controversy? We dive into all the details and break it down. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Southwest Airlines has been all over the news this week because of major issues with its operation. So, what better time to replay one of our fave episodes, all about one of the country's most beloved airlines? When Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher was faced with a competitor slashing prices in the 1970s in an effort to put Southwest out of business, Herb got creative and pulled a PR stunt. Then, in the 1990s, he did it again when faced with a potential legal battle over a tagline....he responded with an insanely creative PR stunt. In fact, the reason Southwest is one of the top airlines in the industry today is because of these off-the-wall, creative stunts that Herb pulled off. The culture of the airline was truly born out of these stunts and we bet you feel pretty inspired after this one! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

It's officially the HOLIDAY SEASON! In honor, we are replaying one of our favorite holiday episodes where we cover the top 9 holiday PR stunts and campaigns. From TikTok-ing Turkeys to Elf-Themed Hotel Suites, this holiday-themed episode covers some of the craziest, coolest Christmas and holiday marketing campaigns and stunts. Did you know that consumer-facing brands typically earn 50% of their annual revenue all in the fourth quarter of the year? The holidays are BIG business for brands. In this episode, we’re talking all about some of the top Holiday PR Stunts & Marketing Campaigns. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In honor of Spotify Wrapped hitting this week, we are replaying our episode from last year all about the viral marketing move from Spotify. If you paid any attention over the last few weeks to your social media feed, you couldn’t miss the fact that almost EVERYONE is sharing snippets of their Spotify Wrapped to social media. Spotify has curated a fun end-of-year wrap-up of its users' music listening habits into a shareable format that creates major FOMO for non-Spotify users and reminds us of the immense power of personalized marketing. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In January 2008, Tropicana was selling about $700 million per year of its Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice. The brand decided it was time to rebrand its best-selling product, and that single move nearly crushed the brand - causing sales to fall by 20% in the 2 months after the rebrand launched....equating to about $30 million in losses overall. The brand recovered, but now there is a bigger problem looming ahead: in today's world, fruit juice doesn't have the same appeal as it did 20 years ago. Will Tropicana make juice cool again? Tune in to find out! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

It's time for our October 2022 PR Stunts and Campaigns round-up! In this episode, Alexis breaks the rules and throws in a few stunts that had nothing to with October (shocking!) and we cover a variety of brands, including: Dogs Only Kitchen Fecal Billboards Visit Sweden Geo-Restricted Audio Bumble & Ted Lasso Collab Dole Uses Trash to Fight Hunger Oscar Meyer Celebrates World Vegan Day ...and more! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

In just 10 years, Carvana has become the fastest-growing e-commerce company in U.S. History. At Carvana, you can buy a car 100% online, no salesperson required, and if you live in one of Carvana's 34 cities, you can even buy a car via a coin-operated vending machine. But, has Carvana bought its brand awareness? With a whopping $100 million advertising budget, Carvana has tried more advertising campaigns and PR stunts in a decade than most brands try in a lifetime. Will its latest tagline and campaign "We'll Drive You Happy" stick around? Tune in for the scoop! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

It's officially SPOOKY SEASON! Our very own Alexis is the queen of Halloween, so join us as she takes us through some of her favorite Halloween campaigns and stunts. We talk about: - Snapchat sells costumes - Uber's tricked-out Halloween rides - Liquid Death collabs including Martha Stewart & Postmates - Heinz hawks tomato blood ketchup and pushes vampires to go vegan - Asos and the #ASOSAlterEgo TikTok challenge - Chipotle's Boorito campaign For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

It's time for September's PR stunts and campaigns round up! The brands we cover this month include: Tide, Mint Mobile + Arizona Iced Tea, Heinz, Draft Kings, Guitar Center + Southwest Airlines, M&Ms and My Little Pony. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Before you listen to this episode, make sure you go back and listen to Episode #59: Gatorade & Be Like Mike! Recently, we covered Gatorade's "Be Like Mike" campaign, which has gone down in history as one of the most iconic and memorable advertising campaigns in the history of sports marketing. Featuring Michael Jordan, this campaign origin story is full of twists and turns that involve an insane brand feud between Gatorade and Powerade (owned by Coke) and so much more. Join us as we chat with Bob Roth, former Regional Cold Channel Manager for Gatorade during the brand's iconic Be Like Mike campaign. Bob shares some behind-the-scenes information and a unique perspective on what the campaign did for the company. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com. Visit www.serendipitconsulting.com for more information on how to develop your OWN amazing campaign, PR stunt or marketing activation!

