Sunday Strategy: Can Brands do Halloween Horror? Would You Take a Job to Make Yourself Obsolete + More

Sunday Strategy: Can Brands do Halloween Horror? Would You Take a Job to Make Yourself Obsolete + More

Why Are More Brands Turning to Halloween Horror? Can Columbia Tap Into Your Outdoor Death Wish? We look at these stories and more in this week's Halloween issue of Sunday Strategy, including: - The Turn to Brand Horror Ads [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uO_d-4TJPo] - The Rise of Flyers [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/style/fliers-memes-instagram.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wE8.qLwQ._ka6bCjHHNqA&smid=url-share] - Sora as the Mascot for Our Age of Social Media [https://www.wired.com/story/the-blurred-truths-of-sora/] - Hiring to Fire Your Old Job with AI [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/chatgpt-maker-openai-hired-100-ex-bankers-from-jpmorgan-goldman-sachs-and-morgan-stanley-to-train-these-new-models/articleshow/124726079.cms] - Streaming Behaviors [https://advertising.netflix.com/en-us/still-watching] - The Sinister Overtones of Professional Wearable Tech [https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/22/amazon-unveils-ai-smart-glasses-for-its-delivery-drivers/] In addition, we have ads from Jeep [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOyfMeqtFPk], Ocean Spray [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byAr20 yo2FA], Columbia [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8gnWdiT0E&t=1s] and AT&T [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EHkISq0p9Q].

Sunday Strategy: What's the Value of a Professional Certification? A Brand vs. D*ck Pics + More

Is there a value to the increasing world of professional certifications? Can Manscaped convince men to not send a d*ck pic? In this episode of Sunday Strategy, we look at these stories and more, including: - The Problem with Professional Certifications [https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/more-workers-are-getting-job-skill-certificates-they-often-dont-pay-off-be49236f?st=i2B6X1&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink] - There's Never a Good Time for a Rebrand, But There Were Better Ones [https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/dining/2025/08/22/cracker-barrel-logo-change-behind-backlash/85756667007/] - Volkwagen sell horsepower as a service [https://autos.yahoo.com/articles/volkswagen-horsepower-subscription-sparks-outrage-201520118.html] - AI Makes fake work for musicians [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clydz8d03dvo] - What do Britons think of different professions? [https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/52818-who-do-britons-think-are-overpaid-and-underpaid] We also have ads from: Irn-Bru [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL2KqXi5-Yw], Apple [https://www.tiktok.com/@appletv/video/7540011649953058079], Manscaped [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR3aN_5aMtM], Uber Eats [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ix3X2AwLWU]and Under Armour. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OkyF_5HGJU]

Sunday Strategy: Can We Accept AI Assistants? How Skoda Used Rude Graffiti + More

Can we ever accept Meta's vision of a 'superintelligent AI assistant'? How did Skoda use rude Tour De France Graffiti as an ad? In this episode of Sunday Strategy, we look at these stories and more, including: ⁠- Meta's vision for a super intelligent AI assistant in our lives [https://www.meta.com/superintelligence/] - The problem with reward credit cards [https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/07/sapphire-reserve-credit-card-rewards/683613/?gift=iCVDg7akQkCI9TtQ-N95eng-k9jACY8gBoKmT853y0w&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share] - Can any brand sell wellness? [https://open.substack.com/pub/bagable/p/walmart-nutrafol-ritual-vitamins-wellness?r=fuzfw&utm_medium=ios] - Are smart glasses fashion or tech? [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/28/alibaba-ai-smart-glasses-creates-rival-to-meta.html] - The B2C gulf for B2B only brands in GenAI [https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/how-to-win-mindshare-genai-race] We also have ads from: Skoda [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOphLJDJQao], Canadian Lung Association [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA6ky4DuMBQ], IKEA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IJsmAc2n6U] and DirecTV [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xYYHOXzUeY].

Sunday Strategy: Astronomer Responds, AI Pricing and Comms Phases

Is it time to get rid of ‘Comms Phases’ and linear media thinking? How did Astronomer reply to ‘Coldplaygate’? In this episode of Sunday Strategy, we look at these stories and more, including: ⁠- Rethinking Comms Phases [https://pollyannaward.substack.com/p/are-campaign-phases-irrelevant?r=2gikc&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true] - What We May be Getting Right and Wrong About AI Pricing as Delta Expands It? [https://time.com/7304865/scott-keyes-deltas-ai-cheap-flights/] - Extreme Heat and Summertime SAD [https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/07/climate-change-doing-number-summertime-blues/683675/?gift=iCVDg7akQkCI9TtQ-N95ekykb7p5en8VHHoEQV4Rk4Y&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share] - The Next Hottest Cafe May Be in a Living Room [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/style/home-cafe-restaurant-popup.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZU8.PQ3I.X9Lwvg-qNLYD&smid=url-share] - Gen Z’s Distance on Remote Work [https://www.gallup.com/workplace/692675/fully-remote-work-least-popular-gen-z.aspx] We also have ads from: Astronomer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vich2C-Tl7Q], Carer’s Trust [https://vimeo.com/1104049402], Samsung [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9FVxrcIpus] and McDonald’s UK [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT4G7Vj6kKM]

Sunday Strategy: When Brands Publicly Shame, Twitch vs. Forest Fires + More

Can Twitch fight French forest fires? Should a brand ever publicly shame people? In this episode of Sunday Strategy, we look at these stories and more, including: ⁠- What are the risks when a brand publicly shames people? [https://thesundaystrategy.substack.com/p/the-risk-of-brand-shaming?r=fuzfw] - What happens when 16 year olds can vote? [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/17/16-year-olds-vote-countries-turnout-political-change] - Are we seeing a US retail mirage? [https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/us-retail-sales-growth-steady-job-market-bolster-feds-rate-cut-delay-2025-07-17/] - Unpicking US Country Culture [https://deepcuts.pereiraodell.com/] We also have ads from: Yumbo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OsoTSkF-Mc], Cash App [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_AO-rGmnnA], KFC [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv8NRl-C3WA] and Sapeurs & Pompiers de France [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEji1Bo3wkc]