Chick-fil-A and its iconic Eat Mor Chikin advertising campaign featuring cows begging humans to choose chicken over beef was born out of necessity and lots of trial and error. How was a fast-food restaurant that exclusively served chicken and was only open 6 days a week going to compete with the big burger joints that offered larger menus, were open 7 days a week and had way bigger advertising budgets? EAT MOR CHIKIN! The story behind the creation of this campaign and the results it generated will blow your mind. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com. Try Lit Videobooks for 50% off & a 3-day free trial! To get All Access to Lit Videobooks for only $5 per month visit litvideobooks.com/willitstick and use the promo code WILLITSTICK at checkout.

In honor of being named the Best Marketing Podcast of 2022 by Adweek, we are replaying some of our fan-favorite episodes! What does a bad date and two frustrated 25-year old employees have to do with how Dos Equis' most iconic mascot was born? The Most Interesting Man in the World campaign by Dos Equis has a backstory you would never have imagined! It was essentially created out of spite and ended up being one of the most iconic and memorable ad campaigns, taking Dos Equis from an obscure Mexican beer with so-so regional sales to be one of the leading beers in the U.S.

We're back with our monthly round-up of the best (and worst) PR stunts and experiential marketing activations and campaigns. For our August 2022 edition, we cover: Burger King & Uber Eats "Messy Eaters" Collab Patron Enters the Metaverse Tito's Mocks Canned Seltzers Kidfresh Launches Wine Pairings for Nugget-Stealing Parents Fancy Feast NYC Restaurant (yes, the cat food) Instacart Crashes VMAs with Cart Couture For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com. Try Lit Videobooks for 50% off & a 3 day free trial! To get All Access to Lit Videobooks for only $5 per month visit litvideobooks.com/willitstick and use the promo code WILLITSTICK at checkout.

"The best companies become verbs" - that's according to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. That puts Uber in the best company category ... Uber has become a verb in record time. So how exactly does a brand become a verb? We uncover some of the greatest (and weirdest) PR stunts Uber has pulled to stand out and rake in a whopping $25 billion in annual revenue -- AND GROWING. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com. Try Lit Videobooks for 50% off & a 3 day free trial! To get All Access to Lit Videobooks for only $5 per month visit litvideobooks.com/willitstick and use the promo code WILLITSTICK at checkout.

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched by Unilever in 2004 aiming to build self-confidence in women and young children and WOW has it made a mark. This campaign stands out as one of the most impactful advertising campaigns of our time. Tune in for the full scoop on how one of the world's largest brands took a stand and did something great for the world while increasing brand awareness and revenue. For more information, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Oh, Viagra! For a brand that promotes sexual consistency, it sure produces the most inconsistent advertising campaigns. This brand has immense value but is insanely all over the map with its marketing messages which just leaves us with some pretty awkward ad campaigns. We cover the hilarious, the horrible and a more recent ad campaign that actually humanizes ED and pulls at the heartstrings. P.S. did you know that if you sprinkle Viagra on your flowers, they will STAY UP LONGER?! Who knew! Try Lit Videobooks for 50% off & a 3 day free trial! To get All Access to Lit Videobooks for only $5 per month visit litvideobooks.com/willitstick and use the promo code WILLITSTICK at checkout. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Duolingo is CRUSHING IT on TikTok. Since 2021, the company has grown its TikTok audience to 4 million followers and routinely fetches more than 1 million views per video. At the same time, it's become one of the most popular educational apps with more than 500 million downloads and $250 million in revenue in 2021, up 55% from 2020. How have they done it? Tune in for the full scoop! Try Lit Videobooks for 50% off & a 3 day free trial! To get All Access to Lit Videobooks for only $5 per month visit litvideobooks.com/willitstick and use the promo code WILLITSTICK at checkout. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In honor of being named the Best Marketing Podcast of 2022 by Adweek, we are replaying some of our fan-favorite episodes! Louis Vuitton has ruled the fashion world and won over the hearts of consumers for decades and decades and decades, since the mid 1800's. Louis Vuitton has managed to withstand the demise of the mall and rise of online shopping. It is desired by Gen Z and Boomers alike. They don't have sales or discounts and somehow they still crush it and evolve the brand. How? Join us as we dive in! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In honor of being named the Best Marketing Podcast of 2022 by Adweek, we are replaying some of our fan-favorite episodes! Check out this story about how Old Spice went from a not-so-popular brand that your Grandpa wore, to the top selling men's body wash brand in less than on year. All because of one insanely creative, sexy campaign that focused on getting women to stop buying their man "lady scented products." For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

In honor of being named the Best Marketing Podcast of 2022 by Adweek, we are replaying some of our fan-favorite episodes! Check out this story we told about how despite only being around for a handful of years, White Claw has come to dominate the seltzer market and how it has truly become a people-powered brand. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In honor of being named the Best Marketing Podcast of 2022 by Adweek, we are replaying some of our fan-favorite episodes. Enjoy this one, all about how Tuft & Needle made buying a mattress online the norm, and how it did it with an edgy, boundary-pushing ad campaign that paid off big time. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

We round up all the weirdest, wackiest PR stunts and experiential campaigns of July 2022. We talk about Dole, Leafly, Pizza Pizza, Vita Coco, Subway, Heineken, Peas of Heaven, Pabst Blue Ribbon and MNTN. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Would you ever go on a vacation and stay inside of a giant 6-ton potato? Well, Airbnb wants to entice you with all the crazy bookable rentals, contests, insane experiences, and more. Airbnb is the ideal example of how to utilize partnerships and PR stunts to drive insane awareness and revenue. In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic that nearly killed travel, Airbnb had a valuation of $86.5 billion at the time it went public, selling at $146 per share on opening day. Just 12 years after the company was started by a few guys in a San Francisco apartment. Dive in with us to learn about some of the craziest stunts and partnerships Airbnb has pulled off. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

The Gerber Baby has stared at customers from every single bottle of Gerber baby foods and has appeared in every single Gerber ad since the 1900s! Today, it's considered one of the most recognized consumer logos and most trusted consumer brands... and did you know that the iconic face of America's most famous baby was actually a real person whose identity was kept secret for about 40 years? Get the full scoop about how The Gerber Baby came to be and helped grow Gerber to earn over $600 million in annual revenue per year. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

When Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher was faced with a competitor slashing prices in the 1970s in an effort to put Southwest out of business, Herb got creative and pulled a PR stunt. Then, in the 1990s, he did it again when faced with a potential legal battle over a tagline....he responded with an insanely creative PR stunt. In fact, the reason Southwest is one of the top airlines in the industry today is because of these off-the-wall, creative stunts that Herb pulled off. The culture of the airline was truly born out of these stunts and we bet you feel pretty inspired after this one! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In 2009, Dominos suffered a major blow when a series of five viral videos were uploaded to Youtube showing a male employee at a Domino's Pizza chain in North Carolina contaminating ingredients with his body while a female narrates that items with those ingredients will go out to customers. Immediately the media went crazy and people were rightfully disgusted and Dominos lost revenue and the brands stock was trading at less than $10 per share! But, CEO Patrick Doyle had a plan to turn it around. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Gatorade's Be Like Mike campaign has gone down in history as one of the most memorable and effective campaigns in the history of sports marketing. From stealing Michael Jordan from Coke, to having to create a totally custom song in a matter of days when the original plan went sideways, this campaign was beloved and it elevated Gatorade's brand awareness around the world... but did it increase sales? For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

This is the second round of our Pride Campaigns series. This time, we take a look at the OG brands who came out with LGBTQ+ focused ads before it was really the norm, and for some brands, before it was even socially acceptable at all. From Ray Ban to Ikea, you'll be surprised to learn about how these brands took big risks to take a stand. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

June is Pride Month! For brands, that means a big opportunity to show support and raise funds and awareness to continue to make real change. Pride is a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship, to show how far LGBTQ+ rights have come, and how in some places there's still work to be done. In this episode, we cover some of the most interesting recent brand Pride campaigns and partnerships including Skittles, Absolut Vodka, H&M, Lego, and Mercado Libre. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Mountain Dew is one of the most famous beverages in the world. Today, we associate Mountain Dew with action sports, but did you know that the brand's first mascot was Willie the Hillbilly? Willie is a cartoon character mimicking southern stereotypes popular at the time but would be super inappropriate today. Basically, 2022 would cancel Mountain Dew if Willie was still around! Mountain Dew is most definitely one of the biggest risk-takers when it comes to marketing stunts, activations, and campaigns. From bogus focus groups to creating weird products for super fans, to a weird yet iconic Super Bowl commercial featuring a Puppy Monkey Baby, Mountain Dew keeps fans on their toes! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

What does a bad date and two frustrated 25-year old employees have to do with how Dos Equis' most iconic mascot was born? The Most Interesting Man in the World campaign by Dos Equis has a backstory you would never have imagined! It was essentially created out of spite and ended up being one of the most iconic and memorable ad campaigns, taking Dos Equis from an obscure Mexican beer with so-so regional sales to be one of the leading beers in the U.S. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

In 2007, Todd Davis the CEO of LifeLock decided to do something BIG to capture the attention of the millions of Americans he wanted to use his identify theft protection software. He shared his social security number with the world, because he was so confident in the strength of his product and the result was insane. Join us as we chat with Todd Davis about the moment he decided to pull this stunt, what actually happened behind the scenes, how he handled finding out his business partner had lied about the brand's founding story, being hit with one of the biggest FTC fines in history and SO MUCH MORE. Make sure you go back and listen to our very first episode where we cover this stunt in full detail so you have all the context. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Finally, after two years of not much in the way of April Fools jokes from brands (thanks to the pandemic), we got a LOT of great pranks from big brands this year in 2022. In this episode, we both share our fave April Fools pranks with you, from brussels sprout fruit snacks to chocolate pads for your late-night period cravings, to a campaign to save the trees from Busch Light, and much more. Enjoy! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

What do you get when you combine a viral talking asshole, a banned ad campaign turned three-minute SNL skit, a unique offer for the naming rights to the Buffalo Bills' stadium (who wouldn't attend the Toilet Bowl at Tushy Stadium?!), and the hands-down weirdest Super Bowl contest ever? You get TUSHY, the detachable bidet for people who poop. The brand was founded by Miki Agrawal after she was given a cheap, clip-on bidet for Valentine's Day from her then-boyfriend, now husband. Miki is a pro at pulling off BIG PR stunts and sparking viral conversations. You may remember her from our Thinx Period Panties episode #8. Tushy is one of the brands that the pandemic accelerated... remember the toilet paper shortage? Tushy was the solution and it was evident when the company saw 10X normal sales during the first two weeks of March 2020, experiencing a $500,000 sales day and then a MILLION DOLLAR DAY. This episode is all about shit, literally. But it's full of so many wacky and big, creative ideas so listen and ENJOY! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Tiffany & Co. may be over 184 years old (WOW) but it is not afraid to shake things up to prove it is just as relevant today as ever. It is no easy task for such an iconic brand to be perceived as fresh and cool to new generations (we're talking about you Gen Z), but timeless, exclusive, and attractive to the generations who have been buying Tiffany for decades at the same time. The direction that Tiffany & Co is taking today with its marketing in an attempt to do just that is a bit shocking. In this episode, we cover some big PR stunts, some surprising collaborations, some seemingly offensive ad campaigns and possibly a HUGE change to the brand's iconic color! Did someone say Tiffany Yellow? Get ready to dive deep into the vault of all things Tiffany in this episode. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Adidas is one of the oldest sportswear manufacturers in the world, with a history dating way back to 1920. Adidas has decided to specifically dominate two key markets: hip hop culture and sports. It is currently the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second-largest in the world, after Nike. In this episode, we cover everything Adidas from what the acronym actually means, Kayne West's partnership, its new Breast Gallery ad and so much more. For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Back in episode 20 we covered Tuft & Needle's amazing and totally loud marketing campaign: Mattress Stores Are Greedy. We had the chance to chat with Tim Hargis, one of the key players in the creation of that edgy campaign. Tim was the former VP of Marketing & Business Development for Tuft & Needle. He shares some great stories about how the campaign was born and how and why it worked so well. Don't forget to check out our website at www.willitstickpodcast.com to see more details.

Super Bowl 2022 was finally a year full of pretty solid and entertaining advertising! We saw a few major themes: celebrities, climate change, and crypto. We've lined up our top six favorite ads and we talk about one pretty controversial ad that initially seemed strong but went off the rails. Let us know if you agree with our picks! For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

Britney Spears is one of the biggest pop stars in the world and that title has come with a lot of drama, controversy and public support ... and all of it started because of how Britney and her image was marketed as a brand, and how focused her label and family was on protecting her brand and image when she went through some personal struggles. The #freebritney marketing movement was created by fans to break Britney free of her conservatorship and it worked. The #freebritney hashtag on Tiktok has surpassed over 1.1 BILLION views illustrating the real potential of a people-powered marketing movement. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R.... there is no doubt about it - you cannot get the infamous Oscar Mayer jingles out of your head for hours after hearing them. The Oscar Mayer brand was the first to brand meat in the 1920s and has been super creative about its marketing strategies since the brand started. From weinermobiles to jingles to everything in between, we dive into all the crazy marketing tactics of our favorite nostalgic processed meat brand in this episode. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com.

House of Gucci has been a hit at the box office, so we wanted to find out a little more about how Gucci's marketing strategy helped explode the brand. Between Tom Ford's provocative products & racy ads, to finding insanely smart ways to entertain and delight Gen Z - Gucci's marketing strategy is as iconic as the brand itself. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

It's almost that time of the year when big brands get ready to shell out beaucoup bucks for a 30-second spot in the Big Game, the Super Bowl. Many brands have taken the idea of advertising around the Super Bowl to new levels, by activating stunts instead of traditional ads. In this episode, we dive into the history of how the Super Bowl became the mecca for advertising and we uncover some of our favorite brand stunts through time. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com. Thank you to Wild Rye Baking Co. for giving our listeners 15% of their cake and frosting mix purchases by using the code WILLITSTICK when checking out at www.wildryebaking.com

Pornhub is the 10th most trafficked website in the world and 57% of the brand's website traffic comes from direct visits... this means that PornHub has become a true household name in the world of marketing, which is no easy feat for any company let alone a porn brand. Despite being risque in nature, Pornhub is continually featured in mainstream media - all because of its uber-creative PR stunts and #SFW marketing campaigns. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

New year, new you! Every year, 45 million Americans spend $33 million on dieting and weight loss solutions. Weight Watchers, now called WW, leads the pack and has had an interesting road and made some really smart brand choices along with some pretty brutal marketing moves. From the Oprah effect to a sex campaign gone wrong, we cover it all! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

We wouldn't let a new year go by without recapping some of the wildest moments in social media in 2021. We talk purpose-driven newsjacking, dropping social media to take a stand, founder fails, cancel culture rebrands and of course, shrimp tails inside of cereal boxes. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Peloton has been the talk of the town for the past few weeks, and this new Sex In The City controversy is definitely not the first time the brand has faced challenges with its advertising campaigns. We dive into ALL the dirt and share the details of how Peloton continues to dominate the home fitness category despite its marketing missteps. Peloton has somewhere in the ballpark of 5.9 million members. Each quarter, 134.33 million workouts are completed on Peloton. Today, the brand is publicly traded and is valued somewhere in the ballpark of $13 BILLION….that's a pretty major achievement for a brand that's less than 10 years old. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

If you paid any attention over the last few weeks to your social media feed, you couldn't miss the fact that almost EVERYONE is sharing snippets of their Spotify Wrapped to social media. Spotify has curated a fun end-of-year wrap-up of its users' music listening habits into a shareable format that creates major FOMO for non-Spotify users and reminds us of the immense power of personalized marketing. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Benefit Cosmetics is a marketing force! It's known for its out-of-this-world marketing stunts and pop-ups. Today the brand generates $633 million in revenue, with 3,000 BrowBars and 85 boutiques across 59 countries in 5 continents! But did you know the brand was started based on a coin toss by twin sisters? It was between a makeup shop and a casserole cafe. Thank goodness they didn't go with casserole! For source material, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

From TikTok-ing Turkeys to Elf-Themed Hotel Suites, this holiday-themed episode covers some of the craziest, coolest Christmas and holiday marketing campaigns and stunts. Did you know that consumer-facing brands typically earn 50% of their annual revenue all in the fourth quarter of the year? The holidays are BIG business for brands. In this episode, we're talking all about some of the top Holiday PR Stunts & Marketing Campaigns. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

How do you create a market for a $300 cooler? Just ask the guys behind Yeti, one of the coolest people-powered brands out there. In just a few short years, Yeti has come to dominate the market and command insane prices for its indestructible coolers. Plus, there is SO MUCH content out there that Yeti customers create, for them, for FREE. This brand is one to learn from! For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a long-standing tradition for many American households, and has been for decades. But, did you know that the parade started way back in 1924 as one giant PR stunt for Macy's to draw shoppers to its one million square foot store in NYC? For nearly 100 years the parade has continued and has become the Superbowl of the holiday season for family-friendly brands attracting 50 million viewers annually. For source materials, please visit www.willitstickpodcast.com